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4EnrollmentNut Free PolicyEvery year, students must be re-enrolled regardless ofprior year enrollment and attendance. Parents must takeadvantage of the early enrollment opportunity and submitan Intent to Return form using InfoSnap by the applicabledeadline. Registration information, including residencyverification, must be submitted by the deadlines providedin order to reserve enrollment slots. For new students,Friendship PCS participates in the MySchoolDCcommon lottery program. All applications for newstudents must be submitted through the MySchoolDCwebsite. Preference is given to new students who aresiblings of students re-enrolling from the prior schoolyear. Please see www.friendshipschools.org for moredetailed information.Friendship PCS is aware of the tremendous risk childrenand adults who are allergic to nuts can face from eventhe smallest exposure to peanut butter or a piece of nut.The consequences are life-threatening in many casesand require immediate intervention with medication,hospitalization or even life support. We want to do all wecan to eliminate the possibility of such an occurrence inour schools.Transfer or Withdrawal of a StudentParents are asked to adhere to the following school-wideprotocols: Please do not send any peanuts, peanut butter orfoods containing peanuts or peanut butter. There will be no classroom projects that involvepeanut butter (like bird feeders) or peanut shells (artprojects). Please do not send any of these projectsinto the classroom with your child.Parents/guardians of record are required to sign inperson at the campus main office the necessary formsfor a student’s withdrawal or transfer from FriendshipPCS. The transfer and records release will be completeupon receipt of a documented formal request from theenrolling school. Additionally, grades and transcripts willnot be released until all accounts/fees are cleared. Please do not enclose candy or other treats withholiday cards.School Breakfast, Lunch andSupper ProgramsAlmondBeechnutBrazil NutBush NutButternutCashewChestnutBreakfast and lunch are served to all students free ofcharge. Friendship PCS participates in the NationalSchool Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programand offers high quality, nutritionally-balanced meals thatmeet USDA guidelines for healthy school meals and therequirements set forth in the Healthy Schools Act. Allstudents who are enrolled in a qualifying after schoolprogram will also receive a snack and hot supper atno charge. If your child ate peanut butter for breakfast, pleaseensure that your child has washed his/her hands withsoap and water before leaving for school. Water alonedoes not do the trick!A list of other tree nuts that may trigger an allergicreaction are provided below:CoconutFilbertGingko NutHazel NutLichee NutMacadamia NutNangai NutPecanPine NutPistachioShea NutWalnutYour understanding and support in helping us to providea “NUT-FREE ZONE” within the lobby, lunchroomand classroom areas is greatly appreciated.Helpful links on School hip Public Charter school abides by a “nutfree” policy. Food allergies can be life threateningand Friendship PCS is committed to offering a safeeducational environment for all students includingstudents with food allergies. Cooperative efforts betweenstudents, parents, physicians and school staff memberscan help minimize risks.Friendship Public Charter School

5Resources for ParentsOffice of Parent RelationsWhen Do PACs Meet?The Office of Parent Relations provides support andinformation to the parents and families of FriendshipPCS. Its services to parents include:Friendship Armstrong AcademyMonthly: 1st Tuesdays8:30am and 5:00pm keeping parents in touch with Friendship PCS newsand happenings and providing programs and servicesthat keep parents connected throughout the year; listening to parent concerns, providing referralinformation and coordinating informal resolutionmeetings; and helping parents connect with any special help orservices.Parent Advisory Council (PAC)The PAC (Parental Advisory Council) is an organizationthat brings parents and teachers together to promote theeducation and welfare of our children.The primary role of the PAC is to provide a forumthrough which parents can become more involved inthe education of their children. The PAC coordinates anumber of activities and services, including: outreach to its members to determine the needs andinterests of membership; recruitment of parents to build a robust parentinvolvement program; information and available educational resources toall parents; support and aid for parents with concerns or otherissues; professional development for its parent membership; partnerships with members of the school community(e.g., Director of Parent Relations, Learning Leaders)to offer services to families and share resources; representation of parents on School LeadershipTeams; fund raising activities to benefit the children and PAC; parent participation in school activities; andcommunications (e.g., newsletters, e-mail accounts,websites, phone trees)Call your child’s school and ask for the name of the PACpresident, or simply come to the next meeting. You willbe welcomed with open arms.Parent/Student Handbook 2017-2018Friendship Blow Pierce Elementary & MiddleMonthly: 4th Tuesdays6:00pmFriendship Chamberlain Elementary & MiddleMonthly: 2nd Tuesdays6:00pmFriendship CollegiateMonthly: 2nd Mondays6:00pmFriendship Online AcademyMonthly: TBDFriendship Southeast ElementaryMonthly: 3rd Wednesdays 6:00pmFriendship Technology PreparatoryMonthly: 4th Tuesdays6:00pmFriendship Woodridge InternationalElementary & MiddleMonthly: 3rd Tuesdays5:30pmPlease contact your child’s school for moreinformation.

