Faculty and Staff Handbook - Table of Contents
Vision
Every student prepared to impact the world for Jesus Christ
Mission
Landmark Christian School partners with Christian families by equipping college-bound students to embrace a Christ-centered worldview, grow as servant leaders, and steward God’s unique purpose for their lives
Core Values
At Landmark, we are guided by a set of commonly held Core Values.
- We apply God’s truth in our daily lives. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22
- Spend quality time in God’s Word on a regular, personal basis.
- Develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Demonstrate Biblical knowledge in attitude and action.
- Teach and relate instruction/content from a Christ-centered worldview.
- We embody a passion for excellence. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not unto men.” Colossians 3:23
- Never settle for less than your best in preparing and presenting content as a master teacher.
- Realize that “good enough” is neither “good” nor “enough,” regardless of your vocation at Landmark.
- Actively pursue professional growth related to your job at LCS.
- We choose to serve others every day. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” Matthew 20:26
- There is no place for any form of disrespect when you seek to serve others.
- Model service for students by being part of “the village” that it takes to raise Godly children.
- Respond to colleagues joyfully, even when your flesh doesn’t want to.
- We embrace diversity and value every student. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28
- There will be strengths and weaknesses with every student at Landmark. They don’t catch God by surprise. Love them regardless.
- God made every child different on purpose. Find a way to reach their hearts and minds.
- We are a community of love & grace. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
- Maintain relationships with students, parents, and colleagues characterized by unconditional love, integrity, and humility.
- Let students know you love them by your words, actions, and attitudes.
- Make the extra effort to partner with parents by communicating with them on a regular basis. They should know their child is very special to God and to you.
Target Graduate
Our Approach To Teaching And Learning
We seek to provide an education that is rich, relevant, and rewarding.
A rich education is one that is deep and meaningful. It is holistic in nature, taking seriously the assertion that all truth comes from God. It is flavorful, cultivating a love of truth, goodness, and beauty within students. It provides depth of thought, moving students toward becoming confident problem-solvers and innovators. It allows students to think deeply about their own thinking while engaging the diversity of thought that comes through collaboration and being part of a vibrant learning community.
A relevant education is one that is useful to students moving forward in life. It entails learning practical skill sets that are transferable to broad domains. It provides students with memorable and engaging experiences, within which they develop agency and ownership regarding their education. It is an education through which they can take pride in their investment of time and energy towards creating real, tangible products as learning artifacts. It is learning for life, through which students identify, refine, and become better equipped to steward their gifts and talents with excellence, pursuing the calling for which God has created them.
A rewarding education draws the learner towards Christ. While preparing students for continuing education and future careers, it constantly keeps the larger perspective in view. It desires the greater reward of the kingdom beyond grades and accolades. It chooses character over comfort. It recognizes that the greatest gain is through giving, the greatest honor is through humility, and the greatest success is through service.
Hours of Operation
Normal office hours during the school year are 7:45 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Faculty are expected to be on campus and available to students 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after school.
During the summer break, all department offices will be open from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday-Thursday, and all full-time 12-month employees are expected to work four days per week.
For other school holidays as listed below, the administrative offices will be closed:
- Labor Day
- New Year’s Day
- Spring Break (week)
- Columbus Day
- MLK Day
- Memorial Day
- Thanksgiving (week)
- Presidents’ Day (week)
- Juneteenth
- Christmas (two weeks)
- Good Friday
- 4th of July (week)
Team Dress Code
Faculty and staff should dress in a comfortable, yet professional manner.
For women: dresses, skirts, non-athletic pants, capris, blouses, polo shirts, sweaters, or other professional tops are all options. Similar to the student dress code, outfits with spaghetti straps will need to be worn with a cover, and the length of skirts must be no shorter than three inches above the knee.
For men: Dress shirts, polos and/or sweaters. Ties are optional. Dress or casual pants with belt, excluding blue jeans and/or athletic wear.
No denim blue jeans are allowed except on spirit dress Fridays or as determined by Principal or Supervisor.
Shorts and tank tops are not permitted.
Shoes must be worn.
Spirit Dress Fridays: Nice denim jeans without holes or fraying can be worn with LCS spirit wear which can be purchased in the school store. LCS program shirts can also be worn.
Hair: Hair should be neat and well-groomed. Facial hair is permitted. Faculty and staff are to follow similar guidelines as our student handbook guidelines which includes typical natural colors. Rainbow colors are not allowed.
