Elementary Faculty Policies - Table of Contents
Attendance
The normal workday for faculty is 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Faculty are required to attend meetings, programs, duty rotations, etc., beyond these times as directed by their principals. Faculty are required to be on campus and available during the school day. Faculty who need to leave campus must check in and out with their school’s office.
Faculty attendance at the following is mandatory:
- Faculty/Team meetings
- Faculty/staff devotions as scheduled
- Chapel
- Faculty orientation/ in-service
- Registration (War Eagle Welcome)
- Parents’ Night
- Field Trips
- Select Info Sessions/Open Houses
- Select schoolwide activities as directed (Homecoming, community celebrations, fall festival, spring arts festival, etc.)
- Staff development offerings
- Faculty are urged to attend as many extra-curricular activities as possible
- Post-planning
- Mandatory Gate Duty or Fine Arts Duty- Must serve 3 times per year
Discipline
The ultimate goal of all discipline at LCS is the development of Godly character in students.
Classroom discipline is the responsibility of the teacher. The best deterrent to misconduct is excellent instruction and clearly delineated routines and procedures. Expectations for behavior should be clearly stated, modeled, and consistently enforced. Consequences for misbehavior should be appropriate to the offense and may include a time-out, restitution, loss of privilege, and parental contact. Consequences should be enforced in a way that is fair, consistent, instructional, and discreet, remembering that the development of character is the goal. Physical force should only be used to prevent a dangerous situation, and then with discretion.
Major offenses or repeated minor offenses that impede learning or undermine authority should be referred to the administrator. Consequences for such infractions will be at the discretion of the administrator.
Extra Credit
Extra credit must be kept to a minimum. Any extra credit assignment offered must be offered to the entire class and may only be used to trade for points missed on a test or quiz or a previous assignment. At no time should extra credit points cause the student’s points earned to exceed the points possible.
Field Trips
LCS Elementary teachers will integrate field trips with the curriculum, in part, by carefully selecting activities for students to do before, during and after the trip.
Teachers must verify a calendar date with the office, provide documentation and billing information for requisitions and send permission slips to parents for each field trip. Exploratories and lunchroom personnel must be notified by the scheduling teacher of any missed activities. There is a field trip checklist, and this procedure must be followed. Please see school Administrative Coordinator with questions.
Homework
When homework is given, teachers will provide targeted math problems and/or ELA practice for students at the beginning of each week to be completed at the discretion and pacing of the family. Total daily time spent on homework is not expected to exceed 15-20 minutes through 3rd grade, and it is not expected to exceed 30 minutes in the 4th and 5th grades. Homework will not be assessed as a number grade. However, if a student is struggling in a particular area, the teacher will work with the parents to cooperatively develop a support plan, which could include the monitoring of assignments to be completed at home. As a resource, teachers will also provide some generic reading questions that parents can use as helpful conversation starters and to help monitor their child’s reading comprehension for reading done at home. Teachers may also include additional helpful resources for practice at home, such as memory verses, songs, and lines for class performances. Homework as a punitive measure is prohibited by Landmark Christian School.
Lesson Plans
The basic lesson plan format will include the following: content to be covered, concepts to be taught, activities to be used, and assessments to be used to determine whether lessons have been learned. Elementary school principal or assistant principal will review and approve all lesson plan formats/lesson plans on a regular basis.
Make Up Work
Teachers may be requested to send assignments to the office for a parent to pick up for missed days. When absent, the student must make up missed class work. If the student is absent one day, one day is given to make up work. If absent two days, two days are given to make up work, three days, three days…, etc. In the event of extended absence due to illness, teachers will confer with the parents to determine the best schedule for making up schoolwork.
Report Cards
K4 report cards are sent out two times a year. K5 – 5th report cards will be issued every nine weeks.
Permanent records of students are the responsibility of their classroom teacher. Records may be checked out during school hours to take to the classroom after signing out. At no time should any employee other than administration, office staff or the classroom teacher have access to permanent records.
Requisitions
In order for any purchases to be made for the classroom, teachers must have prior approval from the department/school principal. Reimbursements will be handled in the same manner.
Responsibilities and Expectations
Faculty are responsible for turning in all reports on time. These include grade report forms and time-dated materials that the administration has requested to be completed. Student work should also be returned in a timely manner.
Evaluation - Faculty
The purpose of faculty evaluation is to foster professional growth and competency. His/her school principal or the principal’s designee will formally and informally evaluate each faculty member yearly.
Substitutes
When possible, please enter your absence in Frontline Education the night before or no later than 6:30 AM the morning of your absence. Teachers should have a substitute folder that contains the following at the beginning of the year:
- Class lists, seating charts, a schedule, and class procedures/discipline
- Three days of generic lesson plans
- Safety plan
When there is a shortage of substitutes, classroom teacher vacancies will take priority over exploratory teacher and paraprofessional vacancies. If necessary, teacher assistants may be called on to cover classes at the discretion of the office.
