McKinley Elementary School PTA
Student Information and School Policies

STREP THROAT ALERT

The season for strep throat is upon us. Some signs to watch for in your children are:

Sore throat, fever, vomiting, headache, chills and abdominal pain, but remember that strep can only be diagnosed by obtaining a throat culture. Ask you doctor if you are concerned that your child may have strep throat.

Treatment consists of an antibiotic prescribed by your doctor. Remember that your child must be on the antibiotic for at least 24 hours before they can return to school. Be sure to take the entire antibiotic as prescribed by your doctor.

Prevention of strep is to avoid people who have the disease or contaminated items. Good hand washing helps to prevent spread of the germs that cause strep throat. Practice hand washing, especially before meals.

SCHOOL HOURS

Students may enter the building at 8:45am. For AM Kindergarten and Grades 1-5, instruction begins at 9:00am. AM Kindergarten students are dismissed at 11:30am. PM Kindergarten begins at 12:35pm and are dismissed with Grades 1-5 at 3:05pm.

Please use the following doors for entry and exit, according to class. Students are to line up by class at their door. Children who are dropped off in the parking lot may walk through the building to line up outside their door.

West Clifton Gerome, McIntyre, Doerge
Northwood - New Bldg. Cook, Rustad, Quinn, Lutts
Northwood - Old Bldg. Carney, Wynne, Cali, Gatchell, Germaine
East Parking Lot Project 1-2-3

PLEASE NOTE

After 9:00am all outside doors are locked. The parking lot door near the Gym has a buzzer. Please wait to be recognized and admitted to the school. Students who are tardy need to enter the building through this door. Please plan for your child to arrive at school no earlier than 8:45am. No supervision is provided before 8:45am. Since instruction begins promptly at 9:00am, it is best if children arrive at 8:45am to allow enough time for organization. Students who arrive after 9:00am are to report to the office where they will be counted as tardy, and sent to class. Parents of kindergartners who pick up their child at 11:30am or 3:05pm must be punctual as supervision is not available after dismissal time. Please arrange dismissal plans with your child at home so that it is not necessary to call the Office with instructions. There is no supervision on our playground before or after school. We encourage all children to go directly home after school. Your cooperation will help ensure your child's safety.


ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance at school is very important. Students with excellent attendance are most likely to be successful in school. If your child is absent, please remember to call the answering tape at 529-4307 to leave the message. Thank you!!!


PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF PROCEDURES

When driving your children to and from school, PLEASE use the following procedures to ensure the safety of all McKinley students: Do not pick-up or drop-off students on West Clifton or Northwood. Use the parking lot for both arrival and dismissal. Cars enter school ground through the entrance off Detroit Avenue, at the blue McKinley School sign, between the apartment building and Lakewood Congregational Church. Upon reaching the parking lot, cars turn right, following the arrows around the center parking area, and pull up to the concrete barriers next to the building. The Safety Zone created by the concrete barriers adjacent to the building is the area where children are dropped off and wait to be picked up. Cars should pull along the barriers in a single file line - no double-parking. After children have been dropped off or picked up, cars can pull out of line to exit onto Detroit Avenue. Children who arrive or leave by car use the center parking lot doors in the Old Building. Upon arriving (no earlier than 8:45am) they are to enter the building and go directly to their rooms. The gate into the church parking lot is closed during school hours. Please do not use the West Clifton driveway.


SCHOOL LUNCHES

Nutritious "Type A" lunches are available for $1.50. Milk cost 35 cents. Please seal lunch money in an envelope marked with the child's name. Prepayment of lunches is a convenient alternative to sending money each day! Lunch fees may be prepaid and our cashier will keep track of the number of lunches purchased. For example, you might prepay for a week by sending in $7.50 for 5 days. ($2.00 for reduced lunch). Checks are made payable to Lakewood Schools. Free and reduced-price lunches are also available for eligible students. Applications are sent home with students and are also available in the school office. An "a la carte" slice of pizza may be purchased for $2.00. This is not a "Type A" lunch and milk is not included.


SECURITY AND SAFETY

It is the policy of the Board of Education that student conduct is based on respect and consideration for the rights of others and that students will behave and function in an orderly manner in the classroom, in the school, and on school property. It is the responsibility of teachers and principals to enforce school and classroom rules and to make efforts with parents and students to change inappropriate behavior patterns. Serious offenses may result in removal from school, suspension or expulsion.
The Board is committed to providing the students of Lakewood City Schools with an educational environment that is free of the dangers of firearms, knives and other dangerous weapons in schools. Students are prohibited from bringing a firearm or knife on school property. The consequence for bringing such dangerous weapons to school is expulsion. The definition of knife includes, but is not limited to, any cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade fastened to a handle. This definition encompasses even small Boy Scout knives which students may be allowed to use at home under adult supervision. Students are prohibited from bringing any knife to school for any reason. Please do not send any type of knife in a lunch box. Violations of this regulation will be treated very seriously.


