Getting Informed at STEM

Absence or Tardy

Truancy Tracking Process

1. Each week, admin members will receive a Truancy Tracking Report from our registrar.
2. First contact – after 3 unexcused absences (days); parents will receive a phone call home.
3. After 5 unexcused absences or 10% total – a letter will be sent home
4.  If a student has 10% or more excused/unexcused absences, additional communications will be sent home to set up an appointment for an Attendance Contract.

If a student fails to abide by the School Attendance Contract ​and has continued absences, a referral to the Student Assistance Department​ is made by the school for a potential Student Attendance Review Board hearing. Aside from the referring school representatives, t​he Board is made up of representatives from ​the following departments/agencies: Probation, WrapAround, Student Wellness, Health Services, Mental Health, Department of Human Services, ​At-risk and Expulsion Services, community-based truancy experts and the Juvenile Assessment Center. The purpose of this ​collaborative problem-solving team is to incorporate strength-based practices​ to increase family engagement, identify foundational roadblocks to attendance, and provide immediate resources. This panel examines the attendance situation and reviews the attendance contract with the student and family. If a student fails to abide by the district ​contract and has continued absences, a referral to the Douglas County courts for truancy will be filed by the Douglas County School District attorney. For truancy questions, contact Deb Kaufman at 303-387-0705.

Students will need to be signed out by a parent at the respective office (Elementary or Secondary). The steps below outline the steps to follow in order to cause the least amount of disruption to the classroom:

• Secondary:
  1. Pick your student up during the passing period. (Secondary)
  2. Send a signed note in with your Secondary student to receive an Early Dismissal Pass from the front office (students will be able to show this to their teacher before class begins, and leave at the appropriate time).
• Elementary:
  1. Call ahead to the Front Office so that they are aware that you are coming.
  2. Elementary students will be released upon the arrival of their parents.

NO unscheduled early pickups are allowed after 1:15 p.m. This is to minimize disruption to the last period of the day. Additionally, for Elementary, please avoid picking up your student after 2 p.m. so that you are not impeding the Elementary Driveline. For Secondary, please avoid picking up your student after 2:30 p.m. so that you are not impeding the Secondary Driveline.

Raptor

In the event DCSD determines that the district should follow the Delayed Opening protocol, our school will abide by its Virtual School Day Policy (from the STEM Handbook).

• Snow Day – Douglas County Schools (check www.dcsdk12.org) calls a snow day – school is closed.
• Late Start Day – Douglas County Schools calls a Late Start day – school is closed and implements a Virtual School Day.
• All Schools Open – Douglas County Schools declare Highlands Ranch area schools open – our school is open and operating to our regular schedule.

Virtual Days Q&A

• What is a Virtual School Day? The school is closed and our students complete work from home.
• Where do we find the assignments? Faculty will advise students where to find the Virtual School Day assignments. Teachers will clearly label what the student is expected to do that will be equivalent to a class period.
• If my student is ill or cannot make it to school for some reason, may I choose to let him or her participate in a Virtual Day? Virtual Days must be approved through the Virtual Day Application process. Please see the office for the request form.
• Is this similar to Virtual Fridays? Yes! Just like our Virtual Friday students, when the completed assignment is uploaded, the student is coded “activity” and not absent. We will count this as an instructional day similar to a field excursion.
• Must students stay home on Virtual School days to complete the assignment? Students do not need to remain at home but the school will be closed; however, the student must submit the assignment according to the due date/time as indicated by the teacher.
• What if our Internet is out or we do not have Internet at home? If the student does not have Internet due to weather or other reason, students will have a few days to complete the work.
• If DCSD calls a snow day, do we still have a Virtual School Day? No. Snow day means the school is closed and no work is required.
• If DCSD calls a Late Start Day, will school be open? No, school will be closed, but students will be required to do their work via our Virtual School Day requirements.

About Virtual Days

The idea for Virtual School Days is partially derived from our successful experiences with “Virtual Fridays” for students who commute long distances, are on ski teams or need flexibility due to other family needs. Virtual Days will:

• Minimize the Impact of Reduced Classroom Time – Minimize the craziness of reduced classroom learning time that occurs on late start days. Shortened classes do not allow for our usual in-depth studies and impact our academic focus.
• Reinforce Evolving 21st Century Workplace Skills – Expose our students to a common, 21st Century, professional workplace dynamic involving productive, flexible, and accountable remote work just like many adults today. This evolves our goal of building independent students who work effectively anywhere, anytime, which is more important than ever at universities and employers today. For many professions, “going to work” will be a poorly understood concept in the near future.
• Promote Safety by Reducing Highway Risk, Stress and Chaos – Reduce parent and staff risk dealing with getting to our campus when our weather creates bad travel situations. About 50 percent of our families live in eight other school districts with some commuting over 50 miles each way from all corners of the Denver metro area and Colorado Springs.
• Negate High Absentee Rates – We have observed that late start days have a high absentee rate for students and staff because of highway conditions. When so many are absent, teachers are often reluctant to teach new material and use the time to review material and work on long-term projects and it is difficult to get substitutes to cover the teachers unable to drive to our school.
• Reduce Driveline Problems – Morning and afternoon drivelines take twice as long when we have a late start day, plus it gets short staffed, again because of highway concerns.

We will institute a Virtual School Day at our school when the Douglas County School District institutes a Late-Start Day. Our faculty will explain to students where to find their Virtual School Day assignments on Canvas. With a Virtual School Day, I understand that parents will express some concerns:

• Student will miss a school day. We are working in advance with our teachers to design Virtual School Day assignments to be rich and complex and more instructional compared to compressed Late Start Days. I am confident our staff will see this as an opportunity to again creatively evolve and advance our delivery model.
• Poor weather can impact Internet connections. If a student cannot log in to complete work from home, extended time will be given for completion and we will ask parents to let us know how their home connectivity was impacted.

