faculty handbook 2015 2016

Farias ECC Revised July 27, 2015 1

Staff and Faculty Procedures

Our Mission

Building the strong academic and social skills necessary for school and life

success, Farias Early Childhood Center develops students who are capable,

confident, and thoroughly prepared for elementary school.

Duty Hours

Classroom Teachers: 7:15 am - 3:00 pm Ancillary Teachers: 7:05 am - 2:50 pm

L. Matthews: 6:55 am - 2:40 pm Teacher Assistants: 6:55 am - 3:25 pm

Office Staff: 6:55 am - 3:25 pm Ms. Williams/M. Doria: 7:00 am - 3:30 pm

L. Harper: 6:00 am - 2:00 pm L. Williams: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Instructional Day 7:25 am - 2:25 pm

Students will be tardy at 7:30 am

Office Hours 7:00 am - 3:30 pm


Attendance/Tardies

All staff members should arrive on time and follow attendance procedures.

If there is an emergency in the morning which will require a staff member to be absent, a phone call must be made to Ms. Menxueiro between 5:00 am-6:30 am. DO NOT LEAVE A MESSAGE OR TEXT. If Ms. Menxueiro does not answer, the staff member must continue to call until he/she has spoken to her.

Staff members are considered late if they are not at their assigned location according to their duty hours. A log will be kept of late arrivals. Special attention needs to be made to weather or traffic conditions to arrive to work on time. Every time a staff member is late, they are taking a person from their job assignment to cover. In the rare instance that a staff member is running late, he/she should contact Mrs. Pollack and let her know the reason for running late and the expected time of arrival. Upon arrival, the staff member will punch in at the time clock. After three tardies, a conference will be held with their appraiser. If tardiness continues, a memorandum will be added to the staff member’s file and additional disciplinary actions will be taken as necessary.

Morning Routine

Greetings and opening of car doors begins promptly at 7:00 am. It is important for any staff member assigned to arrival duty to be ready to greet students. Students entering the front and back doors will be directed to the cafeteria.

At 7:20 am teachers will pick up their students in the cafeteria. At 7:25 am teachers need to be at their doors to greet each student. Greeting icons must be visible in order for the students to choose how they want to be greeted. Tardy slips will be given to students after 7:30 am. Instruction MUST begin at 7:25 am – this is what will be stressed to parents.

Request for Late – Early Departure

Requests to arrive late, leave the building early, or during the day must be arranged in writing with the approval from Ms. Menxueiro 24 hours in advance. Leave Early/Arrive Late and Personal Day Request forms are available on the common server under the folder “Forms”.

Ms. Menxueiro will not approve leaving early on Professional Development Early Dismissal days unless it is an emergency. Staff members are encouraged to make doctor’s appointments, etc. after school hours.


A Personal Business Day must be requested in writing 24 hours in advance. Approvals will be granted in accordance with HISD Board Policy. Personal days before or after a holiday will not be approved (refer to HISD Board Policy). Pay will be deducted from the employee’s salary at the hourly rate of pay.

Dress Code Dress code needs to be professional and appropriate. Please see the standards below: Teachers/Teaching Assistants:

Slacks, shorts or skirts with appropriate waistline. Holes are not permitted. We should not see underwear or private areas of your body. It is offensive and unprofessional.

Blouses and tops that fit appropriately. The tops must cover the stomach area and should not show cleavage. Anyone wearing a shirt that is not appropriate will be loaned a school shirt for the day.

T-shirts are limited to educational slogans.

Shorts must be at knee length. No sweats or running shorts (except for Mr. Fuller).

Hair needs to be groomed and clean. No messy ponytails or hair held up with a clip.

Flip flops may not be worn (decorative or plain).

Office Staff:

All standards regarding clothing listed in the Teachers/ Teaching Assistants should be followed.

Nurse Matthews may wear scrubs.

Cell Phones The use of cell phones is prohibited during instructional time, in the playground area, in the cafeteria, in the halls, or anywhere visible to students or parents. This includes texting! Ear pieces, such as Blue tooth, are not permitted during work hours. Personal phone calls should be made during planning time or before/after school. If expecting an important phone call, let the office staff know so that they can transfer the call. Refrain from using the front office staff phones, since these are used for school business. All calls that are

not an emergency will be transferred to the staff member’s voice-mail. Messages will also be sent via e-mail.

