ARTHUR KRAMER ELEMENTARY, An IB World School
7131 Midbury Road ● Dallas, TX 75230
Main office: 972-794-8300 ● Fax: 972-794-8301
TEA Location: 169 ● Internal Mail Box Number: 301
Mrs. Kate Walker, Principal - katewalker@dallasisd.org
DAILY SCHEDULE
7:30 - Students arrive at school: Grades Pre-K to 1: Auditorium; Grades 2-5: Gym
7:45 - Students picked up by teacher
7:55 - Tardy bell: All students are in their classrooms ready to learn!
3:15 - Dismissal for all students.
ARRIVAL OF STUDENTS: We want your child to safely arrive at school!
· Students may be dropped off at school beginning at 7:30 am. Students may not be left unsupervised before that time.
· Traffic moves clockwise around the school and is ONE WAY on Midbury Road.
· Student drop off location is on Midbury. Please use only this location for the safety of your child! Please remain in your car and a staff member or a safety patrol member will open the door for your child. Your child may safely exit your vehicle and walk directly into the front of the building/main entrance.
· Please DO NOT drop off or park in the Teacher’s Parking Lot or by the Portables.
· If you park and walk your child to the front door, please cross your child between the CORNER CROSSWALKS on St. Judes or Tunica at all times. Please note that for safety reasons, parents must drop off students at the front door and may not wait with their children in the main foyer.
· Students in grades Pre K-1 report to the Auditorium.
· Students in grades 2-5 report to the Gym.
For safety and security reasons, no students, parents, or other visitors may wait in any other locations or join their student in the Auditorium, Gym, or Cafeteria.
ATTENDANCE
We want every student here all day, every day!
Late arrivals (after 8:15am) and early pick-ups (before 2:00pm) count as partial day absences. If a child leaves the campus before 10:00 am or arrives after 10:00 am, the child will be counted absent for the entire day.
Please note the district’s 90% RULE:
• According to Texas Education Code 25.092 (Minimum attendance for Class Credit), a student may not be given credit if he/she misses more than 90% of class days (or 18 school days total or 9 days per semester).
• If your child is in danger of hitting a 90% attendance rate you will be contacted via letter to set up a meeting with the principal, your child will make up the time in tutoring or via
special project, and your child will be set up with a Principal’s Plan for attendance recovery.
EARLY DISMISSAL
A picture ID is required to pick-up a child early from school. Only adults listed on the child’s emergency card or enrollment form may take the child from campus. Once cleared by the attendance office, the child will be called to meet the parent in the office. Due to safety concerns, there will be NO early dismissal between 2:30-3:00 pm.
HEALTH APPOINTMENTS
· Every effort should be made for doctor, dentist, or vision appointments to be made after school.
· If appointments must take place during the school day, the student is required to attend as much of the day as possible, and a doctor’s note is required to excuse the appointment.
IF YOUR CHILD IS ABSENT
· Every absence should be followed by a note from home stating the nature of the absence; however, submitting a note does not automatically ensure the absence will be excused.
· For an absence to be “excused,” notes must be sent to the teacher within THREE days of the student’s return, or the absence will remain unexcused.
o Phone calls or verbal communication cannot be accepted in lieu of a written note.
o Any excuse note can be investigated by the principal or her designee.
o Excuse notes must contain the dates of the absence, the signature of the parent/guardian, and the reason for the absence.
· Five consecutive absences require a doctor’s note.
· Absences due to vacation, babysitting, missing the bus, family illness, oversleeping, etc. are unexcused.
LATE (TARDY) ARRIVAL at 7:55 am
Let’s be on time! In addition to late students missing essential learning, tardy arrivals are disruptive to the overall classroom and other students’ learning. Students with repeated late arrivals after 7:45 will be asked to make up any missed work and time.
• Students arriving after 7:55 am will be considered tardy.
• Students arriving after 8:15 am will be giving a partial day unexcused absence (T99). Please note that multiple T99’s will result in a Truancy Court referral.