Tattoos and Piercings: Tattoos and piercings are allowed. Please make reasonable effort to minimize distraction.
Coaching, PE and Facilities staff should dress in appropriate attire for their respective positions.
Sick Leave, Personal Leave, and Other Absences
All time off; planned or not planned, must be entered into Paycor (staff) or Frontline Education (faculty). It is the employee’s responsibility to request time off. Both Paycor and Frontline Education have apps that you can download to make your requests. You can also go to the Landmark Portal page on your computer to access each of these websites.
Sick and Personal Leave Defined
Faculty and 11-month staff have 5 sick and 3 personal days each year. Full-time 12-month staff have 5 sick and 3 personal days plus 10 vacation days for less than 5 years of service and 15 vacation days after completion of 5 years of service. Sick days cannot be used for vacation. There is no carryover of any form of PTO (including sick, personal or vacation days). Landmark Christian School does not pay out any remaining sick, personal or vacation days remaining at the end of the school or fiscal year.
Landmark has created an emergency leave bank for extenuating circumstances. All sick, personal and vacation days must be used before you can request any days from the emergency leave bank. Requests for these days must be done in writing (email) and submitted to the HR department in advance of the dates requested. The senior leadership team will review the requests and the HR department will notify in writing the approval or denial of the request. HR will submit information to the Payroll and Benefits Manager to enter into the payroll system.
New employees: Sick and personal days are considered fully accrued after ninety (90) days of continuous employment. Before the 90-day full accrual of PTO is reached, PTO is considered accrued on the following basis:
01-30 days continuous employment – no allowable PTO
31-60 days continuous employment – 1/3 of annual allowable PTO
61-89 days continuous employment – 2/3 of annual allowable PTO
Returning employees: PTO days are considered fully accrued for the year at the beginning of each school year.
Approval of sick and personal days:
All faculty (teachers and teacher assistants) should request sick leave as soon as possible upon knowing that you will be unable to come to work. You will need to request a sub in the Frontline Education system. Upon doing so a sub request (if needed) will be generated and a sick leave notification will be sent to your supervisor. The supervisor will approve the sick leave and it will generate an absence and automatically be sent to Paycor during payroll processing. Anyone receiving an invitation to the Frontline Education System should use Frontline for all leave requests.
Principals need to limit the number of personal days taken on any particular date within their schools. Personal and vacation days immediately prior to or immediately following school holidays shall generally not be granted, except under extenuating circumstances. Those days will be blocked within Frontline Education and will require advance approval from your school principal who will then notify your school’s Frontline Administrator to make an exception in the system. Personal days should not be scheduled on staff development or staff workdays. Sick leave used for unexpected illness or injury will not require pre-approval. However, any leave for scheduled surgeries, personal time, or family events must have prior approval from your supervisor.
12 Month Staff – All sick, personal or vacation days (12-month staff) must be requested through Paycor. Please notify your supervisor as soon as possible if you need to take sick leave. Personal and vacation days should be requested at least a week in advance if possible.
Supervisors need to limit the number of personal or vacation days taken on any particular date within their departments. Personal and vacation days immediately prior to or immediately following school holidays shall generally not be granted, except under extenuating circumstances. Personal and vacation days should not be scheduled on staff development or staff workdays. Sick leave used for unexpected illness or injury will not require pre-approval. However, any leave for scheduled surgeries, personal time, or family events must have prior approval from your supervisor.
Maternity leave: Landmark Christian School does not provide for paid maternity leave. You are entitled to FMLA (see below). Please see the Director of Human Resources for more information regarding your options. You will be eligible to file for short-term disability, where you will be able to receive 2 or 3 weeks of disability at 60% of gross wages.
Compensatory time: Landmark Christian School has no policy for compensatory time off (time off granted because an employee worked when he or she did not have to – on an off-day, a weekend day, or a holiday). However, individual supervisors of twelve-month employees whose employees have some seasonality to their workload may, at the individual supervisor’s sole discretion, informally grant occasional compensatory time off to deserving employees.
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Under the FMLA, an employee is entitled to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid leave, with a guarantee of return to his or her job or equivalent. Please reach out to the HR Department for assistance with FMLA.
