MES Faculty Handbook 2023-2024
MAYFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FACULTY HANDBOOK
2023-2024
GENERAL INFORMATION
7:40 am Doors Open
8:00 am Bell Rings- Breakfast ends
8:05 am Bell Rings- Morning Announcements
2:50 pm Afternoon Announcements
2:55 pm Bell Rings- Load Buses
25 minutes for lunch
16 minutes for recess
Table of Contents
Absences - p. 3
Announcements - p. 3
Appropriate Dress - p. 3-4
Building Appearance - p. 4
Classroom Parties - p. 8
Code of Conduct - p. 4
Committees - p. 4
Conferences - p. 5
Confidentiality - p. 9
Discipline - p. 5-6
Dismissal - p. 6
Emergency Procedures - p. 6
Field Trips - p. 6
Infinite Campus - p. 8
Injury Report - p. 7
Leaving the Building - p. 3
Meetings - p. 7
Personal Days - p. 3
PD/ Work Days - p. 7
Phones - p. 7
Positive/ Professional - p. 9
SBDM - p. 7
Social Media - p. 5
Special Classes/ Lunch - p. 8
Staff Attendance - p. 4
Student Attendance - p. 4
Supervision - p. 8
Teacher Expectations - p. 9
Technology - p. 4-5
Absences: Please call or text as soon as you know that you will not be able to perform your responsibilities. Calls and text messages should be made before 10:00 p.m. the evening before or between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. the morning of the absence. Employees should notify the following staff members when they are going to be absent. Please let Erin and Hailey schedule all substitutes.
Certified employees - Call Erin Thorn - 270-705-2872
Classified employees - Call Hailey Cook - 270-705-5634
Personal Days : Staff members have 3 personal days per year. A personal day may not be used to extend any vacation period, at the beginning or at the end of the school term, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or during any school-wide break and must be approved by Ms. Dublin.
Leaving the Building : Teachers and staff are required to report to a school administrator before leaving the campus during the school day. Sign out before leaving.
Announcements: AM announcements will be e-mailed each morning. PM daily announcements will be made over the intercom at 2:50. Please help each other to stay informed.
Appropriate Dress: Remember that all eyes are on you as the instructional leader in the classroom. “Business Casual” is the appropriate dress. No shorts (exception - PE & custodians), halters, cold shoulder, spaghetti strap or strapless attire may be worn. Blue jeans, tennis shoes & athletic apparel may be worn on casual Friday with an appropriate top. Cardinal attire is highly recommended. Dresses should be an appropriate length. Leggings may be worn if accompanied by a dress of appropriate length or a long top. Please remove nose rings and facial piercings.
Staff Attendance: Attendance is very important for both students and staff. Certified staff, please arrive no later than 7:35 each morning. You may leave at 3:10 p.m. Students will enter the building at 7:40 a.m.
Student Attendance: Each homeroom teacher must enter student attendance in Infinite Campus by 8:30 a.m. Remember to let Mandy know if a parent reports a child absent. Do this by entering in the comments section while completing attendance or emailing Mandy.
Building Appearance: We can help our school stay clean by discouraging pencil marks on anything except paper. Have all paper, pencils, and crayons picked up off of the floor and deposited in the room’s waste can before dismissal. If students are pouring milk down classroom sinks after breakfast, please remind them to run water in the sink afterwards. Also, encourage students to clean up any messes on the table or on the floor after lunch.
Code of Conduct: All staff members are expected to read and sign off on the Mayfield Independent Schools Code of Acceptable Behavior & Discipline. 2023-2024 Code of Conduct
Committees: Staff members may be assigned to committees as needed throughout the year. MES Committees
Technology: Make sure you have signed an Acceptable Use Policy and remember that all communication through e-mail is subject to review and should be of a professional nature. Mass emails for personal gain are not allowed to be sent from district email accounts. User Agreement Form
Social Media: All staff members are expected to adhere to the Mayfield independent Schools Social Media Guidelines.
Conferences with Parents: Conferences are to be held when necessary, but never while class is in session, except during an emergency. The principals or counselors will be available to assist with conferences when needed. Careful documentation of time, place and context of discussion should be recorded and filed. This year we will have two scheduled parent-teacher conferences. One will be in November and the other will be in March. Please make an effort to communicate, either by phone or note, to parents about positive behavior/ performance before reporting negative behavior/ performance. Please remember to have at least four positive contacts with parents before a negative one. Mid-term progress reports will be sent home each nine weeks with every 4th grade student. Grades should be posted in Infinite Campus weekly.
Discipline: During the first two weeks of school, discuss and model classroom rules and expectations (proper walking in the hall, lunch/breakfast routine in assigned lines, proper bathroom etiquette, etc.) for the children. Students are expected to walk in a line on the second square at level zero up and down the halls at all times. Each classroom shall have posted school wide expectations. Classroom rules should be clearly communicated to students on the first day of school and reviewed on a regular basis. Consistent expectations and consequences/ reinforcements are critical to any discipline policy. Assume they know nothing!! Students in grades 2-4 will be given a discipline plan to take home with them that describes consequences for misbehavior. The discipline plan may include In School Detention (grades 3-4), Wednesday afternoon detention (grades 2-4) and suspension (2nd grade detention will be assigned by administration).