TRUANCY
District policy states that students and parents are subject to prosecution if the student is absent without an excuse: ten (10) or more days or parts of days in a six-month period, or three (3) or more days or parts of days in a four-week period. The school is also required to report truant students to the court system. A warning letter will be mailed when the 3rd unexcused absence occurs (within a
4-week period) including partial day absences. On the 10th unexcused absence (within a 6- month period), the parent will be summoned to appear in court. Parents may be fined up to $500 per unexcused absences, required to attend counseling, and/or community service for failure to ensure that the child adheres to the compulsory school attendance law.
BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
Teachers in each grade level will create a Behavior Management Plan that will clarify additional classroom expectations, reward systems, and consequences for inappropriate behavior. Disruptions, classroom discipline violations, and consequences will be communicated by the teacher(s) to parent/guardians in a timely manner.
Parents/guardians and students can find a copy of the Dallas ISD’s Student Code of Conduct online at dallasisd.org under the parents/students tab as well as the Kramer website. Behavior expectation assemblies will be conducted by the counselor and administrators on campus to review school appropriate behavior. Students that violate the Student Code of Conduct will receive an office referral. Parents/Guardians will be notified by teachers and campus administrators of violations and consequences.
CAMPUS BEHAVIOR RECOGNITION
We strive to develop the IB Learner Profile Attributes: balanced, caring, communicator, inquirer, knowledgeable, open-minded, principled, reflective, risk-taker and thinker. Students “spotted” showing IB Learner Profile attributes will receive “Spotted Tickets”. Two winners will be drawn, per grade level, to select a prize from the “Principal’s Spotted Ticket Prizes” each week. Winners will be announced each Friday during the daily announcements.
Students are to model “HALL” expectations in the hallways while transitioning from one location to another:
BREAKFAST
Free breakfast is provided to students beginning at 7:30 in the cafeteria for grades 2-5. PK-1st will enjoy breakfast in the classroom.
BOOKS
Library books are checked out in your child’s name. He or she is responsible for all books and must pay for them if they are lost or damaged.
BRINGING PERSONAL ITEMS TO SCHOOL
The only time students should bring toys, games, electronics etc. to school is when their teacher instructs them for an academic reason. The student will assume responsibility for any item brought to school.
CELL PHONES
Campus policy prohibits elementary students from using a cell phone while on campus. If a student is on his or her phone during school hours, it will be sent to the office and the device must be picked up by a parent/guardian. On the second time, the phone will be taken to the office and a $5.00 fee will be assessed when the phone is picked up by a parent/guardian. On the third time, the phone will be taken to the office and a $15.00 fee will be assessed when the phone is picked up by a parent/guardian.
CHILD CARE AFTER SCHOOL
For more information, see also “Tutoring,” and “Sports”.
In addition to the above activities, Kramer partners with the The Semones Family YMCA to provide an after-school program on campus. Kramer also sends students to Jeanette’s Little Haven, Kinder Care, Youth Believing in Change (YBC), Churchill Recreation Center and Brighter Day Academy. Please contact these individual organizations to request more information!
COMMUNICATION
A printed school calendar is made available to each family at the start of the school year with important dates and events.
To keep you informed of your child’s academic progress and important school information, a weekly Colt Folder will be sent home each Tuesday. It is important that you review your child’s work, read all notices sent home, and return any needed forms to your child’s teacher.
All Kramer staff and PTA announcements will be sent out through the Remind app. See your child’s teacher or visit the PTA website for information about joining Remind (kramerelementary.org).
Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place twice during the year. Your child’s homeroom teacher will reach out to set an individual conference time with you for the week of October 7th- 10th and October 14th in the fall and for the week of January 13th-17th in the spring.
Kramer Elementary is online!
