Dillard Drive Elementary School Policies and Procedures

Written excuses for all absences must be sent upon your child's return to school. The Wake County Public School System's policy states that if a student is absent, the parent/guardian must send a note stating the reason for the absence within two school days of the absence. If a note is not received within two days, the absence is considered unexcused (unlawful).

Illness documented by parent
Death in immediate family
Educational travel (Prior permission required)
Medical appointments
Court proceedings
Suspension
Expulsion
Religious proceedings
Quarantine

All other absences will be considered unexcused and work will not be made up.

The Southwest Wake YMCA provides an After School program on the campus of Dillard Drive Elementary School from school dismissal time until 6:00 p.m. Information about this program and its costs can be obtained from the YMCA. (657-9622) Several other daycare centers provide care for our students. Ask your daycare provider when enrolling if they provide transportation service for Dillard Drive students.

The school day begins at 9:15 a.m. and ends at 3:45 p.m. Students should not arrive before 8:45 a.m. unless they are enrolled in the early arrival program.

Car riders and day care van riders will be dismissed at 3:45 p.m. Bus riders will be dismissed as their designated bus arrives on campus.

Parents who wish to drive their child(ren) to school should unload your child at the sidewalk in front of the building.

Parents who wish to pick up their child(ren) should park in the car pool line. Your child will be assigned a car pool tag and you will be given a card with the name of your child(ren) on the card. Please have your car pool tag visible for the Dillard Drive staff to see.

No child will be permitted to ride home with another parent without written permission.

Classes begin at 9:15 a.m. If students arrive later than 9:15 a.m. they must be signed in at the office by parents.

Any student arriving later than 12:30 p.m. or leaving earlier than 12:30 p.m. will be considered absent for the day.

If your child should leave school during the day for routine matters (medical & dental appointments), a note should be sent to the teacher in advance. If someone other than a parent is to pick up a child, the parent MUST send a note in advance, authorizing the school to release the child to the person assigned to get your child.

If it is necessary for you to leave the area and withdraw your child from Dillard Drive Elementary, please follow this procedure.

Trips should be scheduled so that they do not interfere with school. If this is a necessity, parents should plan with the teacher in advance to obtain assignments.

Wake County Public School Board policy states that all activities that take place within the school during a school day should be based on a "learning experience" for the children and cannot be approved if they are purely for entertainment or for birthday recognition.

Parents wishing to bring birthday refreshments (i.e cookies, cake, etc) should make prior arrangements with the teacher. Refreshments need to be store bought. We ask that refreshments NOT contain nuts or peanut butter.

Listed below are rules and policies, which will be guidelines for expected behavior on our buses. Please go over these carefully with your child. The administration will send home a copy of all bus referrals so that parents will know when their child has misbehaved on the bus: Parent/guardian will need to sign these and return to school

Enter the bus and sit down QUIETLY.
Take your assigned seat, or sit as directed by the bus driver
Observe classroom conduct while riding. Loud or unusual behavior could distract the driver's attention and cause an accident.
Keep your hands and feet to yourself - NO hitting, kicking, fighting, or tripping.
Keep head, arms, and hands inside the bus.
Remain seated until the bus has stopped.
No eating on the bus.

Each driver will report violators of these rules. Steps to be taken are:

IN THE EVENT A STUDENT COMMITS A SERIOUS OFFENSE WHICH COULD CAUSE DANGER TO OTHERS OR HIMSELF/HERSELF, THAT STUDENT CAN BE SUSPENDED FROM RIDING THE BUS IMMEDIATELY.

Questions about bus stops and schedules should be directed to the transportation supervisor listed with the bus route. Concerns about a bus driver should be reported to the transportation supervisor. That number is 460-3517. Concerns about behavior should be directed to the Dillard Drive Administrators. Bus transportation is NOT provided for students who are on transfer to Dillard Drive Elementary.

Parents are not permitted to pull ahead in the line, park their car and come inside to get their child to avoid the long line. You will be asked to get back in your car and get in the car pool line. Please adhere to the instructions, as it will keep the car pool line running smoothly, safely, and quickly. Please respect the traffic pattern as it becomes dangerous to everyone when you don't.

Please be aware that if you need to check out a student before the 3:45 p.m. dismissal, you need to arrive in the office no later than 3:15 p.m. This allows us to clear the way for carpool to begin promptly at 3:45p.m.

Breakfast is available each morning from 8:45-9:10 a.m. Each class is assigned a lunch period. Parents are always welcomed to join their child for breakfast or lunch, but must sign in at the main office before doing so. Please do not bring in food from outside vendors as it competes with the cafeteria.