Sick and Personal Leave for faculty and ten and eleven-month staff are as follows:
1-day-per-week-employees – 1 day of sick leave – No personal leave
2-day-per-week-employees – 2 days of sick leave – No personal leave • 3-day-per-week-employees – 3 days of sick leave – 1 day of personal leave • 4-day-per-week-employees – 4 days of sick leave – 2 days of personal leave • 5-day-per-week-employees – 5 days of sick leave – 3 days of personal leave
Amount and types of PTO for Twelve-Month Staff:
1-day-per-week-employees – 1 day of sick leave, No personal leave, No vacation days 2-day-per-week-employees – 2 days of sick leave, No personal leave, No vacation days 3-day-per-week-employees – 3 days of sick leave, 1 day personal leave, 6 vacation days
4-day-per-week-employees – 4 days of sick leave, 2 days personal leave, 8 vacation days
5-day-per-week-employees – 5 days of sick leave, 3 days personal leave, 10 vacation days
After completion of five years’ continuous service, a 3-day-per-week twelve-month employee will receive three (3) additional vacation days each year, for a total of 9 vacation days annually. After completion of five years’ continuous service, a 4-day-per-week twelve-month employee will receive four (4) additional vacation days each year, for a total of 12 vacation days annually. After completion of five years’ continuous service, a 5-day-per-week twelve-month employee will receive five (5) additional vacation days each year, for a total of 15 vacation days annually.
Jury Duty
All full-time employees are covered under this policy. Part-time and seasonal employees and contractors are not covered. Landmark Christian School will continue full pay and benefits to eligible employees that are required to serve on a jury. If the term of service continues beyond 20 working days, the employee will be required to take any accumulated sick, personal or vacation time accrued.
Any eligible employee served with a notice to appear for jury duty must submit this notice to the Business Office and notify his/her supervisor in writing, both within 7 days of receipt of notice. Faculty must enter the sub request in Frontline Education and should enter the request as jury duty. This absence will not create an absence in Paycor.
Military Reserve Duty
All full-time employees are covered under this policy. Part-time and seasonal employees and contractors are not covered.
Recognizing that certain Landmark employees may serve our country through active duty in the Reserves, our policy shall be to allow up to ten (10) days paid leave, in addition to the Reservist’s normal vacation time and scheduled holidays, for annual tours of duty required by such active service. In all such cases, 12-month employees utilizing such leave are strongly encouraged, where possible, to exert all reasonable effort to minimize such leave by scheduling their tours of duty to correspond with school breaks. All 10-month employees are likewise encouraged, where possible, to schedule such tours of duty during the summer break.
Lunches, Breaks, and Going Off Campus
Staff: As a general rule, meal periods and rest breaks are not allowed to be accumulated or substituted for late arrival or early departure. Meal periods of 30 minutes are provided for each non-faculty employee. Two 15-minute rest breaks, one in each four-hour period, are also provided each workday for staff in the Facilities Department. Lunch is available on all days of normal operation (not including summer); however, employees are not required to remain on campus for lunch. Meal periods and rest breaks are not paid and do not count in the satisfaction of an 8-hour workday.
Faculty: Follow the student class schedule for breaks and lunches. Faculty must sign in/out when leaving/returning campus during the day. This allows us to be aware of any coverage that may be needed in the event you are delayed in your return to campus.
Hourly Employees: Overtime and Time Reporting
Only approved overtime will be paid, and it must be authorized by the immediate supervisor before it is worked. Only actual hours worked will be considered in the calculation of overtime pay (i.e., holidays, sick leave, vacation, or personal hours will not be considered in the calculation of overtime pay). All hourly workers are required to keep their hours in the Paycor Mobile app. You will need to report to the Payroll and Benefits Manager to get a username and password. Your supervisor will approve your hours in the app prior to each payroll.
Summer Coaching for Twelve-Month Employees
Twelve-month employees may not be paid in addition to your salary for summer coaching during your regularly scheduled work hours. Private coaching on our campus is not allowed. Exceptions may be made by the Head of School.
Weapons and Controlled Substances
Weapons
If you are a weapons carry license holder, Georgia law states that you can enter onto school property with a firearm in a locked compartment inside your vehicle while on campus property as long as you have your carry permit with you. Only employees requiring the use of a firearm in their job description are allowed to bring a firearm into campus buildings.
Tobacco Free School
Landmark Christian School is a tobacco, vaping, and smoke-free school. Use of any of these products on school property or during any school-sponsored event is prohibited for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
Drug Free Statement
Landmark Christian School is a drug and alcohol-free work environment. Landmark Christian School reserves the right to test any employee randomly for the presence of illegal drugs, controlled substances, or alcohol.