• School website: http://www.dallasisd.org/Domain/540
• Kramer PTA website: www.kramerelementary.org
• Join our private Kramer PTA Facebook group
• Join our REMIND stream (text @akramerpta to 81010)
• Follow Kramer Elementary on Twitter @KramerDISD
• Follow the Kramer Library on Twitter @KramerLibrary
Parent and teacher communication is vital to the success of your child! Parents are urged to contact the school whenever the need arises. Teachers may be contacted by note or a call to the main office. Teachers are not available to discuss concerns until after school; however, they will return phone calls within 48 hours. If you wish to have a conference with your child’s teacher, please call ahead to make an appointment, as our teachers’ schedules do not allow time for drop-in conferences.
TELEPHONE/ADDRESS CHANGE
To best stay in communication with us, please notify the school immediately if there is a change in your address, telephone number, or person to contact in an emergency. This information is very important in case your child becomes ill or injured. We must have a current telephone number for each student enrolled at Kramer.
DISMISSAL OF STUDENTS
We want your child to return safely home from school!
Students are dismissed each day at 3:15 pm. To ensure a safe, efficient, and accurate dismissal process each day, no student will be dismissed between 2:30 and 3:15 pm!
Dismissal Procedure
School traffic moves clockwise around the school (and is ONE WAY on Midbury during dismissal). To help support this, please ensure you do not ask your child to cross the street at pick up. Buses must pick up at the front of school, so please DO NOT pick-up or park in the front of the school between 2:30 and 3:30pm.
Students being picked up:
PK, KA, KD students are dismissed through the doors facing St. Judes Drive.
o The Staff Parking lot should not be used as a waiting spot or drive through at this
time.
KB, KC, 1st: Front of the school off Midbury.
2nd grade students are dismissed through the doors to the playground facing Tunica.
3rd grade students are dismissed either from the portables to Tunica Street or from the gym to Tunica Street.
4th and 5th grade students are dismissed through the doors facing Mason Dells Street.
All older car pick up siblings will walk to the pickup location of the youngest sibling.
Students are not allowed to leave their teacher until they are dismissed.
Students who ride the bus: All bus riders will be dismissed through the front doors facing Midbury.
Kinder through 5th grade students will be walked out to the buses by a teacher.
Changes in Pick-Up
Parents must send a note to their child’s teacher if they want their child to be picked up a different way than they normally are. For example, if a student typically rides the bus, the parent/guardian MUST send a note if they want the child to be a car rider. If a note is not received by your child’s teacher, they will be sent home in their typical method of dismissal. To ensure the safety of your child, if something happens during the day, the parent must call the office before 2:00pm to make changes to how a pick-up will happen.
Late Pick-Ups
After 3:25pm, parents must come inside to pick up their student from the Attendance Office. Upon pick-up, parents are required to sign, as frequent late pick-ups and any pick-up after 3:45pm are documented. This will result in a conference with the principal and/or further referral to an outside agency.
HOMEWORK
Homework reinforces classroom learning and reinforces what happens in the classroom at home! It will be helpful if your child has a special place to do his or her homework at home. Students should keep their homework inside their homework folder and put it in the same place each day. Each grade level will provide more information about their homework expectations at the Colt Parent Orientation on August 29, 2019.
LOST & FOUND
The lost and found tub is located in the back of the auditorium. Please clearly mark your child’s name on all possessions. Students should keep all money on their person and should keep valuables at home. Items that are not retrieved by the end of each semester will be donated.
LUNCH
Parents are welcome to eat lunch with their child throughout the school year; however, please refrain from bringing snacks or lunch items to share. All visitors to lunch must check in at the Attendance Office and get a visitor’s pass. Please note, we recommend joining your child for lunch on special occasions only, as we want to ensure students have time to socialize with each other. Administration also reserves the right to ask any visitor to leave or change this policy at any time. Finally, for safety reasons, visitors are NOT allowed to join their child at recess.
MEDICATIONS
If a child is to receive any prescription medication during the school day, the parent or guardian must fill out a “School Medication Permission and Instruction” form and have it signed by the doctor. The medication will be kept in the clinic and be dispensed according to the doctor’s
instruction. Only medication in the original container with the prescribed dosage and physician’s name clearly marked may be administered.