We encourage parents to prepay for lunch on Monday of each week. Please make sure you indicate your child's lunch number on the check or envelope. Parents have an option of paying for student meals in advance through the automatic payment system. Forms are available at each school.

The automatic payment system can be found here.

The monthly menus can be found here.

Students who forget their lunch money may borrow from the PTA fund. Such loans need to be repaid the following day. Students with outstanding loans will be given a lunch of unlimited fruits and vegetables.

If you are divorced (or separated) and have legal custody of your child through a court order (or deed of separation), please see that we have a copy of this document.

Please do not assume that school employees know about custody problems. Be sure we know if any family member is not to pick-up your child from school.

At least two conferences will be scheduled with each student's parent during the school year. To protect instructional time and to allow for supervision of children, parents are not allowed to go to the classrooms to conference with teachers, unless an appointment has been scheduled ahead of time. If you would like to schedule a conference, please leave a message through the office to have the teacher contact you.

The staff of Dillard Drive Elementary is of the belief that desirable behavior should be promoted through positive methods, whenever possible. When positive methods do not work, a misbehaving student will be removed from the classroom. If necessary, parents will be contacted at the time of removal. In case of serious misbehavior or behavior, which could result in danger to others or to the student himself/herself, procedures set up in the Wake County Schools Systems Student/Parent Handbook will be followed. Students will be sent to the office for hitting, using inappropriate language and disrupting class.

The Board of Education has adopted a dress code policy. Students are expected to adhere to standards of dress and appearance that are compatible with an effective learning environment. Presenting a bodily appearance or wearing clothing which is disruptive, provocative, revealing, profane, vulgar, offensive or obscene, or which endangers the health and safety of the student or others is prohibited. Examples of prohibited dress or appearance include but are not limited to the following:

Dillard Drive will participate in the Early Arrival Program if 25 students or more enroll. Parents are encouraged to make plans for alternate arrangements in the event we do not reach our required enrollment. The Early Arrival Program provides a safe environment for students from 7:00 a.m. to the beginning of school. If school opening is delayed due to inclement weather, the Before-School Program will be delayed for a period of time equivalent to the delay of the regular school day.

In case of inclement weather, announcements concerning school closing will be made by the news media by 6:00 a.m. If inclement weather begins during the day, please keep your radio or television on and listen for announcements.

Please give us emergency numbers where we can reach you or some other contact in case of an early closing that might apply to only our school (such as loss of power in winter). You will NOT be called if all schools close.

It is our goal that students understand fully the assignments and the process involved in homework. Homework is to reinforce skills, to encourage independent work, and to develop good study habits. It is intended to be at the appropriate level of difficulty, but may require parental help/support. In most classes, homework assignments are given Monday through Thursday.

Please put name labels on student's personal belongings. These markings will help school personnel to locate lost items. Do not allow your child(ren) to bring extra money, valuable items, toys, radios, electronic games, etc. to school unless written approval has been given by the child's teacher. We will not assume responsibility for the security of these items.

By law we cannot administer medication without the written approval of your health care provider. We try to avoid giving medications at school, but if it is necessary for your child to have medication, you must bring the original container with a signed "Parent Request and Physician Order for Medication" form from the child's health care provider. This includes prescription and non-prescription drugs such as cough drops, aspirin, cough syrup, ointments, etc. Parents are responsible for transporting all medicines to school unless special arrangements are made with the administration.

An additional form is available and must be signed by your child's doctor regarding asthma medication.

All parents are welcome and encouraged to visit Dillard Drive Elementary. ALL PARENTS AND OTHER VISITORS MUST SIGN IN AT THE MAIN OFFICE EACH TIME THEY VISIT CAMPUS. You will be asked to wear a visitor's badge so that others will know that you have signed in.

Teachers are not available for conferences during the school day unless they have made prior arrangements with you. You are always welcome to volunteer in the classroom or have lunch with your child.

School begins at 9:15 a.m. If your child arrives late, you will need to come in and sign them in on the sheet in front of the office. Children not signed in will be mark as "unexcused"

It is URGENT that the office have a correct home, work, and emergency telephone numbers at all times. If you change a telephone number or move into a new residence, please contact the office with updated information.

If your child needs to change his/her means of transportation, a note must be sent in. You may also call the main number before 3:30 to make changes. The classroom teacher will be notified by the office of the change.

Students may not bring toys, walkmans, hand-held games, trading cards, playing cards, radios, etc to school unless written approval has been given by the child's teacher. We will not assume responsibility for the security of these items.

Dillard Drive Elementary Policies and Procedures