Policies

See or download our Parent/Student Handbook here

FSAS Parent Student Handbook

NO EARLY DISMISSALS ARE PERMITTED FOR ANY STUDENT AFTER 2:30 P.M.

Students who must leave school before the end of the day may be dismissed by having an approved adult sign the student out in the office. The student will then be called from the classroom by the office when the approved adult arrives. The adult must show a state-issued ID and must be on the approved emergency contact list. No student will be dismissed directly from the classroom by the teacher. Every effort should be made to have all routine medical and dental appointments scheduled after school hours. Every instructional minute counts. Your child needs to be in school throughout the entire school day, every day.

ATTENDANCE:

Our school’s goal is to surpass 95% Student Attendance this year! In order for your child to have 95% attendance at the end of the year they can not miss more than 9 school days. 282 students accomplished this goal last year! At the end of each month, your child will receive a letter updating you on how many absences your child currently has. Make it your goal to make sure that your child earns perfect attendance each month. All parents must make every effort to have their children come to school every day. Certificates will be given out to students that earn perfect attendance each month. Lets all strive for perfect attendance!

ABSENT NOTES:

If a student is absent, they must present a note to their homeroom teacher giving the reason for the absence. Without a legitimate absent note, each absence is coded as “Unexcused”. The note must include the reason for the absence, the dates of the absence, any medical attention that was
received, and the parent’s signature. Once a legitimate absence note is received, the absence may be coded as “Excused”. The trigger for a truancy referral remains ten unexcused days. After eight cumulative absences for illness, the parent must secure a doctor’s note for any future absences for illness. If FSAS is not the student’s neighborhood school, the district’s “Transfer To Neighborhood School Procedure” permits schools to transfer any student to their neighborhood school if “the student has an excessive amount of absences and/or lateness during the school year.”

Lateness to School

Our school day begins at 8:15am. Students who show a repeated pattern of lateness will be referred to truancy officials and may not be eligible for voluntary after-school activities. Students arriving after 8:25 in the morning will be marked as late, receive a late slip, and sent to class. If FSAS is not the student’s neighborhood school, the district’s “Transfer To Neighborhood School Procedure” permits schools to transfer any student to their neighborhood school if “the student has an excessive amount of absences and/or lateness during the school year.”

LATENESS TO CLASS:

Regular and prompt attendance to class is expected of all students. Students who arrive late to class may receive consequences such as detention during lunch, before school, or after school. Teachers will keep a log of all students who arrive late to class. If a student arrives to school after 10:00 am without a note or leaves before 1:00 pm without a note, they will be marked half-day unexcused absence. The half-day unexcused absences will accrue to full days.

VISITOR POLICY

1. All visitors to, including parents, are required to ring the doorbell, identify himself/herself and the destination and wait to speak to the secretary. The visitor must show their ID in the camera so the secretary can make sure this individual is permitted to enter the school building. The visitor must
then wait and hear the buzzer before entering the building and report directly to the Main Office. FSAS staff members have been advised not to hold doors open for any visitors but to advise them of our policy and to close the door behind them.
2. All visitors to FSAS, including parents, are required to enter the building via the front entrance located on Courtland Street. Visitors who attempt to enter via any other doors will be turned away and redirected. Visitors must go directly into the main office and are not permitted to go anywhere
else in the building.
3. Visitor must have proper identification to enter the building (Drivers License, State/Government ID, or other acceptable from of ID)
4. All visitors to FSAS, including parents, who need to travel to another location in the building will receive a visitor’s badge and be escorted by a member of our support team.
5. Parents are not permitted to visit classrooms without first speaking with the principal regarding a set appointment.
6. Parents and Visitors are not permitted to visit our floors, our gym or our cafeterias without approval from the principal. This protocol excludes school events such as concerts, parent meetings, and awards assemblies etc., which are being held in any of these locations. Failure to adhere to this policy is in direct violation of trespass Ordinance and will be addressed accordingly.
7. Visitors are required to speak and behave in a respectful, non-threatening manner in our school and on campus. Visitors who cannot follow this rule will be excluded from entering our building for one year unless they make an approved appointment with the principal.

ELECTRONICS:

All electronics including cell phones must be turned in to the advisory teacher each morning and will be returned at the end of each day. If a student refuses to turn their phone in then the cell phone or technological device will be confiscated and only returned to a parent/guardian. The use of cell phones, MP3 players, video games, and other electronic devices is extremely disruptive of the educational
environment. The use of these devices during school hours also reduces the safety of everyone in the school building. The School District of Philadelphia’s Code of Student Conduct was adopted to support a safe learning environment for the entire school community. The District’s policy regarding the use of cell phones reads as

follows:
If a student brings a cell phone or telephonic device to school and refuses to give to their homeroom teacher for safe keeping it will be confiscated and returned only to the parent or guardian of the student. Upon a second violation or if the device is used during the commission of a crime the school will confiscate the device and hold the device until the final day of school.