6Parent UniversityParent University will offer workshops/courses in one offive areas:Parent University is an initiative designed to inform,involve and empower Friendship PCS families. It providesa combination of resources and course offerings to helpparents become full partners in their children’s education.Parent University offers parents and other familymembers a variety of meaningful classes and workshopsthat will add to their existing skills and give themopportunities for continued growth and development. Social Emotional Learning: These workshops willfocus on the social emotional development of childrenand how it can impact a student’s academic andsocial progress. Information and experiences thatempower parents to raise self-confident, disciplined,motivated and educated children from birth throughyoung adulthood will be shared.The goal of Friendship Parent University is to educate,engage, and involve our parents/guardians as partnersand advocates in their children’s education.Parent University’s purpose is to: Increase access to and understanding of Friendship’score values, policies and practices; Technology: These workshops will provide familiescurrent information on technology and how it can beused to increase learning for students and parents. Academic Intervention and Support: These workshopswill focus on steps that can be taken to assist astudent in their academic progress. Parents will learnhow to determine whether their children are on trackwith their learning. Allow parents an opportunity to network withprofessionals and other parents; Growth and Personal Development: These workshopswill provide opportunities for parents to increase theirown personal and professional growth, enablingthem to effectively advocate for themselves and theirchildren. Help parents develop the skills needed to implementpositive parenting practices; Education: These workshops will cover information ontopics that are beneficial to families for everyday living. Increase parental involvement and participation inschool; Empower parents to become effective advocates fortheir children; Strengthen home-school-community partnerships; Equip parents with knowledge and awareness ofresources available to them; Increase the number of parents who feel positivelyconnected to their children’s school; and Provide opportunities and support for families toachieve personal academic and non-academic goals.By providing our parents/guardians with the knowledgeand experiences to advocate and support theirchild’s learning, parents will become more engaged insupporting quality education for their children in waysthat result in improved student outcomes and schoolimprovement.How do I sign up to volunteer?Friendship PCS encourages parents to volunteer.Volunteers may serve as tutors, mentors, chaperones,classroom and office assistants. To volunteer, pleasecontact the school counselor who may recommendopportunities and assist you with the applicationprocess.Friendship Public Charter School