Dismissal: Teachers should plan the school day so that everyone is ready to leave at 2:55 p.m. Car and bus riders will be dismissed by Ms. Dublin via the intercom system. Children should be released in an orderly fashion with adult supervision at all times. Never dismiss a child from your care, during the school day, without notification from the office. If an adult is at your door requesting a student, immediately send that person to the office and do not release the child.
Emergency Procedures: Each employee should be familiar with the emergency procedure plan posted in all rooms. Always close classroom doors and take class rosters with you during any drill to account for students during an emergency. Keep classroom doors locked at all times. Safety Plan Drill Schedule
Field Trips: Field trips must be curriculum based. The proper field trip/lunchroom form must be signed by the principal before the trip will be approved. (These forms are in the front office.) Bus arrangements must be made by the principal or designee in sufficient time for the bus garage to ensure a driver. A seating chart and roster (including name, phone & birth date) should be prepared for each field trip. The cafeteria must be notified and given at least 2 weeks notice when food is to be prepared. Even if the cafeteria is not preparing sack lunches for your field trip, notify them of the number of students who will not be eating lunch in the cafeteria. Make sure that you have general field trip permission on file for each student. Also, let all parents know about specific field trips via a note home.
Injury Report: Any accidents should be reported on a formal injury form by the supervising teacher and school health nurse. Parents shall be notified of injuries to their child in writing or by phone.
Meetings: Faculty meetings will be after school on the second Tuesday of each month. Regularly called SBDM meetings are also the second Tuesday of the month at 5:00 p.m. Certified staff members are expected to attend all faculty meetings. Avoid making personal appointments for this day. The leadership team will meet once every 6 weeks. All certified staff must attend their designated PLC meetings weekly. Faculty Meeting/ Leadership Schedule
PD/Work Days: Please make arrangements for childcare on PD days and scheduled work days.
Phones: The school phone is for school use. Let Hailey or someone in the main office know if you are expecting a call that needs to be put through to you. Generally speaking, phone calls will not be transferred to the classrooms. Messages will be taken and e-mailed to you. Also, it’s very important to check messages for bus/car rider changes. Most e-mail messages will come to you with a read receipt. Please make sure you open the e-mail so Hailey/Mandy will know that you’ve seen the message. There may be an occasion that a personal call is necessary. Discretion should be used in the use of cell phones, as well as school phones. Cell phones should not be used when you are in charge of a group of students, including text messaging.
SBDM: SBDM members for the 2023-2024 school year are Heather Dublin, Brittany LeRoy, Jana Smith, Sherry Williams, Kara Dowdy and Tyler Hatchell.
Special Classes/Lunch: All teachers should accompany their students to special classes/lunch and meet the class at the end of the class/lunch period. It is imperative that both special and classroom teachers adhere to the given schedule. Teachers must walk their students through the lunch line and pick up their class from lunch on time. If at any time circumstances prevent the special teacher from beginning class as scheduled, he/she should notify the classroom teacher who is scheduled at that time. Specials teachers may take students to assemblies. In order to promote a sense of family and pride, classroom teachers are asked to attend pep rallies, student performances, student recognition ceremonies, Veteran’s Day program and field day activities.
Supervision: The parents of our students send their children to us each day trusting that they will be properly supervised. Every teacher should correct any misconduct observed. Be alert and helpful, especially the first few weeks of school while the students are learning the rules in all locations of the building. Never leave any child unattended (before or after school, including gym). You are legally responsible! When on the playground, teachers should separate and make sure that all students can be seen.
Classroom Parties: All parties start at 2:00 p.m., regardless of specials. Parents may be invited to the Fall party and the Valentine’s Day Party. If you are not inviting parents, please let Erin know.
Infinite Campus: Grades should be entered into IC on a weekly basis. It is also very important to verify that grades are properly posted prior to the posting deadline for progress report/grade cards to go home.
Teacher Expectations: All teachers are expected to arrive at school at 7:35 a.m., and be at their classroom door at 7:40 a.m. each morning, supervising students in the hallway and as they enter the classroom. We are responsible for students as soon as they get out of cars/busses and enter our building. This will greatly improve our morning and afternoon procedures. A list of duty times and dates will be distributed when school starts. Please be at your designated place on time for the duty you are to perform. Certified staff and late duty classified staff may leave at 3:10 pm. Early/ Late Duty 2023
Confidentiality: Please use discretion in discussing students in front of other parents and visitors. Do not hold parent conferences/discussions in the halls or front office area. Always use a positive professional image.
Positive and Professional : Please use professionalism when speaking to students, about students, and to colleagues. Remember that we are the professionals and you never know who is listening. Public relations begins with you. Always be Pleasant, Polite, Positive, and Professional.
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