School Advisory Council 2011-2012      

In addition to our full time staff of classroom teachers, we have a principal, secretary, clerical aide, two custodians, a full-time nurse, two kitchen staff, four lunch aides, and a library aide. Special subject teachers work with children in the areas of physical education, art and music.

Special education and support staff includes the following:

• Language arts specialists provide extra small group or individaulized instruction to children in need of reading support.
• The speech and language therapist consults with teachers and provides services for students whose Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) indicates a special need in this area.
• The resource teacher and professional aides provide services to students with IEPs designating special education services. Resource teachers also observe and consult with classroom teachers concerning students with possible special needs or learning difficulties.
• Our guidance counselor (part-time) consults with teachers and parents and sees students individually or in groups around their social/emotional growth related to school functioning.
• The psychologist (shared between two schools) provides psychological services to students in need of such support and consults with staff and parents/guardians.
• The English as a Second Language (E.S.L.) tutor (part-time) provides tutoring for students who have been in this country for less than three years and who require support in acquiring English.

Guidelines for Email Use

Email communication is  common practice for many people.  School personnel have email accounts and do their best to check messages once a day.  Their primary focus however, is not their computer; it is their students.  They have very little time during the day to access and respond to email messages.  Although this form of communication is convenient, quick, and easy, it needs to be used carefully since the tone and intent can be misunderstood due to the lack of facial or voice cues.  Parents are asked to keep the following guidelines in mind as they write email messages to school staff:

• Email sent through a public account is not considered private communication between parties and as such, nothing of a sensitive nature should be disclosed in email messages.
• Email communications should be brief, concise, and if warranted, should be a request for a personal contact (phone call or note) if feedback is necessary.
• Email is not a substitute for a conference , nor should it be a problem-solving tool, especially when children and their learning issues are the topic.
• Time sensitive information should not be included in email messages as teachers may not be able to read or pass along, within the expected timeframe, information that has an impact on a child’s daily routine.
• Email communication should be used as needed.  It should not be a daily messaging tool used as a convenience.

At times, teachers and teaching teams may establish email protocols with families that are mutually agreeable and which support students.   It is important that we manage technology so that it remains a tool and not a replacement for individual conversations about students and their issues.