Section 700
Policy 701

School Community Relations

1. The Board of Education expects that school-community relationships be positive (Policy 102, Article 3, Paragraph A (3)). Each staff member shall serve as a positive liaison with the public and shall strive to communicate accurately when providing information about District services, programs and/or management.
   
   
2. Administrators, teachers, and support staff are authorized and encouraged to provide parents with information that increases their knowledge about school and District activities, functions, programs, services, demographics and policies.
   
   
3. School or District sponsored activities for community groups (e.g. senior citizens) are authorized, as are special events or functions that recognize citizens. Activities must be authorized by the Principal or Superintendent and may be limited by budget constraints or available funding.
   
   
4. An area at each school may be established for community organizations and groups to place literature or advertise events. Such literature or advertising shall not be sent home with students except as authorized by the Superintendent.
   
   
5. Schools may sponsor student participation in community service activities. These activities shall be limited so that they do not conflict with expectations for student achievement and attainment of curricular expectations. Parents must provide written consent for students to participate in any community service activity.
   
   
6. Principals are authorized to conduct formal presentations about their schools at public meetings or functions.
   
   
7. Administrators are authorized to release information about school activities, events, and functions to the media. Information about a staff member may be released with his/her consent. Information about a student may be released with his/her parents? consent. Information about a student or team?s performance in an activity, competition or event that is open to the public, may be released without consent.

1. The Board of Education expects employee-community relationships to be positive based on the belief that productive interactions between home and school are essential to fulfillment of the District?s mission and to attainment of District Expectations. The District is committed to fostering positive relationships with parents/guardians.
   
   
2. Each administrator shall be cognizant of the importance of parents? involvement in their children?s education and shall strive to foster such involvement by providing information about programs, curriculum and learning expectations, assuring opportunities for conferences with teachers, assuring that parents are informed about their children?s progress and assisting parents who are seeking ways to increase their involvement in their children?s education.
   
   
3. Each Principal shall assure that parents are informed about standards based education, school results of CSAP assessments, and their children?s CSAP results.
   
   
4. Each Principal shall assure that parents are informed about educational options, including post-secondary options, for their children.
   
   
5. Each teacher shall be cognizant of the importance of parents? involvement in their children?s education and shall strive to foster such involvement by keeping parents informed of their children?s progress, offering suggestions for how parents can assist their children, and being open and available to parent requests for information and/or conferences.

1. The District shall publish an information newspaper, The Community Voice, to provide the public with information about Board activities and actions, budget and financial information, curricular summaries and updates, school information, announcements about events open to the public, calendars, schedules, and other District news
   
   
2. The Superintendent is authorized to contract services for the production and editing of The Community Voice within budget parameters established by the Board of Education.

1. Written communications using District resources or written by employees to parents, the public, or the media shall be in good taste, grammatically correct and legible. They are to be written in a manner that supports positive school-community relations. The staff member shall be responsible and accountable for the accuracy of factual information about a school or the School District. The author of the communication must be identified.

1. The District?s schools are open to the public and adult visitations are encouraged. Parents and members of the Board of Education shall have reasonable access to observe classes, activities, and functions at each school upon timely notice to the Principal?s office. Students from other schools and youth who are not attending school shall not be permitted to visit students during school hours and shall not be permitted on school grounds except as authorized by the Principal or his/her designee.
   
   
2. All visitors must report to the school office, show identification as requested and obtain a visitor?s pass. This requirement does not apply to visitors attending events and scheduled activities. Signs shall be posted indicating visitors are to register at the school office.
   
   
3. Visitor parking, including handicapped parking, shall be reserved at each facility.
   
   
4. Visitors to the schools must comply with state law, Board policies, and procedures established by the Principal. If a visitor fails to comply, he/she will be asked to leave the school and school grounds. If a visitor does not follow the directive of the Principal or designee, the administrator in charge is authorized to contact the Park County Sheriff?s Office for assistance. (See Policy 720 ? Public Conduct on School Property)

1. No child may be removed from class, the school, or school grounds by any visiting adult without notice to the school office, presentation of identification as requested, and written authorization of a parent or guardian except in emergency situations as authorized by the Principal.

1. Volunteers make significant contributions to the educational process, services and programs of the School District. Administrators and teachers are encouraged to promote and seek out the services of volunteers.
   
   
2. Volunteers shall only work with students under the supervision and presence of a licensed teacher or administrator with the exception that a volunteer who has accepted a long-term assignment may do so if he/she has received approval following a background check (fingerprinting) as is required for non-licensed staff or if he/she is a licensed teacher who has received a record check through the Colorado Department of Education.
   
   
3. Volunteers with access to confidential student or staff information shall be notified verbally and in writing that this information may not be disclosed to anyone except to staff with a specific need to know. The volunteer shall be required to sign a statement that he/she understands and will adhere to this confidentiality requirement.

1. Citizens may be requested to participate on committees and may be appointed as members by the Board (see Board of Education By-laws, Article 16) or by the Superintendent (see Policy 103, Article 1, Paragraph I). Principals may request citizens to participate on school committees.
   
   
2. The District shall establish committees and councils, and determine membership, as required by law or Board Policy.

1. The Board of Education authorizes the formation of school support organizations for the purposes of:
   
   
   
   1. Encouraging positive community-school interactions;
      
      
   2. Raising funds for special school needs that go beyond funding requirements of the adopted curriculum;
      
      
   3. Providing supplemental activities and special events for students and families.
   
   
   
2. School facilities shall be made available for meetings of support organizations and, to the extent feasible, for special activities and events sponsored by the organizations. However, the School District shall be reimbursed for extra staff and utility costs incurred as the result of special activities or events unless the purpose is to raise funds for the school and the funds are to be presented to the school. Such funds, when received, shall be sent to the District Account for deposit in the General Fund.
   
   
3. Support organizations, including ?booster clubs,? shall not be administrative or operational units of the School District. They shall be separate entities that have no legal or financial connection with the District. Financial accountability for the organizations and compliance with applicable laws shall be the responsibility of each organization. Support organizations must clearly notify the public that their fundraisers are not school or District sponsored.
   
   
4. The Principal must approve any special events sponsored by support organizations if they involve school time or impact school routines.
   
   
5. Any support organization fundraising involving students in the solicitation of funds or donations from the public must be approved by the Principal.

1. Community education programs may be conducted by staff in cooperation with other agencies or institutions on a fee or tuition basis. Collected fees are to be sent to the District Accountant for deposit in the General Fund. Employees conducting the programs shall be paid for the extra-duty through the regular pay process. District facilities may be used for such programs.

1. Residents age 65 or older shall be permitted to attend school activities, including athletic events, concerts and plays at reduced rates as established by the Board of Education. (Exception: CHSAA events requiring payment.)

1. Students and/or parents shall be discouraged from giving personal gifts with any significant monetary value to District employees. However, this provision shall not be interpreted as intent to discourage acts of generosity in unusual situations.
   
   
2. Letters to staff members expressing gratitude or appreciation are encouraged and welcomed.

PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS


1. All military recruiters, postsecondary institutions and prospective employers shall be treated uniformly with regard to the conduct of on-campus student recruitment at Platte Canyon High School. Recruiters shall be allowed to conduct meetings during the school day with interested students in keeping with a schedule established by the Principal or designee. Recruiters shall be permitted to conduct follow-up visits to the high school in order to meet with individual students upon the individual request of the student involved and with the authorization of the Principal or designee.