Audio-Visual Procedures

Videotapes may be shown only if they are part of the school’s library collection. The movies must be rated “G” as defined by the Motion Picture Rating Association and are less than 70 minutes in duration. Videos longer than 70 minutes may be split and shown on two different days. Staff members must inform Ms. Pollack in writing or by e-mail before any video is shown if cartoon like or entertainment based and/or not

in school library collection. Any use of a video has to be evident in lesson plans and tied to an objective. If videos are being abused, permission may be taken away for the remainder of the school year.


Movies and/or videos may only be shown if all the following conditions are met:

The tape is shown as part of an instructional activity. The tape is a lawfully made copy (Rental movies meet this requirement. Movies recorded from television or cable TV does not meet this requirement). Use of movies and/or videos as for recreation and for extracurricular use is considered a performance and is illegal.

Report any broken or damaged equipment to Mrs. Soto as it occurs or is noticed. Lost or stolen equipment must be reported immediately. Failure to report lost or stolen equipment may result in personal liability for the loss.

Computer Hardware and Software

All HISD computers, laptops, iTouches, SmartBoards, and iPads are the property of the school district. Staff members have been given the responsibility of making

sure that the equipment is used for HISD purposes only. They are responsible in ensuring that only authorized sites are visited. No family member is allowed to use

or download anything. If any of the technology tools are lost, stolen, or broken, IMMEDIATELY report it to Ms. Soto.

E-mail – Personal Computer Use E-mails and personal computer use should not be done during instructional time. Check e-mails before school, during lunch, planning time, student nap

time, or after school. To improve server performance, each mailbox has been allocated 100 megabytes of space on the HISD Exchange mail server. The following are a few suggestions to help maintain mailboxes below the 100 MB-size limit.

Delete message after reading it if there is no need to refer back to it. Delete messages over 60 days old. Save attachments and then delete the message.

All messages sent by e-mail are HISD’s records. Messages sent over HISD’s internal e-mail systems are not subject to the privacy provisions of the Electronic and Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and therefore may be read by HISD’s management and system administrators. HISD reserves the right to access and disclose messages sent over its e-mail system, for any purpose. Supervisors may

review the e-mail communications of employees to determine whether security has been violated.


Appropriate Use of HISD E-mail

Use HISD e-mail for professional and business purposes only. Remember the document represents the author and HISD. Follow guidelines below.

Inappropriate Use of HISD E-mail E-mail messages should not involve solicitation or be associated with any for-profit outside business activity. E-mailing threatening, unsolicited, obnoxious, or sexually explicit messages and persistently e-mailing unsolicited messages to others after being asked to stop are forms of harassment. This behavior violates ethical usage of an HISD network account and, in

some extreme cases, may even provoke recipients to seek criminal charges.

Do not propagate chain or junk e-mail, jokes, or Internet rumors. Do not compose or forward e-mail that would potentially embarrass HISD. Never send uninvited e-mail to large numbers of strangers (known as "spam.") In particular, do not send commercial advertisements, surveys, or questionnaires to anyone who has not given his or her permission.

iTouches and iPads

ITouches and mini iPads will not be removed from the campus. They are for student use only. Wireless device must remain off. The only persons allowed to

download applications will be Tobi Robinson. ITouches and iPads will have bar codes and may be checked out daily for classroom use. They must be returned at the end

of the day so that they can be charged in the docking cart. iPads need to be stored in a locked cabinet every evening. They may not go home with the teacher. Failure to do so

will be considered as evidence of not following school policies and procedures. Teachers’ iPads can only be taken home if permission is granted by Mrs. Menxueiro.


I. School Building Procedures OUR SCHOOL BUILDING Please assist in taking care of the building. If anything may need repairing, please e-mail Ms. Menxueiro immediately, and she will forward the information to Ms. Harper. In addition, special attention needs to be given to the overall cleanliness of the building. The evening custodians will continue to service our building, but we have to do our part.