Do you have an inquiry orrecommendation?Campus Visits and ClassroomObservationsWe encourage family and staff to collaborate instrengthening our schools. Teamwork, sharedunderstanding of our mission, and agreement in movingforward is critical to our success. If parents requiresupport outside of the school campus, please contactthe Community Office at (202) 281-1700.Parents/guardians of record or their documenteddesignees who are interested in observing classroomsmust make arrangements in advance through the mainoffice and teacher. Classroom observations are notconferences and parents are therefore asked to observeinstruction quietly.What are Quarterly LearningContract (QLC) Conferences?A key part of every parent’s engagement isunderstanding the academic progress your childrenmake throughout the year. Parents will receiveinformation about their children’s progress includingclassroom grades, attendance, behavior and mostrecent assessment data. Parents, students and teacherswill work collaboratively to set performance goals andtargets. To that end, parents are required to attend theQLC day conferences. During the 2017-2018 academicyear, these mid-quarter conferences are scheduledon November 3, February 2, April 20. On QLC days,parents, students and teachers will: review student grade-level proficiency assessmentdata (Benchmarks, Principal’s Assessments, unittests, student portfolios, etc.) discuss behavior and attendance discuss student promotion status discuss enrichment opportunities review and develop new QLC goals as needed develop and sign a plan to reach written goalsThe QLC goals serve as a contractual agreementbetween three parties: parent, teacher and student. Thegoals will be reviewed and discussed to determine thecontinuation of goals not met or the development ofnew goals when mastered. Parents will receive a copyof the Scholar Report Card and QLC at the time of theconference. A final review of QLC goals will be held priorto the end of the school year.Please contact your child’s school if additionalinformation is needed regarding QLC conference times.Friendship PCS requires all guests to use the mainentrance to our buildings. Guests are required to reportto the security desk to sign in and retrieve a visitor badgethat must be worn for the duration of your visit. Guestsmust follow the direction of security and may not roamthe school building. At the completion of the visit, guestsmust sign out at the security desk. Friendship reservesthe right to provide a security escort or bar suspicious ordisruptive activity or behavior.Additional Opportunities forConferences with StaffFriendship PCS places a great deal of emphasis onparent involvement and we welcome parents/guardiansto contact the school with requests for assistance or toexpress concerns. Contact with Friendship PCS staffregarding concerns should be made in the followingorder: (1) Teacher or staff member (2) Academy Directors(3) Principal and (4) Friendship PCS Community Office.If a parent/guardian wants to discuss a matter with amember of the school staff, use the following procedure: The parent/guardian should schedule an appointmentwith the faculty member prior to the meeting date. It ispossible that an adequate response can be providedthrough a telephone discussion. Please refer to yourchild’s schedule, teacher syllabus, or phone theschool to schedule a meeting with a teacher or otherstaff member. The parent/guardian must report to the office atthe time of the agreed appointment and the mainoffice will notify the staff member of your arrival. Toavoid disruption of classes or other school activities,parents/guardians or their designees are not permittedto go to a classroom or other location without priorconsent from the main office and/or a security escort. If no resolution can be reached through a discussionwith a teacher, the parent must contact the mainoffice to schedule appointments in the followingorder: (1) Academy Director and (2) Principal. Parents/guardians may contact the Community Office afterthey have spoken with the principal at the school site. While the Director of Parent Relations is there to assistyou, we want to ensure that the parent has goneParent/Student Handbook 2017-20187

8through the appropriate channels at the school levelprior to making this contact. With regard to discipline hearings for suspensions of10 days or more and recommendations for expulsion,student/parents/legal guardians can contact theCommunity Office at 202-281-1700 to request ahearing.4. Quality Improvement, Quality Assurance andEvaluation (QI/QA): The QI/QA team works with allSHSP personnel to ensure services are high-quality,standardized and meet the needs of children andtheir families. Their role includes assuring quality andconsistency in services across all schools, conductingcontinuous quality improvement for the program, andmaintaining a mechanism to receive and respond tofeedback from students, parents and school staff.School Health ServicesParents should refer to sections below regarding nursingand parent submission of health information.School health services are available at all Friendship PCScampuses. Friendship partners with the DC Departmentof Health and Children’s School Services /Children’sNational Health System to provide school nursingservices to your child(ren).The New District of Columbia SchoolHealth Services ProgramThe new School Health Services Program provided byDC Department of Health is based on the Whole School,Whole Community, Whole Child Model. The model ischild-centered and emphasizes integration, alignmentand collaboration among education, health and thecommunity in order to best support children’s healthand learning. This comprehensive approach allows us tomaximize our resources and our ability to meet students’health needs by using a mixture of clinical and alliedhealth professionals in the schools to improve studenthealth and education outcomes.The School Health Services Program is designed to havefour components:1. Clinical Services: School health services personnelprovide clinical services as needed for children withspecial health care needs (CSHCN), defined as thosestudents who require health and related servicesbeyond those required by children generally. They alsoprovide assessment and short-term management ofacute illness and injury, Administration of Medicationtrainings, follow-up and chronic disease selfmanagement support, and vision and hearing screeningfor children who have not received these services.2. Care Coordination: Care coordination ensures linkageto a medical home and comprehensive preventivehealth care services, proactive chronic diseasemanagement, and completion of required health formsto identify needs.3. Community Navigation: Community navigators haveexpert knowledge of community based resources andare credible messengers, allowing then to link familieswith programs and care outside of the school. Theyprovide school- wide health-related information andresources and collaborate with school staff to providefamily support.School NursingThe school nurse provides the following services thatdo not replace the care a student should receive from aregular physician or clinic. Basic first aid; Administration of certain medications; Referrals to emergency and other care in the eventthat an injury or other condition requires a service thenurse is unable to provide; Assistance to students with chronic illnesses thatrequire ongoing prescribed medical treatmentincluding monitoring blood sugar levels, administeringtube feedings and performing catheterizations; Health screenings, assessments and referrals forhealth problems and medical conditions (e.g. vision,hearing and scoliosis). Prevention and containment ofcommunicable diseases by ensuring all students areimmunized in accordance with District of Columbialaws and regulations; and Identification of suspected child abuse, illegal drug useor depression and determine appropriate intervention.Parents and guardians can assist the school nurse inserving our students by: Informing the school nurse of any medical conditionsor concerns about your child(ren)’s health; Making sure the school nurse has accurate, up-todate emergency contact information; Getting your child’s immunizations updated inaccordance with requirements and promptlysubmitting your immunization form; Completing and promptly submitting the authorizationform for administering medications along with anymedications, medical equipment or supplies neededduring the school day; and Providing follow-up information about the outcome ofyour child’s health care referral.Friendship Public Charter School

