Crestview Middle School Policies

Attendance	Tardiness	School Dismissal	Promotion
Buses	Behavior	In-School placement
Progress Reports	Medicine	Lunch Policies
After School Detention	Dress	Out of School Suspension
Perfect Attendance	Visitors	Lockers & Locks
Student Responsibilities	Grades	Library books

Dress Code
 STUDENTS MUST FOLLOW THE TIPTON COUNTY DRESS CODE AS OUTLINED IN THE TIPTON COUNTY STUDENT HANDBOOK. Handbooks were issued to students when they registered. Please keep these handbooks and refer to the rules and regulations in them for guidance. Read more dress coded information here. 
Dress code violations are:
1. warning
2. corporal punishment or detention
3. corporal punishment or detention
4. Saturday school
5. Saturday school
6. Parent conference - possible suspension

Attendance Policy
School attendance constitutes one of the most important phases of a student's school record.  Not only does it indicate individual dependability, but it is also necessary for the smooth functioning of the school's educational programs. Inconsistent attendance is recognized as having a disruptive influence on the regular classroom activities. In order to meet the educational needs of the individual student and to best serve the overall school program, all available resources will be used to encourage students to attend regularly. 

1. Following absence from school, students are required to present a parent/guardian signed note to the attendance clerk stating the reason for the absences. It is the responsibility of the student to make sure the attendance clerk receives this note.

2. For a student to be excused by a parent note, the note has to be turned in  no later than two (2) days starting the day the student returns to school following his/her absence.  No limitation on time is necessary for excused absences from health providers; however, the health provider statement must provide the specific days the student is to be excused.

3. Absence is excused by the school attendance clerk.  Make-up work is permitted for the following reasons: personal illness, death in the family, doctor/dental appointments, legal court summons, and school related activities (see county-wide handbook)

4. It is the student's responsibility to contact the teacher in order to make-up any work missed.  Work should be completed as soon as possible (usually within five (5) days after returning to school.)

5. Unexcused absence from school results in no make-up work  for students.

6. Participation in extra-curricular activities is not permitted when a student is absent the full school day unless circumstances warrant otherwise.

7. Checking in and out during school hours: School hours are from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Students arriving after 8:00 are tardy and should report to the office for admittance to classes.  Students leaving during school hours must be checked out by their parent(s) or guardian(s).  Parent(s)/guardian(s) checking students in or out of school during the day are required to sign the check in/out book in the front office. A signed parent/guardian note must be provided to the attendance clerk stating the reason for tardy/check-out in order for the student to be excused

8. You will notified by the school after 5, 10, 15, and 20 days of unexcused absences. If your child is in possible violation of the provisions of the compulsory attendance law, you may be required to appear before the Covington-Tipton County Truancy Board.  The Board will then take whatever action they determine to be in the best interest of the student.

9. After being absent 10 days, an absence will only be excused with a doctor's note. (Added February 18, 2009) (page 14 in the Tipton County Handbook)

Tardiness
Students receiving more than three tardies to school per semester will be required to attend after-school detention.  Each additional tardy will require further assignments to after-school detention.

School Dismissal
Fifth and sixth grade students are dismissed at 2:55 pm while seventh and eighth grade students are dismissed at 3:00 pm. Bus students must load the buses promptly; car riders should report to the sidewalk beside the gymnasium. It is imperative that car riders be picked up promptly, as there will be no staff available for supervision after 3:15 pm. Children should NOT stay after school unless it is a teacher-supervised activity. Written parental permission is always needed.
Students who drive on a hardship license or any other license are discouraged from driving to school.  If there is a necessity, permission must be obtained from the Tipton County Board of Education and a parking permit issued by the Crestview Middle School office.

Visitor Policy
Any persons visiting our school must enter through the front entrance and report to the office immediately upon arrival. All other outside doors are locked at 8:00 a.m. Visitors shall sign in and obtain a pass for the duration of their stay. They will return the pass to the office when they are prepared to go and sign out.

Buses
Riding the school bus is a privilege.  Improper conduct on the buses will result in that privilege being denied. The rules and regulations regarding behavior on school buses were formulated by the Tipton County Board of Education and are stated in the county handbook given to all students at the beginning of the school year.
Students riding the buses should walk to the bus when leaving school. To avoid overcrowding, we ask students to ride their assigned buses.  If a student plans to ride a bus that he/she does not usually ride, a note from the parent/guardian is required and must be signed and verified by the principal. The note must contain a daytime phone number where the parent/guardian may be reached for verification.  The note should be turned in to the office receptionist by 8:00 a.m. and nay be picked up after 2:30 p.m. on the requested day. 
Bus transportation is provided for all students living in our zone.  Middle school students are not permitted to drive to school or to use our parking facilities.

Student Behavior
Education cannot proceed without good discipline.  It is imperative to the success of the entire school program. As a working definition, good discipline may be described as the absence of distractions, frictions, and disturbances which would interfere with the optimum functioning of the individual, the group, and the total school program.
All students are expected to demonstrate respect for teachers staff members, and administrators at all times. Equal respect should be shown for fellow classmates. The following guidelines will help to create a good learning climate at our school.
1. School and classroom rules should always be followed
2. Students in the hall during class time must have a hall pass or written pass signed by a teacher.
3. Students tardy to class must obtain a pass from the teacher in whose class they have been detained; otherwise, these tardies are unexcused.  The office will issue a tardy slip only if a student has been detained there.
4. Radios, cassettes, cards (playing and trading), toys, and electronic games must not be brought to school unless requested by the teacher.
5. Students are not permitted to have beepers, pagers, cellular phones, or imitations of such devices on school property unless there are some unusual and exceptional circumstances.
6. A student shall not possess, handle, transmit, use or attempt to use firearms, explosives, knives, razors, combs, or any object that can be used as a weapon.  Possession of such a weapon shall result in a hearing by the disciplinary committee.
7. Students must keep their hands to themselves at all times and respect the property of others.
8. The rules for behavior are the same when a substitute teacher is present.
9. Follow all rules and regulations listed in the Tipton County Student Handbook.
All students are under the supervision of all school personnel at all times during the school day and during any school related activity.

