New to Our School? A Family Orientation Guide

by Renée Cockrell, MAT, NBCT

This post is intended to serve as an orientation guide for parents, guardians, and families of students new to our school. It includes an introduction to the school's vision, mission, values, and history; an overview of events and opportunities to get involved; an introduction to procedures and policies; a guide to communications at our school; and an introduction to community and school partnerships.

Welcome to Our School: Mission & History

Our school dares to empower the whole child to profoundly impact our world. We do this through our small class sizes; emphasis on social-emotional learning; rigorous academic and behavioral expectations with support to help all students achieve at a high level; vibrant and unique school culture; commitment to learning and growth for students, staff, and stakeholders; restorative practices; equitable practices; and partnership with local programs that bring a multitude of post-secondary options, experiences, and support to our students and families. 

Our school was founded as an alternative for high school students who hadn't found success in the traditional high school model in the early 1970s in a storefront in downtown Colorado Springs. Since its inception, our school has served at risk youth in a setting of small class sizes and strong relationships with an "alternative" approach to credit recovery that enables students to make up credits and sometimes even graduate early. 

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

The instructional model of our school has evolved with up-to-date research-based instructional strategies and an emphasis on the art of equitable pedagogy, but the emphasis on relationships, community, and success for all remains the same. Through all the changes, the small, tight-knit sense of community and inclusion in our school has remained the same. Graduates frequently use the word "family" when describing their experience of alternative education in our school. Several of our school staff have long history with the school, including two teachers who are graduates, and three staff members who have been at our school for over twenty years. New students often come to our school because their older siblings or their friends recommended it to them. Regardless of how you found your way here, we are so happy to welcome you to the family. 

Events & Opportunities to Get Involved

Part of being a Dragon means taking part in our school's unique traditions and cultural events. Please consider the following calendar of events as a standing invitation for our families and guardians to join in on the fun. Contact the front office (information in your Student & Family Handbook) with any questions about attending or volunteering at any of these events:

August

• Restorative Practices Training Workshop - Attendees learn the ins and outs of restorative practices at our school, including the purpose, design, and implementation of weekly connection circles and team-building activities, as well as formal restorative justice circles that trained volunteers can attend to assist as community members throughout the school year. 
• Enrollment Meeting - We invite you to join us in speaking with prospective students and families as they consider whether or not our school will meet their needs for credit recovery and alternative education. We can't think of better experts to share their experiences of our school that current and past students and families!

September

• Back to School Open House - We hope all students, families, and guardians will attend to share hors d'oeuvres, meet staff members, and learn about the classes and concurrent enrollment options available in our school.
• Annual Campus Car Show - See our school website for details on how to get involved in this annual community event, now in its 8th year (The Bijou School, 2019).
• Quarterly Skillshare

October

• Student Led Conferences
• Post-Secondary Options and FAFSA Completion Night
• Students Vote Chili Cookoff - Every year on Halloween (or the school day closest to it), our Student Leadership hosts a chili cookoff competition wherein staff and family members enter a crockpot of their best chili. Students, families, and guardians provide sides, chips, etc., sample, and vote to see who will win the trophy. 
• Enrollment Meeting

November

• Family & Community Thanksgiving Potluck Celebration
• Quarterly Skillshare

December

• Annual Advisory Gingerbread House Competition - We invite you to our pre-semester break potluck to share food, company, admire the first semester student work on display, and to vote for the winning gingerbread house created by student advisory groups. 

January

• Enrollment Meeting
• SAT/PSAT Tutoring - Volunteer to help with free tutoring groups. We're looking for volunteers with expertise to help students hone their skills or to provide snacks/treats for each meeting. 