Non-prescription medication may NOT be given unless accompanied by a written order from a physician and a written note from the parent.
SAFETY & SECURITY
Campus security is a team effort! All visitors, whether known or not, must ring the bell and be buzzed in by a staff member. Please come through the front doors and immediately report to the Attendance Office for check-in and a visitor’s pass.
For the protection of our students, visitors and volunteers must present a valid form of identification to be scanned through the Raptor System. Visitors and parents will have limited access to locations throughout the building to ensure the safety and security of the faculty, staff, and students.
Policies ensuring this safety include:
• Only the front doors (Midbury) will be used during the day so that the entering and exiting of all visitors may be monitored.
• Parents will remain outside during drop-off to ensure adequate monitoring of students, free of distractions in the Auditorium, Gym, and Cafeteria.
• No persons will be allowed in the Portable Buildings area before or after school.
• An appointment is always required before visiting a classroom or meeting with a teacher.
• No persons will be allowed to go to classrooms without a visitor’s pass and permission from the Attendance Office ensuring no unauthorized visitors are on campus.
VISITORS
Classroom interruptions take away from your child’s learning! Any visit with a teacher during the school day must be prearranged. Conferences and visits should be planned with teachers and staff with at least one day notice.
**VISITOR BADGE MUST ALWAYS BE WORN. **
PARENT ORGANIZATIONS
The Arthur Kramer Parent/Teacher Association exists to promote the education and welfare of our children. Parents are encouraged to join and participate in the activities of the PTA. We want your input, and are always looking for new ideas. Several PTA meetings and activities will be scheduled throughout the year. Dates can be found in your school calendar and will also be sent out through the Remind app.
SPORTS Kramer partners with the Semones Family YMCA (Town North) to bring our students volleyball, soccer, baseball, flag football, and basketball. Our Kramer PTA coordinates these programs, and is always looking for volunteer coaches.
For more information, please contact kramerathletics@gmail.com.
VOLUNTEERS OR CHAPERONES Your support and partnership are of great value to us! Parents are encouraged to contact the PTA or your child’s teacher for opportunities to volunteer at Kramer.
Mrs. Gomez, our Parent Liaison and volunteer coordinator, can assist with VOLY. More information can be found on the Kramer website under the Volunteer tab. Please note: An non-cleared volunteer WILL NOT be able to be trained the day of a field trip or classroom event and still attend. Please ensure that you are cleared to volunteer by completing this training as soon as possible. Teachers have an ongoing list of parents/guardians/community members that are cleared, so check with your child’s teacher to confirm your status.
SCHOOL TOURS School tours are offered at 8:30am. Please contact the Kramer PTA via email (kramerpta@gmail.com) or call 972-794-8300.
UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS
BOTTOMS:
Slacks, Pants, Skirts, Jumpers, Shorts, Capri Pants
• solid khaki, navy, or black ·
• skirts must be knee-length or longer ·
• NO jeans, leggings or sweat pants ·
• NO low-cut, sagging, unclean, torn or damaged clothing
TOPS:
Shirts & Blouses
• solid white or navy or Kelly green·
• must have a collar –straight, button-down or turtleneck
• must be tucked into pants or skirt ·
• NO sweatshirts or t-shirts without a collar ·
• Logos MUST be smaller than 1 inch ·
• NO unclean, torn, or damaged shirts
SHOES:
• athletic shoes, loafers, dress shoes
• MUST be close toed ·
• NO house slippers, flip-flops or steel-toed boots/shoes, or CROCS
OUTER WEAR:
Jackets, Cardigans, Sweaters, Sweatshirts
• solid khaki, navy, or black ·
• MUST be worn over an approved shirt ·
• MUST match an accepted uniform color ·
• Logos MUST be smaller than 1 inch ·
• NO unclean, torn, or damaged clothing