Policies

Below you will find the Lahr-Well Academy School Policies. The purpose of this handbook is to clearly state the day-to-day operating policies and procedures of Lahr-Well Academy as they apply to our students.

Campus Hours

The school is opened from 7:30 AM – 3:15 PM on days when school is in session. However, to ensure our students’ safety, the main door will be locked after 8:00 AM. Anyone desiring entrance after 8:00 AM will ring the office for admittance (by a staff member) and may be required to show ID upon entrance.

Students are rarely permitted to enter their classrooms or walk through the building without a staff member present. Therefore, students shall remain in the Multi-Purpose Room until their core teacher has called them, as a group, to their classroom.

Anyone needing access to the school outside of these hours should make individual arrangements with School Staff.

Campus Visits

To ensure our students’ safety and keep class disruptions to a minimum, all visitors, including parents, are required to sign in at the office prior to entering other portions of the building. Anyone desiring entrance after 8:00 AM will ring the office for admittance (by a staff member) and may be required to show ID upon entrance. Visitors must also sign-out before exiting the building.

Attendance

Students are expected to arrive by 7:50 AM in order to prepare themselves for their school day.

If a student is to be absent from school, a parent or guardian is responsible for calling the school by 9:00 AM and notifying office personnel of the absence.

A one-day absence may be considered excused, upon verification from a parent or guardian. However, if a student misses more than one day of school in a regular school week or more than three (3) days in any quarter, a medical doctor’s written note will be required in order for continued absence(s) to be excused. Required homework is expected to be completed as soon as possible after an absence, with due dates assigned by the student’s core teacher.

Each unexcused absence requires a 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM Saturday morning detention, accompanied by a $25 fee per occurrence, regardless of attendance. Failure to attend Saturday morning detention will be considered an additional unexcused absence and will carry an additional penalty of ineligibility for the next class/field trip. On the fourth unexcused absence, all quarter grades will be lowered one letter value (Level IV students only). Additionally, all quarter grades will be lowered one letter value for each additional unexcused absence after the fourth unexcused absence.

No work may be submitted for an unexcused absence. All grades issued on days of unexcused absences will be zeroes. (See Discipline Procedures.)

Tardiness

Students who arrive late for class will serve time missed plus a 5-minute penalty during their physical education time. (If a student is 3 minutes late, he or she will receive an 8-minute penalty from physical education.) Students arriving late must check-in at the office in order to be admitted to class. Students shall receive a tardy slip which must then be signed by a parent or guardian and returned the following day.

Three tardies shall equal one unexcused absence. Each unexcused absence requires a 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM Saturday morning detention, accompanied by a $25 fee per occurrence, regardless of attendance. Failure to attend Saturday morning detention will be considered an additional unexcused absence and will carry an additional penalty of ineligibility for the next class/field trip. On the fourth unexcused absence, all quarter grades will be lowered one letter value (Level IV students only). Additionally, all quarter grades will be lowered one letter value for each additional unexcused absence after the fourth unexcused absence.

No work may be submitted for an unexcused absence. All grades issued on days of unexcused absences will be zeroes. (See Discipline Procedures.)

Chronic tardiness is the equivalent of truancy and will be treated as such.

Student Drop Off / Pickup

For the safety of our students, we maintain a one-way, south-to-north traffic flow in the parking lot.

Morning Drop-Off: Please enter the parking lot on the south side, from W Fourth St. Travel north toward the main entrance, stopping in front of main entrance. Please ensure that students in your care have safely entered the building before leaving the parking lot. Exit by continuing to drive north, turning right onto H St.

Afternoon Pick-Up: Please enter the parking lot on the south side, from W Fourth St. Form two lines of traffic in the parking lot. Parents may park cars (on the east or west sides of the parking lot) and wait outside main entrance, if desired. Students will be dismissed to waiting parents. Traffic will be dismissed by school staff when students and parents have returned to cars.

Parents should provide a list of people who have permission to pick up their child(ren) from school. ID verification may be required of anyone picking up a student and should be expected if staff is unfamiliar with the person picking up a student. Students should be familiar with the person picking them up and should be able to introduce that person to staff.

Levels I and II pickup is scheduled for 2:30-2:45 PM. Charges of $5 per minute, per child, may be incurred for late pickup.

Severe Weather / Emergency Procedures

In the event that school needs to be cancelled (for the day) due to severe weather conditions, Lahr-Well Academy will make a decision to close no later than 5:00 AM on the date in question. Severe-weather closings will be emailed to parents, and will be broadcast on most local television stations — as Edwardsville District 7 weather closings. (Be certain to check your Academy email for a differentiation in weather/temperature closings.)