February

• Post-secondary Options and FAFSA Completion Night
• Quarterly Skillshare
• SAT/PSAT Tutoring

March

• Enrollment Meting
• SAT/PSAT Tutoring

April

• Post-Secondary Options and FAFSA Completion Night
• SAT/PSAT Tutoring
• Student Signing Parties, Internship and Career Entrance, and College Acceptance Celebration

May

• Annual BBQ & Luau -- Get out your Hawaiian shirt and bring a side dish or dessert to share at this annual block party. Graduates, neighbors, retires staff, school board members, and community members attend and love to meet current students and families. We have a tradition of pie-throwing, so be sure to call the office ahead of time to let us know if you want to volunteer to help out with the fun and/or cleanup. 
• Quarterly Skillshare

Procedures & Policies

Attendance. Students in our school must be present in class a minimum of 80% of the time or better in a given course in addition to completing satisfactory coursework to be able to earn a credit. See your Student & Family Handbook for specific information regarding our quarterly attendance policy and the procedures around what qualifies for an excused absence. Please also see district policies regarding secondary school attendance and truancy. Worth particular note is that students who are ten or more minutes tardy to a given class period are marked absent in that class. They should still attend if they are running late, though, so they do not also end up with missing work.

Restorative Practices. While our school follows all rules and regulations set forth by our District and Board of Education regarding disciplinary and other issues, we also make use of restorative practices. This includes but is not limited to the use of restorative dialogues, connection circles, formal restorative justice circles, and community councils (made up of staff, students, community members, and family members like you) whose aim is to build empathy and to repair the relationships and the harm done to the community when wrongdoing occurs.

Performance Contracts & Multi-Tiered Student Supports. If a student fails to meet expectations regarding attendance, behavior, and/or course performance (ABCs), that student will be referred for additional support through our multi-tiered system of student supports (MTSS) to help ensure the student's needs (academic, emotional, social, etc.) are met. As part of this system, students and guardians may be asked to sign a performance contract with stipulations crafted specific to the student. If, after multiple quarters of ongoing support, the student fails to meet the requirements of the contract, the principal and counselor may convene a meeting with the student and guardian(s) to help find a more appropriate placement for the student.

Communications

Front Office. Our school's front office is home to our staff assistant, administrative assistant, and registrar. They can help answer questions you may have about attendance, scheduling, or contacting anyone else on staff. If you have general questions or you are unsure who to ask, call the front office for assistance. See your Student & Family Handbook for a list of phone numbers and contact information.

Photo by Berkeley Communications on Unsplash

BlackBoard & School Loop. Please download the district School Loop app on your smartphone or device and enable push notifications. You'll be first informed of important updates and news from our school, campus, and district. You confirmed contact information during enrollment, but should any of this information change, please notify the front office right away. 

Teachers & Counseling. All staff members in our school maintain a "Teacher Website." Please visit these websites for important information about daily events in classes, field trips, updates, and for links to email staff members directly. Remember that you are also welcome to call the front office to leave a message for a staff member who will return your call as soon as possible. 

Community & Partnership

Our school is very lucky to reside within a campus of alternatives that all serve our district. As such, we are able to share many resources and much of our learning with other schools and groups on our campus. This increases our access to exciting instructional materials, computer and science labs, the automotive shop, a culinary arts lab, a soil science lab and greenhouses, the campus nursery and early childhood learning center, and more. One of our unique partnerships enables all of our students to pursue a career pathway, spending one class period a day downstairs in a neighboring program, working on professional certification, licensure, and skills. 

Additionally, our school partners with the local community college's Career Start program, wherein students who have distinguished themselves are able to apply to attend the community college while still enrolled at our school to earn dual credit (credits that count toward both a high school diploma and an associate's degree) and pursue vocational learning at a higher level. Please see the Career Start tab on the school counseling page of our website for specific details on the many programs available, from nursing, welding, HVAC, mass communications, fire science, to automotive and more. 

In addition to partnerships that enable our students to attend the local community college, our school partners with a local private college to bring in undergraduate students majoring in education to tutor and mentor our students here on the campus. This has resulted in the formation of powerful and transformative positive relationships, broadening horizons and opening academic pathways for students that they might not have previously sought. These tutors assist students with skill building, organization, motivation, and perseverance. 

References

The Bijou School. (2019). RJWAC car show. Retrieved from https://www.d11.org/domain/4916