This page explains some of my classroom policies, including:

• Homework
• Classroom Conduct
• Parent Communication
• Student Privacy

Homework Policies

Homework will typically be assigned each night, except for Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  In fourth grade, we work to help students develop important skills in responsibility, so you will see some variation in the scheduling of homework assignments.  In some cases, homework will be assigned one day at a time (for example, on Wednesday, students will receive a homework assignment for that night, due Thursday).  In some cases, however, several nights of homework will be assigned at once.  For example, on Monday, students might be given their assignments for Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night.  This is intended to give the students and their families and idea of what’s “coming up” that week so they can best plan their schedules.  When multiple days of homework are assigned at once, they should still be completed one night at a time and handed in the next day.

Homework is due at 9:00am sharp.  Assignments that are not ready to be handed in at 9:00 (including those that were completed but left at home, in the bus, or in the car) will be marked late.  I have found that students are generally very responsible with their homework, so an occasional late assignment may be turned in the following day without a class consequence.  If a student is frequently turning in assignments late, I will contact his or her parents to discuss how we can best help the student to improve his or her homework skills.

Please be advised that the fourth grade team has established the following standards for the homework grade on the report card for each marking period:

0, 1, or 2 late or incomplete assignments = SECURE

3 or 4 late or incomplete assignments = DEVELOPING

5 or more late or incomplete assignments = BEGINNING

The grade of N (not demonstrating skill) will be given (at the teacher’s discretion) in circumstances in which there are excessive late or incomplete homework assignments.

I intend homework to be a learning opportunity for students.  A student isn’t helped if he or she incorrectly completes an assignment because he or she is confused by the content.  If a student is completely confused by an assignment, all I ask is that his or her parent/homework helper write me a note explaining the difficulty.  I will excuse the student from the assignment until we have an opportunity to review the material together.  However, I appreciate and respect students who are willing to work hard to understand challenging content, and I always encourage parents/homework helpers to provide support on assignments.  Please note on the assignment when a student’s work was completed with significant assistance so that I know that the student might benefit from additional support in class.

Classroom Conduct

We are a community in Room 209, and I stress to the students that they succeed TOGETHER, as a class.  When the whole class is doing well, I will drop a marble in our marble bowl.  When the bowl is filled, the class will earn a reward.  As the year goes on, I might give the students the opportunity to fill a larger jar for a bigger reward.

I also like to acknowledge individual successes for students.  For that, we have our Take a Chance program.  When a student is doing a good job, working hard, helping someone else, or otherwise being a great Room 209 citizen, I may invite him or her to take a chance.  He or she will take a ticket, write his or her name on it, and keep it in his or her possession.  At the end of the week, I will collect the Chance tickets and will randomly select students to earn a prize (or to donate their prize as part of the Room 209 C.A.R.E.S. campaign).  Students need to hold onto their chances during the week, because they will also need to use them as currency in our class.  If a student loses a worksheet and needs a new one, he or she may “buy” one by turning in a chance.  The same goes for a last minute missing pencil emergency or similar situations.  Not only does this help students to learn to be more responsible for their choices and for their belongings, but it also helps students to learn how to budget, since (through experience) they will need to decide how many chance tickets they want to keep in reserve in case they need to buy something, and how many they want to spend on Friday to possibly win a prize.

Unfortunately, there are instances in which students struggle to make appropriate chances.  Our card flipping system helps students to monitor their choices.  Each morning, students start off with blue cards, representing a great pattern of choices.  If a student needs a reminder to make better choices (as we all do, now and then) he or she may be asked to flip to green, which is a warning.  (If a student flips to green, I absolutely DO NOT consider him or her to be “in trouble” or “having a bad day”.  Rather, it’s just a reminder that he or she needs to fix his or her behavior.  I strongly ask parents to support this and not punish their children for occasional flips to green.)  Additional behavioral problems will result in the student flipping to yellow (time out), orange (loss of recess), and red (sent to office).  Generally I will contact parents if a student reaches orange, however it depends entirely on the situation.

Parent Communication

The fastest way to reach me is by email.  It allows me to give you a more rapid and detailed response than would be possible if we “play phone tag” or exchange written notes.  I make every effort to respond to parent emails within 24 hours during the work week.  You can also call me and leave a message in my voicemail box (860-404-4790, ext. 2090). Please understand that while I try to return emails and phone messages as quickly as possible, I may not be able to do so until after the end of the school day.  In an urgent or time-sensitive situation (such as a change in dismissal plans), please call the main office at 404-4790, ext. 0.  You can also send in a note with your child.

Student Privacy

I take student privacy very seriously.  Academic work may be showcased in class, on occasion, but it will never show a grade.  In the course of reflection and instruction, we may discuss a student’s piece of work and its strengths and weaknesses, however these conversations are always held with either the student’s permission or when the work is reviewed without revealing it’s author.  Should your child share with you private information about another student, please remember the importance of privacy.  Pursuant to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, I will never be able to share private information about another student.  This includes all academic situations (“How did Timmy do on the test compared to my child?”) and most behavioral situations (“How was Suzie punished after she teased my child.”)  Of course, interpersonal conflicts are a charged situation, and I will work to address your concerns as best as I can.

I use this website to communicate news, showcase activities, and to manage computer-based assignments.  Students photos may appear on the site (unless you have requested otherwise in an opt-out form from the school office), but they will never tie back to any identifying information.  Student names NEVER appear on the website unless a parent has given me SPECIFIC permission for a particular piece of news (such as if a student were to win an award.)  Student work has never been posted on the website.  If this practice were to change, I would notify parents in advance.  One exception to this is the possibility that students might write news stories about things going on in class.  These stories may be posted on the website, but students will be credited with initials ONLY.  (Again, no names on the site.)  If you post a comment to a news story, please respect privacy.  Comments with private information (names, etc.) will be deleted.