We shall make every effort not to cancel once school is in session for the day; however, in rare circumstances where it would seem to be in students’ best interest to be dismissed early due to severe weather or other circumstances beyond our control, parents will be notified by email.

Lahr-Well Academy maintains additional severe-weather and emergency practices. The school will monitor severe weather during school. Students will go to designated “safe” areas during tornado warnings and will NOT be dismissed during a tornado warning. Should a tornado warning be in effect at the end of a school day, we request, also for parents’ safety, that pickup be postponed until the warning has been cancelled.

Fire and Tornado drills will be practiced at least twice during each school year. Evacuation plans are posted in hallways.

Required Medical Exams

Medical examinations, including vision and dental examinations, and proper immunizations are required of all pupils entering kindergarten or first, fifth, and ninth grades unless religious practices prohibit immunizations. Such reasoning must be documented by parents in writing.

School Etiquette

Students are expected to treat other students and staff with the same respect with which they would expect to be treated. Students should speak respectfully and when asked…as opposed to speaking out of turn or insubordinately.

Students are expected to treat our school with the same respect they would treat their homes. Anyone caught littering or defacing (including graffiti, doodling, and other forms of disfiguration) school property or the property of anyone else, will be responsible for the damage and will be compelled to repair such damage and/or pay for its replacement. (See Discipline Procedures.)

Prohibited behavior includes, but may not be limited to:

Electronics

Use of electronics is not permitted on campus. No cell phones, iPods, iPads, laptops or other electronic devices are permitted unless expressly requested by staff. Electronics will be collected and returned, daily, by each core instructor.

Dress Code

Uniforms are required 5 days a week. Standard uniform requirements are:

Boys

Uniform shirts MUST be ordered through the Academy
Navy or black uniform shorts or slacks
Navy or black belt
Navy or black trouser socks with pants; white, navy or black socks with shorts (above the ankle)
Solid black closed shoes (no other colors on shoes)
Navy or black uniform sweater or uniform sweatshirt (purchased from the school), as weather permits
Hair cut and combed neatly and above the collar, and not obscuring any portion of the face
Clean-shaven with no facial hair

Girls

Uniform shirts MUST be ordered through the Academy
Navy or black uniform shorts, skirt, jumper or slacks
Navy or black belt
White, navy or black socks (above the ankle) with shorts, skirt, jumper or slacks; white, navy or black knee socks or tights with skirt or jumper
Solid black closed shoes (no other colors on shoes)
Navy or black uniform sweater or uniform sweatshirt (purchased from the school), as weather permits
Hair cut and combed neatly and not obscuring any portion of the face

Additionally, students may wear a watch. Girls may wear non-distracting hair accessories and non-dangling earrings. Additional jewelry should be kept to a minimum. Any accessories found to be distracting will be removed.

Clothing must be UNIFORM-style

Shirts, pants, shorts, skirts, etc., that meet color requirements but are non UNIFORM-styles are not acceptable. Shorts, skirts and jumpers must reach at least to mid-thigh for all students. Young students may wear knit shorts under their uniforms as long as those shorts are not visible. Colored undergarments or layered clothing, visible under uniforms, are not acceptable!

Students are not permitted to wear non-uniform clothing on campus. With the exception of the correction of uniform violations, students are not permitted to change clothes on campus, either before or after school. Students should arrive and leave in their uniforms.

Prohibited Items

The following items will not be allowed. Any items confiscated will be returned only to a parent or guardian:

Tattooing, body-piercing, or other body-marking
Distracting hairstyles
Hats, “do-rags”
Sunglasses
Distracting jewelry or accessories of any kind
Non-uniform sweatshirts or hoodies
Sagging slacks, skirts or shorts that expose any portion of an undergarment
Any other item as determined by School Staff

Field Trip Uniforms

For field trips only, students will wear orange t-shirts with the Lahr-Well Academy logo, to be purchased from the school, instead of their white shirts; and tennis shoes with laced or Velcro closures, instead of their regular uniform shoes. Shoes with holes for laces must have laces. Slip-on (tennis) shoes are not acceptable.

Dress Code Violations

Parents will be notified if a student violates uniform dress code. The student will either be sent home or wait in the office to obtain proper uniform attire and correct the uniform. Any class time missed due to uniform violations will be considered unexcused. The student will receive a “zero” for any and all assignments given during unexcused absences. (See Discipline Procedures.)

Lunch / Special Events

Lahr-Well Academy does not provide lunch, snacks or drink service. Students are responsible for bringing their own lunches to school, with the exception of the last Friday of each month when pizza is available for purchase. All food should be pre-cut, as knives are not permitted. All necessary dishware, spoons, forks, and napkins should be included with the student’s lunch.