Staff Lunchroom—Clean up after yourself. Look at the table once you have eaten. Wipe the crumbs or stains from the table. Clean your own spills in the microwave and wash your own dishes. Furthermore, our staff lunchroom should not be a place for our unwanted items

Adult Restrooms—Look at the floor before you leave and make sure that you did not miss the trashcan when throwing away your paper towel. Dispose of feminine items in the proper container. If we are low on paper, let someone from the front desk know.

Supply Rooms—Only office personnel and teaching assistants will have access to these rooms. ALL items should be stored properly. If you open a box, close it. If something falls on the floor, pick it up. If you don’t know where something belongs, ASK someone. Do not make the supply

rooms storage areas for things that you don’t know where they belong or for items that you do not feel like putting away.

Keep the school building clutter and trash free. Keep up with your own trash items. Do not leave items in the hallway because you don’t know where items are stored. Let’s work together to take care of the school and to keep it clean!

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT The appearance of the classroom is an important part of the instructional program. Room arrangement should be building student pride and enhancing instruction.

Do not staple or tape anything on the colored parts of the building, especially outside of the classroom. In the classroom, staple only the displays that will be used for the entire year. Use sticky tack for student work that is displayed on the wall.

For aquariums, place a water resistant mat underneath.

Do not drill large screws into the walls for any reason.

Do not put a border around the classroom door. This peels the paint.

Students need to come into a clean, organized, warm, and safe room each day. Take into consideration all classroom displays – they should exemplify best efforts from the teacher and students. We are their role models.

Furniture will be organized into a minimum of ten clearly defined and labeled learning centers. Quiet and active areas are to be separated. There should be soft furnishings accessible to the


students. All materials in centers need to be organized in a way that teaches children how to put away materials independently before moving on to any other activities.

Cabinets and shelves should be neat and orderly at all times. Only neatly labeled theme tubs may be placed on top of cabinets. Clutter should be removed from tables, under the computer stations, tops of the counters, etc. Snacks should be neatly stored in an area of the classroom that does not interfere with instruction or safety.

Bulletin boards should be covered and have a border.

Student bathrooms should be supervised and checked throughout the day. Students should be taught to put toilet paper in the commode and to flush.

Blinds should be opened each morning and closed at the end of each day. HISD police recommends this due to the high level of theft in our area.

Before the classroom teacher leaves each day, the following must take place: o All workstation material needs to be put away in their containers or storage areas. It is

not the responsibility of the custodial staff to pick up material from the floor. o All crayons, markers, large pieces of paper, etc. should be picked up from the floor. o All trash should be in the trash can. Students can be taught to take ownership of the

classroom by keeping it clean and orderly. o Cubby materials should be securely stored. Blankets should be neatly placed inside the

cubbies. o Tables should be free of clutter. o All evidence of snacks should be put away. o Chairs should be stacked. o Blinds should be closed. o Computers should be turned off.

It would be helpful to copy the checklist above to revisit at the end of the day to make sure that all of steps take place before leaving the classroom at the end of the day. LAMINATING MACHINE Most laminating will be done by the parents during the Parent Volunteer workshops. Only teachers and teaching assistants are allowed to use the laminator at other times. Please pay attention while using the machine and turn it off after use. For safety reasons, no children are allowed to be around the laminator or to use the laminator. This includes staff member’s children. If for any reason the machine breaks – please inform Ms. Soto immediately. DIE CUT MACHINE Two Die cut machines are available for use. Place dies on the counter with the blade facing up when it is taken out of the slots. This will prevent the blades from being damaged. Teachers, staff and parents who are trained to use die cut machine are allowed to use it. Please return dies to the proper slot and clean up the area when finished.


COPY MACHINE A black and white copy machine is available in each of the teachers’ workroom. Farias promotes hands on learning which means that there should NOT be an abundance of worksheets copied. Copies are made only when the activity cannot be done without the handout. Staff members should notify Ms. Soto if they are having trouble with the copier - Do not walk away from the machine if it is jammed leaving someone else to find the jam.

The copy machine in the office workroom and in the nurse’s office is for office use only. FAX MACHINE The fax machine is available in Ms. Soto’s office and in the library. Staff members should notify the front staff if expecting a personal fax. The fax number is 713-691-8748. COLOR LASER PRINTER The color laser printer is located in the nurse’s office. Please remember this printer should not be your default printer. Continued abuse will cause this printer to be taken off-line. Teachers that are printing in black and white, must use the workroom printers.