Drug Testing
Landmark Christian School prohibits the use of any illegal drug or controlled substance without first obtaining a medically acceptable prescription to use that drug or substance. By signing the Acknowledgement Form contained at the end of this Handbook, you agree that Landmark Christian School can require you to submit to random drug testing. If you test positive for any illegal drugs or controlled substances and cannot produce a medically acceptable prescription dated prior to the test, you may be terminated. Any information regarding the use of drugs or controlled substances by any individual, and the test results of any individual, will be maintained in strict confidence by Landmark Christian School to the extent that such confidentiality is practical or lawful.
What To Do When Conflict Arises
At times, situations arise when teams experience conflict. While this can take many forms, our process to resolve conflict remains consistent.
Conflict Resolution Process
Step 1
When offense occurs, the person offended seeks resolution directly with the person who offended them.
Step 2
If a resolution is not found, the issue is brought to the immediate supervisor’s attention.
Step 3
From there, the matter is taken to the school principal, HR, or COO for a final decision.
Grievance Policy
The integrity of the conflict resolution process relies on the steps above. However, extenuating circumstances, such as issues involving a significant moral breach or conflict with one’s supervisor, may require the immediate escalation of the process. The Head of School retains the decision to forego specific steps when necessary. In such cases, employees with a work-related complaint may submit a written description of the problem to the Head of School. (In the case of a complaint against the Head of School, it should be submitted to the Director of Human Resources and the Chairman of the Board.) A copy of the written description may be given to any other party to the grievance, including the subject of the complaint. After receiving any such complaint, and after consulting with the parties involved and gathering the necessary information and opinions, the Head of School, CFO, Director of HR, or where appropriate, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, will respond to the parties involved in the complaint within three business days.
Harassment and Sexual Harassment
Employee conduct is expected to be above reproach.
Harassment may include, but is not limited to:
- Verbal or written abuse, including slurs, jokes, or negative stereotyping;
- Unwelcome physical contact or gestures;
- Display of offensive materials, images, or symbols;
- Intimidation or threats;
- Repeated unwelcome comments or advances (particularly of a sexual nature).
It is the responsibility of all employees to help maintain a healthy work environment. When inappropriate activity is suspected, the employee should voice the concern immediately by going to his/her supervisor or the Director of Human Resources, who will, in turn, take the matter to the Head of School.
No Soliciting Policy
Landmark Christian School has a “no soliciting” policy. This means that all forms of product display or general soliciting of the faculty, staff, or students are forbidden on the premises, whether by a visiting merchant or employee. Anyone found on campus soliciting should be immediately escorted off campus. Employees will not solicit for business not associated with an event approved under this policy.
Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the CFO/COO or Head of School.
Bloodborne Pathogens Policy
The purpose of the OSHA standard on bloodborne pathogens is to prevent and minimize the hazards associated with occupational exposure to body fluids and other potentially infectious materials.
In emergency situations, caregivers are responsible for administering first aid and providing immediate, temporary help until professionals arrive. If possible, the school’s policy is for the injured employees or students to clean their own wounds.
As a basic measure to protect employees from contact with blood and other potentially infectious body fluids, caregivers will observe the following precautions in emergency situations.
- Use gloves and other personal protective equipment to prevent skin and mucous membrane exposure to blood or other body fluids.
- Wash hands and other surfaces immediately and thoroughly with soap and water for not less than 10 seconds, irrigate exposed membranes with water (i.e., eyes)
- Wash hands immediately after gloves are removed.
- Use extreme care when handling, cleaning, or disposing of sharp instruments.
- Use protective equipment such as mouth-to-mouth tubes in any situation for which CPR may be required.
Document and report any exposure or injury to the Health and Wellness Coordinator, who will, in turn, notify Administration. (Forms are located in the clinic at each school.)
Accident and Injury Reporting Procedures
In the event of an accident or injury on the property of Landmark Christian School, a report of all circumstances relative to the accident or injury should be submitted in writing to the employee’s supervisor, the school nurse, and forwarded to the CFO/COO as appropriate.
Activity Request and Facility Use
All on-campus activity and facility requests must be submitted online through School Dude at least two weeks in advance.
Technology Use
Appropriate use of technology resources will support the mission, goals, and policies of Landmark Christian School. Activities unrelated to staff job requirements, learning, teaching, scholarly and professional development for faculty, and course requirements for students are inappropriate.