Lunch containers should have the student’s name clearly displayed and should not require additional heating or refrigeration. Personal coolers or hot packs are acceptable.

We encourage students to eat healthy foods and request that soda and sugary snacks be eliminated from lunches. Students who eat and drink high-sugar lunches are frequently sluggish in the afternoons! We also encourage parents and students to be thoughtful of the environment when packing lunches and to use reusable or recyclable packaging when possible.

Parents are allowed to share lunch with their children in the cafeteria but should keep visits to once a month. Lunch and physical education time are important socialization times for our students. Lunch visits should be prearranged with the student’s core teacher, and parents must sign-in and sign-out at the office upon arrival and departure.

Students are not allowed to leave campus for lunch and are not permitted to order-in lunches.

Students are permitted to share snacks with their classes for birthdays. Arrangements should be made with the student’s core teacher prior to the birthday. Snacks normally will be shared in the student’s core classroom only, not with the entire school. Snacks will generally be shared at the end of the school day.

Class Size & Population

Lahr-Well Academy is organized into four levels, with typical populations as follows:

Levels I & II, and Levels III & IV may be combined if the total of both classes, combined, is 15 or fewer students. Should these classes be combined, students will have distinguishing class expectations and activities.

Report Cards & Grades

Report cards are issued for Level IV students at the end of each quarter.

High school-aged students are required to maintain a
3.5 GPA per semester, based on a 5.0 scale.

Failure to maintain a 3.5 GPA per semester can constitute grounds for expulsion.

The scale will be as follows:

Homework / Parent Signatures

All students are expected to complete their homework on a daily basis.

Each student will have a folder which he or she uses to carry his or her work.

Pages that have been completed and are ready for parent signature shall be stapled and placed on the left side of the folder. Parents should review and sign this package of papers every night. These packages must be returned the next day. Pages/packages returned without parent signature will continue to be sent home until they are signed by a parent. Completed, graded, signed pages/packages will then be placed in the student’s completion file to be sent home (permanently) at the end of the quarter.

Homework pages will be placed on the right side of the folder. Students are expected to complete their homework, on a daily basis, to the best of their ability (with or without parental assistance).

Students who do not submit completed homework will have to stay in at lunch and physical education time to finish their homework. Repeated offenses will warrant $25.00 Saturday morning detentions. (See Discipline Procedures.)

Class Life / Expectations

Each student will receive, as a supplement to this handbook, a list of expectations in his or her class. Students and parents are required to follow these guidelines and to sign a covenant to adhere to the rules established by Lahr-Well Academy … to the best of their ability.

Graduation / Advancement

All Academy students must study world history, American History, world geography, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering, art through world history, music appreciation through world history, five foreign languages (Chinese / French / German / Italian / Spanish … on a three-year rotation), macro & micro economics, composition, and computer-programming.

Additionally, a tailored curriculum is built for every student (gifted, average, learning-disabled) that includes math (algebra, geometry, calculus or pre-trigonometry), math word problems, English, map skills, and critical thinking. Those students in the upper grades are also required to study world literary masterpieces and world philosophy.

Students entering high school level, or transferring into Lahr-Well Academy as a home-schooled student, or from another private, parochial, or traditional high school, enter into a unique situation. Lahr-Well Academy does not graduate students on the number of high school credits earned from another system. The Academy graduates students on their performance at the Academy, a solid GPA, as well as good results on their standardized tests, as well as the nationally-standardized IOWA Basic, ACT and SAT.

On occasion students graduate early from the Academy. This happens for students who, as exceptional achievers, maintain their Academy requirements while also earning an A or B in math or science (on-campus) at a college or university. (These classes must be taken at a time other than Academy instructional hours.)

Standardized Testing

Nationally-standardized tests will be administered during the first week of each school year and at the end of the fall semester.

Additionally, the IOWA Basic, ACT & SAT will be administered during the fourth quarter.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Teachers and Parents are in daily communication via homework folders; however, Parent-Teacher conference weeks will be held at the end of the first and third quarters. These weeks will be listed on the school calendar. Schedules will be available by mid-quarter for sign-up. Conferences will be attended, minimally, by the student’s parent(s), and the core teacher.

Additional parent/teacher conferences may be requested by a parent, teacher, or staff member at any time during the school year.

Student Discipline Procedures

The full list of infractions and disciplinary actions is available on the Student Discipline Procedures page.

Bullying Policy

Under 105 ILCS 5/27- 23.7, all public school districts, non-sectarian nonpublic schools, and charter schools in Illinois are required to develop and implement policies concerning bullying prevention. View our Bullying Policy page for full details.