STUDENT RECORDS

Student record and information shall be available for review by custodial and non-custodial parents and eligible students and for release to other interested parties according to law. A non-custodial parent is only restrained if a legally binding instrument or court order prohibiting that person from reviewing the record(s) is on file with the Board of Education.

Directory information is maintained on each Lakewood student. Ohio law defines information as name, address, phone number, date of birth, place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, date of graduation, awards received, sports and activities, and height and weight if involved in athletics, and most recent previous educational institution attended. ORC 3319.321 (B)(1); 20 USCA 1232g(a)(5)(B)
Directory information may be released by the Board of Education for non-commercial use unless parent, guardian, or students 18 or over request in writing that such information be released.


LAKEWOOD SCHOOLS HEALTH SERVICES SCREENING PROGRAMS

During the course of the school year, the following screenings are done to help ensure the continued good health of your children.

Hearing Screenings:
Grades: Pre-K, K, 1, 3, 5, 9 Students new to Lakewood Schools Referrals for Multi-Factored Evaluations Teacher referrals Students who had hearing problems in the past.		 Speech/Language Screenings:
Pre-K and K Students new to Lakewood Schools Follow-ups to those who received speech/language therapy in previous year teacher/psychologist/parent referrals.
Vision Screenings:
Grades: Pre-K, K, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 Students new to Lakewood Schools Parent/teacher referrals. 		Physical Screenings:
Grade 3 New students who do not provide a private physician's exam (K-5 only)
Dental Screenings:
Grades: Pre-K, K through 5. 		Head Lice Checks:
Grades: K through 5 in September All grades at the discretion of the Principal and/or school nurse

Physicals for Work Permits may be obtained through the Teen Health Center, 15644 Madison Ave, Madison Square Building Suite 108. Please call 391-TEEN for further information.
The Lakewood Schools Health Services Department is happy to be able to provide the 'screening program. Questions or information pertaining to your child's health should be directed to the school nurse. Speech and hearing concerns should be directed to the speech pathologist or audiologist.

If problems are detected during screenings, the school nurse or Speech Department will notify parents. These screenings are essentially health appraisals and are not meant to substitute for the private physician and dentist's exams. If you do not want your child/children to participate in the screening program, you must notify the school in writing stating your specific wishes.

HEAD CHECKS

Recent years have seen an increase in the incidence of head lice and other nuisance diseases. In order to start the new school year in the best way possible, we ask that you check your child's head as he or she enters school this fall.

A head louse is a crawling insect about 1/16" long; the female lays tiny white eggs (nits) which are firmly attached to the base of hairs. The most common locations include the back of the neck, behind the ears, and the crown.

Usually the first sign of head lice is an intense itching in the affected areas. This condition can be spread by direct contact with an infested person or items that are exposed to their head.

Your child's school will do routine head checks in September and at the discretion of the principal and/or school nurse when necessary. These checks will be done in an effort to prevent the spread of lice in the school.

Head lice can and must be treated. If you suspect that your child might have this condition, notify your child's school immediately.


ANNUAL NOTIFICATION STATEMENT

In Lakewood City School's continuing effort to meet the needs of all students, the policies and procedures of the Districts' ESL (English as a Second Language) Alternative Program are detailed in the District's ELL (English Language Learner) Handbook. Copies of this document can be viewed by contacting your building principal.

Lakewood City Schools tries to communicate effectively with our parents and community. Many of our school documents and forms have been translated into Albanian, Arabic, and Romanian to support this effort. Please contact your building principal to obtain translated documents.


IS MY CHILD GIFTED? LAKEWOOD CITY SCHOOLS
GIFTED/TALENTED CHILD COUNT INFORMATION

Each year, school districts have the responsibility of identifying gifted learners in grades kindergarten through twelve in one or more of the following areas: superior cognitive, specific academic, creative thinking and/or fine and performing arts. The district must provide an accurate child count to the Ohio Department of Education. Students identified for the gifted child count does not guarantee that the students will be placed in one of the gifted programs.

Students who have been identified in the past are already in the child count. They do not need to be identified again.
The identification process is multi-leveled. The first phase is pre assessment using input from teachers, parents and students. The second phase is screening using pre assessment information along with group-standardized tests. If the student is not identified in the screening phase, the third phase is identification of students using individual tests administered by a psychologist or trained professional.