OFFICE AREA Each member of the office staff has assigned duties that they must perform on a daily basis. Please respect their working stations before, during and after school hours. Refrain from using their office supplies, phones, computers, etc. Please do not sit and talk with them during their work hours as this action only causes them to fall behind in their duties.

II. Staff and Student Safety Parents must come to the office to sign a student out and the student will be asked to come to the front accompanied by two classmates or an adult. Students must be supervised at all times. Under no circumstances should students be left alone in any classroom. A head count of the students should be done before exiting the classroom and when reentering the classroom. When walking the students in line, teachers/staff member should be able to see ALL of their students. When turning the corner, the teacher/staff member should stand in the middle to have a clear vision of ALL of the students. This must be evident especially when leaving the cafeteria, coming in from recess (and/or before) and after a fire drill. Faculty and staff members that arrive early or stay late should exercise good judgment and caution when traveling to and from the parking lot and throughout the building. Everyone must be out of the building by 6:00 pm. All staff members are responsible to report any potentially dangerous situation or circumstance (e.g. unidentified visitor, suspected theft, broken glass, damaged playground equipment, etc.).


SCHOOL VISITORS Parents are encouraged to visit the school. However, all school visitors are required to report to the main office for permission to visit classrooms or other parts of the school. Personal visitors are discouraged during teaching time. Visitors are required to wear a school visitor sticker. Please report any visitor without a pass to the office.

All staff members should be alerted for strangers on the campus and should make prudent judgments on how to approach the stranger. A polite “May I help you?” is appropriate unless the stranger appears dangerous. All strangers/visitors should be directed to the office, if not wearing a dated pass. Stray animals should be reported to office immediately and students should be kept away from any stray animal. CLASSROOM SECURITY

Classrooms should be locked when the room is empty but unlocked when the students are in the room.

Valuables should be placed out of sight and locked up at all times. Money (such as fieldtrip, picture, fundraiser, etc.) is to be turned in to Ms. Soto in person at the main office prior to the end of the day and is not to be left in the classrooms. Money not turned in to the office

in accordance with school procedures and HISD policies is the responsibility of the teacher who will be required to replace the funds in the case of loss or theft. Audio-visuals, iPads, laptops, and all other computer equipment etc. should be stored out of sight as much as possible. At the end of the day, they must be stored in a locked cabinet. ACCIDENT PREVENTION Many accidents that occur to staff and students can be prevented. It is the responsibility of every employee to follow the safety procedures provided below. SPILLS – All spills should be cleaned up immediately. Notify the office for assistance and avoid the area until clean. CLIMBING – Unsafe climbing can lead to serious injury. Under no circumstances is any student or employee to stand, kneel or climb upon counters, chairs, tables, desks, or any item than approved safety ladders or step-stools. HAZARDS – All staff members are responsible for reporting any potential hazard to the office. This includes, but is not limited to, broken glass, damaged furniture, protruding objects, sharp edges, unusual odors and/or broken or damaged playground equipment. PESTICIDES The school periodically applies pesticides. Any sight of ants, spiders, etc. should be reported to Ms. Harper.


FIRE/SAFETY DRILLS A rapidly repeating siren will be sounded and remain active until it is clear to return to the building. Evacuation should proceed as indicated on evacuation maps. Additional announcements regarding use of alternative assembly areas will be made as necessary. Fire and Safety drills are held once monthly for the safety of all personnel. During drills:

Students should be silent. Students should move quickly but must walk in a single file line. Teachers are to lead the line when exiting the building. Also, teachers should look frequently to see

the end of his/her line to ensure all students are following. Teachers must have their treasure box, shield, and are to take attendance after reaching the

evacuation site. If any students are found to be missing from your evacuation assembly site, teachers are to immediately notify their Emergency Monitor.

For all drills/evacuations there are standard signals:

Fire Alarm – Evacuate the building immediately in an orderly manner

Cease sounding alarm (silence) – Return to the building when the “All Clear” directive is given.