We are closely monitoring our Virtual Days, but also want to emphasize to teachers and students that a Virtual School Day is not a snow day. It will be an instructional day just as our Virtual Fridays are for the many students who now use this option.

We will collect data from our teachers and all students will submit their work as evidence of participation. When Douglas County School District decides weather is significantly poor to delay the start by 90 minutes, a Late Start day, STEM School Highlands Ranch will be closed and all students will remain at home completing their Virtual School Day assignments.

STEM School Highlands Ranch Student Dress Code – 2022/23 School year

STEM School Highlands Ranch respects students’ rights to express themselves in the way they dress. All students who attend STEM School Highlands Ranch are also expected to respect the school community by dressing appropriately for a K-12 educational environment. Student attire should facilitate participation in learning as well as the health and safety of students and the adults who supervise them. The purpose is to provide and maintain a safe school environment that is conducive to student learning. The primary responsibility of the student’s attire rests with the student and their families. This policy is intended to provide guidance for students, staff, and parents.

Minimum Requirements:

1. Clothing must cover areas from one armpit across to the other armpit, down to approximately 3 to 4 inches in length on the upper thighs. Tops must have shoulder straps. Rips or tears in clothing should be lower than the 3 to 4 inches in length.
2. Shoes must be worn at all times and should be safe for the school environment (pajamas, bedroom shoes or slippers shall not be worn, except for school activities approved by the director).
3. See-through or mesh garments must not be worn without appropriate coverage underneath that meet the minimum requirements of the dress code.
4. Head accessories including hats, caps, and scarves are allowed. Eyes and ears must be visible at all times. (Cultural and religious exemptions may apply.) Hats must not be worn in conjunction with a mask so as to obstruct the face.
5. Specialized courses may require specialized attire, such as sports uniforms, closed toe shoes, or safety gear.

Additional Requirements:

1. Clothing may not depict, imply, advertise, or advocate illegal, violent, or lewd conduct, weapons, ammunition, or the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other controlled substances.
2. Clothing may not depict or imply pornography, nudity, or sexual acts.
3. Clothing may not display or imply vulgar, discriminatory, or obscene language or images.
4. Clothing may not state, imply, or depict hate speech/imagery targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or any other protected classification.
5. Sunglasses may not be worn inside the building.
6. Clothing and accessories that endanger student or staff safety may not be worn.
7. Apparel, jewelry, accessories, tattoos, or manner of grooming that, by virtue of its color, arrangement, trademark or any other attribute, denotes membership in a gang that advocates illegal or disruptive behavior is prohibited.
8. Student ID’s are considered a vital part of the dress code and are to be on the student at all times. Once lanyards are issued to students, the lanyard will be required to be visible on the student. It may be worn around the neck or displayed on the belt, with the ID card attached and visible from the front view.

STEM reserves the right to determine what constitutes appropriate dress. Students who do not adhere to these guidelines will be required to change in order to attend class. Parents will be called if appropriate clothing is not available or the student refuses dress-code appropriate clothing.

Cell Phone Policy for the 2022-23 School Year

1. Cell phones may be used on school grounds before school, during lunch, during passing periods, and after school.
2. Cell phone use is prohibited in classrooms, study halls, and restrooms, unless otherwise stated by a teacher.
3. Upon entrance to each class or study hall, students must turn off their cell phone and place it in their backpack.
4. If a student chooses to use their phone during class, the student will be assigned to place the phone in a cell phone pocket. (Please see below for the steps.)
5. If students need to place an emergency phone call during the day, they should request to go to the main office to use an office phone.
6. If a student needs to use the restroom, the student MUST place their phone in the designated area on or near the teacher’s desk.
7. Students will be subject to disciplinary action if the use of their cell phone disrupts the school’s educational environment. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: cheating, bullying, harassment, unlawful recording or photographing, violating other school rules. Further, it is prohibited to take another students’ picture or video without their consent.
8. If a student fails to follow the procedures, the student will be prohibited from having a cell phone at school.
9. STEM School Highlands Ranch and its staff are not responsible for damage to or theft of a student’s cell phone.

All teachers will teach responsible use of technology in their classrooms.

If students violate the school’s cell phone, the following may occur:

First offense:

1. The student’s cell phone will be confiscated by a staff member and the staff member will have a restorative conversation with the student. The conversation which will include a review of the cell phone policy.
2. The phone will then be placed in the classroom cell phone pocket or labeled and placed in “cell phone jail” until the end of class.

Second offense:

1. The student’s cell phone will be confiscated, labeled, and held in the main office cell phone jail until the end of the school day.
2. The student’s parents will be contacted and informed of the refusal to follow the school’s policy.
3. The student’s phone will be housed in a classroom pocket assigned by the teacher.

Third offense:

1. The student’s cell phone will be confiscated and held in the main office until the student’s parents are able to come to pick it up.
2. The student will receive an RZ and will be prohibited from bringing their phone to school OR required to check their phone in/out for two weeks.

Fourth offense:

1. The student’s cell phone will be confiscated and held in the main office until the student’s parents are able to come to pick it up.
2. The student will receive two days of RZ and will be prohibited from bringing their phone to school OR required to check their phone in/out for one month.

Fifth offense:

1. The student’s cell phone will be confiscated and held in the main office until the student’s parents are able to come to pick it up.
2. The student will receive one day of suspension and will be prohibited from bringing their phone to school OR required to check their phone in/out for the remainder of the semester.

**The administration reserves the right to adjust these consequences on a case-by-case basis if needed. For example, extreme behaviors that break the law or engage in bullying or harassment of other students may result in suspension.

***Please click here for the research and reasoning behind this policy.***