In an effort to pre assess all learners in an equal and thorough manner, we are asking for parental input. Please consider the characteristics listed below. If many apply to your child, please contact Shirley Zavatsky for nomination forms.


Gifted Characteristics:

In order to be identified as talented in art or music, your child must have an exhibition or demonstration of their talent along with an acceptable score on a checklist of the behaviors in the specific art or music area. The art and music personnel in the district complete the required forms and demonstrations.

If you have any questions please contact Shirley Zavatsky, Coordinator of Talent and Development & District Assessment, 1470 Warren Road, Lakewood, OH 44107, 216-529-4087.


Ages Birth - 21 Years - Children with Disabilities

The Lakewood City Schools are engaged in an annual effort to locate, evaluate and educate all children with disabilities residing in Lakewood. Qualifying disabling conditions vary with the age of the child:

Birth - 2 years - Delayed development in vision, hearing, movement, self care, communication, social awareness, emotional responsiveness and ability to learn.

3 - 5 years - Documented delays in vision, hearing, movement, communication, ability to learn, social/emotional/behavioral functioning.

6 - 21 years - If you believe your child may require special education services to benefit from school, please contact the Department of Student Services at 216-529-4201.

The Federal Government supports local school efforts through two financial grants geared at either preschool or school aged children with special needs. The grants provide additional personnel, services, supplies, equipment and materials to Lakewood Schools so that each child may be served appropriately. A requirement of the grants provides for public review of all grant applications. Parents and community members may review and comment on these grants at the Lakewood Board of Education, 1470 Warren Road, Lakewood, OH, 44107.

GOOD ADVICE FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE

  1. If your child is ill in the morning he/she should remain at home. An ill student only spreads illness in a classroom.
  2. A student with a fever is to remain at home until the temperature is normal for 24 hours.
  3. A student should be free of all nausea and vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school.
  4. A child with a rash may be excluded from school at the nurse's discretion and need a doctor's clearance before re-admittance to school.
  5. Be sure that the school has current phone numbers where a parent or guardian can be reached in case of an emergency

VISION SCREENING

Because good vision is so important to learning, we are making this information available to you. Lakewood City School nurses screen all students new to Lakewood Schools and in PreK-Kindergarten, Grades 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 during the school year. If a problem is suspected the parent/guardian is notified by mail by the school nurse.

Following are some sources for eye care if you do not have insurance or an eye doctor. Any concerns or questions should be directed to your school nurse. The Lakewood City Schools’ nurses are now involved in a program, Sight for Students, which provides free eye exams and eyeglasses to children under the age of 18 who come from qualifying families. The criteria include a family income less that 200% above poverty level, which is quite generous. Proof of income is required (pay stub, income tax information, etc.) If your child qualifies, you will be provided with a list of private doctors in the area who will examine him/her.

We are very excited about being able to provide this service and will gladly assist you with the registration process. Please call your school nurse to set up an appointment.

FAMILY RESOURCE NEWSLETTER

Did you know there is a Family Resource Coordinator at McKinley? My name is Chris Bringman and I am available part time at McKinley on Tuesday and Thursday. Please contact me if you need information about family/community resources, parenting issues, et al. I can be reached at 529-4716.

NORTH COAST MINISTRY

North Coast Health Ministry provides comprehensive free medical care for low income, uninsured adults. Services include diagnosis, treatment and referral to appropriate agencies. For more information call 228-7878.

WSEM COUNSELING SOLUTIONS

WSEM Counseling Solutions helps people by giving them a realistic approach to achieve a better future. Their programs strive to improve each client’s emotional well being, social support, financial independence, and interpersonal skills. WSEM provides a variety of accessible and affordable intervention solutions. They include in-home counseling, agency-based counseling, psycho-educational/support groups, community support services, and art therapy. For additional information please contact the director of Solution Counseling at 651-2073.

LAKEWOOD SCHOOLS THREAT POLICY

No report of, rumor of, or threat of weapons in the Lakewood Schools shall be ignored. No threat or rumor of pending violence shall be ignored, whether made to a student or a faculty member. Such threats or rumors shall be immediately reported to the Lakewood Police. The student may be kept in school until the police arrive to investigate the incident. At the discretion of the police, the student may be transported to the police department where proper disposition of the incident will be determined. It is the policy of the Lakewood Police, in cooperation with school authorities, to appropriately respond to and investigate all such incidents.

WINTER SAFETY

PLEASE remind and reinforce with your children our winter safety rules. They are to walk, not run, on the sidewalks, since icy spots are often invisible. We do not throw snow! Throwing snowballs at cars and others can cause serious injuries, especially when children run into the street to avoid a snowball. Children are not to even pick up snow from the ground.

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