Students in the lunchroom are to leave their food on the table and exit the lunchroom. The classroom teacher will lead them out. Teachers are to make sure they carry their “Treasure Boxes” for roll count. EMERGENCIES Emergency plans can be found in the red Safety and Security binder.

III. Teacher Procedures LESSON PLAN CRITERIA Written lesson plans shall be required of every teacher to facilitate efficient and effective instruction of the District curriculum. The lesson plan will serve as a means of administrative monitoring of the instructional program. In the absence of the teacher, the lesson plan shall provide the associate teacher a guide for presenting daily activities. BP DLB (Legal); EEP (Local).

Lesson plans are to be completed and saved to the folder LESSON PLANS

2014-2015 on the school common server and turned into the front office no later than 4:00 pm each Friday for the

upcoming week.


A sample lesson plan template will be provided in that folder. HISD has posted the lesson plans based on the Frog Street Curriculum and HISD standards. The Elementary School Office requires teachers to have a hard copy of the lesson plans visible in the classroom. All teachers are required to use the same theme and the same objectives on the lesson but you do have flexibility of choosing activities or books of your choice as long as they cover the objective/theme for the week. DAILY PROGRAMS A schedule of events of the day should be displayed for students’ use in the classroom. It must be current and utilized when moving to the different activities. The Daily Plan should be visible to the students and displayed close to the whole group area. The plan needs to have typed events along with pictures. A daily schedule should also be posted in the window of the classroom facing outside so it can be viewed by visitors. Use the template on the common server for the daily schedule and forward to Mrs. Pollack through e-mail. Any changes made in the daily program should be updated and sent to Ms. Pollack, Mrs. Soto and Mrs. Williams. The Daily Schedule should be ready on the first day of school. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Conscious Discipline is our official Classroom Management program. CD Components should be evident and used on a daily basis. The implementation of this program will be consistent with Instructional Practice I-9 of the Teacher Appraisal Rubric. Our classroom management philosophy is a role model for our school district and for other districts as well. PLANNING PERIOD: Planning period must be spent on instructional planning and preparation of lesson materials. Personal errands cannot be taken at during teachers’ planning periods according to HISD Policy DL 2 REGULATION. SUBSTITUTE TEACHER INFORMATION Teachers must have a plan for substitutes. Each teacher must work with their planning team to ensure that all items can be found in the classroom. Substitute plans must be turned into front office. The plan should include information on the following: Daily schedule Secretary name and her extension number (Mrs. Soto—Ext. 302) Front Desk Extension—301 Substitute Lesson Plans Student roster Lunch time Ancillary schedule Seating chart Special instructions Student work Dismissal Procedures Name of Teacher next to your classroom


INTERVENTION ASSISTANCE TEAM Teachers can refer students to the Intervention Assistance Team to get ideas on strategies that can be incorporated in the classroom to enhance instruction for students who may need assistance to ensure success. The following steps must take place before a student is referred.

1. Observation notes of student behavior and extensive and detailed intervention strategies for six weeks in your classroom. Other members of the staff (Menxueiro, Pollack, L. Garcia, Matthews) need to observe the student as well. The plan should include what the classroom teacher has done differently to assist the student in reaching success.

2. Share the concerns with the PLC team to get other points of view. Remember to document intervention strategies with dates. Teachers can also schedule a meeting with Mrs. L. Garcia with their concerns.

3. After six full weeks of varied strategies and intervention, request an IAT packet from Mrs. L/ Garica. All forms need to be completed. Use detailed information and write using professional language. These forms are placed in a student’s folder and are reviewed by district special education personnel.

4. Speech referrals may be handled differently depending on the severity of the speech concern. 5. IAT will meet with the teacher so he/she can will present the documentation provided.

Requesting additional assistance for a student that a teacher has concerns about consists of a willingness to follow through with the procedures that it takes to ensure that the student receives the help that he/she deserves. Classroom teachers are required to implement the strategies suggested by IAT and to keep adequate documentation on how effective the strategies were. Teachers will receive detailed information on the referral process during the first six weeks of school. In the meantime, if teachers have academic, speech or behavioral concerns about one of their students, begin documentation and intervention immediately. TEACHING ASSISTANTS Teaching Assistants are valued members of the school family. They will be part of an evaluation and enrichment program designed by the instructional team. Their main job duty is to serve students in the classroom. Below is a list of what teaching assistants cannot do:

Teaching Assistants may NOT…….