Faculty should limit personal calls and general cell phone use (including checking social media) to lunch and planning periods. Staff should keep personal calls to a minimum.
Social Networking Policy
Faculty, staff, administrators and other adults acting on behalf of Landmark Christian School are discouraged from initiating or accepting requests (including text messaging) from current students (of any age) or former students under the age of 18.
Employees should refrain from using social media or blogging sites for personal use during work hours. In no case may the use of social media or resources impede the employee’s completion of work duties and responsibilities to the school and our students.
All confidential school information must be protected and may be disclosed only pursuant to school policy or as otherwise required by law. No social media or blog posts may communicate any confidential information at any time.
Landmark has established a social media presence for development, alumni relations, marketing and other school related purposes. All postings to these sites will be initiated under the direction of the Marketing and Communications Department. To submit a photo/video for posting to the official Landmark social media accounts, please send high quality images or video and a caption to: [email protected]. All use of school-sponsored social media sites will be conducted under a separate policy established specifically for that purpose.
Landmark is a brand. No one is permitted to open a social media account on behalf of Landmark or use the school’s logo, trademarks, official photographs, image or likeness, or any other intellectual property or proprietary material in any postings without the written consent of the Marketing and Communication Department. To help spread good works, we expect faculty and staff to engage with (like, comment, share, retweet, tag, check-in, etc.) the official Landmark social media accounts.
The school reserves the right to monitor employee electronic communications and activities that are transmitted through school networks and/or using school provided equipment to protect the school, its students, employees and other community members from potential harm, liability or other risk.
Cafeteria Discount
Employees receive a 50% discount on cafeteria meal purchases. These discounts are only available to employees and are not provided to employee family members or guests of the employee. To receive this discount, you must set up a lunch account. Information on how to set up your account is available on the Landmark portal.
Motor Vehicle Records Check
Any full-time or part-time employee of Landmark Christian School who drives a school-owned vehicle and transports students in a school-owned vehicle must submit annually to a motor vehicle records check.
Media Requests
Should such a circumstance arise, employees should defer all requests for statements from the media to the Head of School, CFO/COO, and Director of Marketing and Communications for a response.
Marketing and Communications Approval
The Marketing and Communications (MARCOM) office serves to present and protect the Landmark identity and ensures that all external and internal branding and communications convey the Landmark brand and messaging and meet a consistent standard of excellence. This applies to all printed and digital materials and any image directly or indirectly depicting Landmark Christian School. This includes but is not limited to representation of Landmark on banners, stationery, apparel, brochures, digital copy, website, social media, etc. Approval of such must be acquired from the MARCOM office prior to project initiation.
FERPA
The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974/Buckley Amendment is the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and identifies the rights of students with respect to their education records kept by institutions. For K-12 institutions, student educational records can only be released to the student or the student’s lawful guardians. Release to any other entity can only be done with the written permission of the student’s lawful guardian.
Keys, Badges, and Security Codes
All Landmark keys and badges are the property of Landmark. Faculty and staff are responsible for the safekeeping of keys and digital access that is issued to them. Faculty and staff should not loan Landmark keys or badges to anyone and are not to make copies of Landmark keys. There will be a $25 charge for lost keys or badges. Faculty and staff members with alarm codes should not share their codes.
Chapel
Chapels are an integral part of the Landmark experience. As such, teachers are required to attend chapel. This is not optional. Permission to miss chapel may be granted by your supervisor if extenuating circumstances should arise. No students are to be held out of chapel for any make up work or exams to be completed or for a discipline issue. We encourage staff members to attend chapels as time permits.
Energy Conservation
Cooling: Use the thermostat to regulate the temperature during the day and turn the units off at the end of the day. The temperature should not be set below 74 degrees.
Heating: At the end of the day, turn the fan to the low position and set the thermostat to the middle setting. The temperature should not be set above 72 degrees.
Lights: Leave lights on when you leave the classroom for 10 minutes or less; turn lights off if you will be gone longer than 10 minutes.
Security and Doors
Teachers should lock classrooms whenever they leave them unattended. Exterior doors should never be left propped open.
Fundraising Activities
All fundraising activities must be pre-approved by the Director of Advancement and the Head of School.
Mailboxes and Email
Employees are responsible for any information covered in faculty/staff meetings or distributed in their mailboxes. Email will be used frequently, and employees are expected to check for important announcements that come through email daily. Employees are expected to respond appropriately to email communications within one business day. Faculty and staff should check their mailboxes each day.