ImmunizationsState law requires all students to be immunized unlessyou waive the right for immunization due to religious ormedical reasons. In the event of waiver due to religiousor medical reasons, submission of a notarized letter tothe school nurse and signed by you and your child’sphysician is required. Parents must submit forms or waivers to the mainoffice and should retain copies in the event theinformation is requested again. Students withoutcomplete, up-to-date immunization forms will receiveletters requesting up-to-date records.3. The complete Authorization for AdministeringMedication form must be on file at school before themedication can be administered at school.4. The medication must be in the original labeledcontainer as dispensed or in the manufacturer’slabeled container. The label must contain the student’sname, name of the medication and directions for useand date.5. Parents or other authorized adults must transportmedications and medical supplies to and from schooland all medications and medical supplies must begiven directly to the nurse. Please note: Upon accruing unexcused absences formissing health information, you and your child will besubject to the Attendance Policy of this handbook andD.C. Truancy Law.6. Students may not carry medications (prescription or nonprescription) or supplies except for an inhaler for asthma.Parents who wish to have their children carry or possessan inhaler must still follow the above procedures andcommunicate directly with the school nurse.Authorization for AdministeringMedication During School Hours7. All unused medications that have not been picked upby parents by the last day of each school year will bediscarded by health office staff.Please Note: No medication will be administeredat school in the absence of a complete, approvedAuthorization to Administer Medication form.In the event that a parent requests that a student takemedication during the school day, including but notlimited to administering an asthma inhaler or Epi-Pen,please follow these procedures:1. The Authorization for Administering Medication formmust be completed by the parent or guardian. (Pleasesee your child’s school nurse to receive form).2. The Authorization for Administering Medication formmust also be completed by the physician.Parent/Student Handbook 2017-20188. Immediate written notification of changes inmedication and/or prescription directions must beprovided to the school by the parent/guardian.9. Annual renewal of authorization is required.Food AllergiesIf your child is allergic to certain foods, please provide anote to the school nurse, your child’s classroom teacher,and the food service coordinator. When submittingdocumentation to the school, please list all allergies.If medication is being taken at school (i.e., Epi-Pen,etc.), you are also required to fill out the Authorization toAdminister Medication form.9

10Friendship PCS PromotionWhat are the requirements forstudent promotion?Students will be promoted when their educational growthshows they are prepared to successfully complete thenext grade.Parents of students a

Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-5800 School Hours: 7:45-3:30 pm Friendship Collegiate Academy 4095 Minnesota Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20019 (202) 396-5500 School Hours: 7:45-3:30 pm Friendship Online Academy 1351 Nicholson Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 722-2672 Friendship Southeast Academy 645 Milwaukee Place, SE Washington, DC 20032