Run personal errands while they are assigned to the teacher’s classroom.

Clean, move furniture, or arrange classroom closets unless they are participating in a collaborative effort with the teacher.

Assist teachers that are not on their team.


Field trips HISD is allowed two field trips that have free admission. We have HISD Field Trip Guidelines which are provided in the staff handbook. All students are entitled to participate in scheduled field trips with his/her class. Students’ shall not be excluded from a field trip or extracurricular activity without the prior permission of the principal. Each child must have a signed permission slip on file before he/she is permitted to participate. Permission cannot be granted over the telephone but it may be accepted by fax if there is no other way of receiving the permission slip on time. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make every attempt possible to get parent permission. Children do not understand the concept of being left behind because their parent did not sign the form. If a parent decides they do not want their child to attend the field trip then you must email the field trip chairperson at least 1 day prior to the actual trip with the name of the students not attending and why they are not able to participate. If you have concerns with a child’s behavior prior to the field trip, you must share this concern with your appraiser. All field trips will support the curriculum and enhance the learning opportunities of the students. Chaperones must have background clearance on file before going on a field trip.

Materials and Supplies

Teachers are provided with a substantial amount of supplies. When additional supplies are needed:

Complete a supply request form (on common server).

Give the form to Ms. Williams.

Allow at least 24 hours to receive the material. Do not ask Ms. Williams or other staff member to get materials on the day of the lesson. Plan ahead so that all materials will be ready

Students were provided a very basic supply list at the beginning of the year. Each classroom teacher may request up to $6 worth of additional supplies for student use only.

Reimbursement to individual staff members will be made only when prior approval has been granted in writing by the Ms. Menxueiro. Teachers do not need to get prior approval for instructional materials purchased using the $50 school allowance. If a teacher is not sure if a purchase is considered instructional – please ask. All $50 reimbursement purchases need to be made by December 16, 2015. No receipts will be paid after that date.


Party Procedures Birthday celebrations may be held once a month during the teachers’ recess time. Two family members can attend the birthday celebration per student. Send birthday schedule to the front office.

Open Door Policy If Ms. Menxueiro or Ms. Pollack’s doors are open, staff members are welcome. If the doors are closed, please do not interrupt by knocking on the door or opening it. As campus leaders, they often have to have conversations that need to be respected. Therefore, if the door is closed staff members may leave a message with Mrs. Soto.

Tiger Update The Farias school newsletter will go out every week. Everyone is required to read the update and everyone will be held accountable for all information provided. This update will be our main line of communication. If a staff member wishes to have any information shared, please provide the information to Ms. Barrientos no later than on Thursday. The sharing of great teaching activities, websites and celebrations are welcomed.

Written Correspondence to Parents All hardcopies of notes, letters etc. written on behalf of a teacher’s classroom or the school must be sent to the front office to be placed in a binder. On many occasions, parents have called referring to teacher notes. In order to minimize interruption of the instructional day, the front desk needs a copy of the letter to refer to in case parents have questions. All teachers must make an effort to have another staff member proofread what is written to parents.

Classroom Inventories Teachers must verify that they have all of their materials before the year begins. Any discrepancies must be noted and signed off by Ms. Williams. Discrepancies discovered at the end of the year may result in the payment for lost materials.


Volunteers All parents must be registered as volunteers using the VIPS registration form. Parents are encouraged to register on-line. During Open House, the website will shared with the parents so they can register. Mrs. Doria will be responsible to ensure that parent volunteers are signing in and out every day. All volunteers will wear a lanyard with a volunteer badge.

A “Parent Volunteer Day” will be conducted 1 -2 times a month. These dates will be posted on the calendar. Parents will be coming in to copy, color, staple, cut, etc. all of the teachers’ projects. Please turn the items in to Ms. Rincon so that she can get the work assigned. Parents that are used as chaperones or classroom helpers on a regular basis must have a background clearance on file. Teachers are responsible for the safety of the students. Please adhere to these HISD guidelines. The registration forms and background form must be completed each school year.

faculty handbook 2015 2016

Education