In-School Placement
In-school placement (ISP) is a method of isolating disruptive students in school instead of suspending or expelling them to home. An ISP teacher is assigned to supervise these students in his/her room.  The students are allowed to obtain their assignments for the day and are not penalized with an unexcused absence. These students spend the day completely isolated from other activities.

After School Detention
After school detention is designed to help students with discipline, attendance, and academic problems. Parental support is very important for this program to work.  Students assigned to detention will receive a letter explaining the procedures and the date he/she is scheduled to attend.  The responsibility lies with the student to give parents the detention notice. Failure to report to after school detention will result in more severe disciplinary action. The administration will make every effort to reschedule the detention date for parental convenience if the procedure outlined in the notice is followed.

Out of School Suspension
Suspension means a temporary refusal to allow a student to attend school.  Suspensions may be used when violations of school or county policies have been committed.  Any student who has been suspended from school is not allowed on ANY Tipton County School property during the period of suspension.

Grades and Report Cards
Grades are given to evaluate, motivate, and inform students and parents of progress.  Report cards are issued every nine weeks.  The grading scale is as follows:
            A    94-100            B    85-93        C    75-84        D    70-74
            F    Any grade below 70

Conduct grades are S (satisfactory), N (needs improvement),
or U (unsatisfactory)

Progress Reports
Students who are doing unsatisfactory work will receive a progress report in that subject(s) at the end of the third week of that grading period.  The report is to be taken home and signed by the parent/guardian and returned to the teacher the next day.

Promotion and Retention
Promotion and grade placement are based on the recognition that each child is a unique individual. Therefore, when the teaching team is considering promotion or retention, attention is given to all aspects of the student's development in order to accommodate individual needs and promote the full development of the learner's potential. For promotion, the student must demonstrate:
1. Mastery of at least 70% of the current grade's tested basic skills in reading and mathematics.
2. Satisfactory grades in at least three major subject areas.
3. Satisfactory attendance in compliance with the Tipton County Board of Education (no more than 20 absences).
4. Acquisitions of the work habits and maturity for successful performance at the next grade level, according to the teacher's judgment based on documentation. 

Perfect Attendance
Students who have been tardy or checked out early, but, according to the Chancery attendance program, have not accumulated a FULL DAY'S absence will be considered as having perfect attendance. This rule does not apply to the exam exemption policy.  Recognition will be given to those students who have perfect attendance at the end of each nine-weeks. At the close of the school year, certificates will be given to those students who had perfect attendance for the entire year.

Library Books
Library books may be checked out for two weeks.  Reference books may be checked out for ONE class period for classroom use. Fines may be charged for lost or damaged books.

Lunch Policy
Free/reduced lunch applications are issued to all students entering school for the first time during the school year. Applications must be filled out completely and signed before final approval is received. The regular price for lunch is $1.25 per day for all students. Charging lunch will be strongly discouraged. Lunch fees may be paid daily, weekly, or monthly.  Every student has an account in the cafeteria. Students who bring their lunch may buy milk, fruit juice, and/or dessert at school. Carbonated beverages and carry-out/fast-foods are discouraged in the school cafeteria.

Lockers and Locks
Lockers are available to students for storage of books and personal school belongings. Since the locker is school property, the school reserves the right to inspect it at any time. Only school issued locks are to be used on school lockers.  The lock usage fee for the year is $3.00.  After being issued, lockers and locks become the responsibility of the student. For any lock not returned at the year's end, there will be a charge of $5.00.

Medicine
It is the policy of the Tipton County School System that NO medications can be dispensed without signed parental consent. This includes over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, Advil, cough drops/syrup, Pepto-Bismol, Tums, etc...In order to meet the requirements of this policy, we request that you obtain a special consent form from the school nurse. It is to be completed and returned along with any medications to be given.  MEDICATIONS WILL NOT BE GIVEN WITHOUT THIS CONSENT FORM. Medications are locked and will be administered by the school nurse or one of the office staff workers. 

Student Responsibilities
Students at Crestview Middle School are expected to fulfill the following responsibilities:
1. Participation: Students have the responsibility of participating fully in the serious business of learning. Students must report to school and to all scheduled classes regularly and on time, remain in classes until excused, pay attention to instructions, complete assignments to the best of their ability, and request help when needed. 
2. Behavior: Students have the responsibility of avoiding any behavior that affects their learning. Students must cooperate in maintaining reasonable orderliness in the school and in the classroom, as well as taking care of their books and other instructional materials. Students must refrain from threatening or fighting with other students. 
3. Respect for teachers: Students have the responsibility of showing respect for the knowledge and authority of their teachers. Remember, any teacher has the authority to correct any student behavior. Students should use respectful and courteous language at all times.
4. Respect for other students: Students have the responsibility of recognizing the rights and human dignity of fellow students. For example, students should refrain from name calling, fighting, harassment, belittling, or engaging in deliberate attempts to embarrass or harm other students.
5. Dress code for grades 5-12: The following are NOT acceptable school attire:
1. Caps, hats, headbands, or head coverings of any time.
2. Sunglasses
3. Shorts
4. Any skirt or dress apparel that is extremely short
5. "Mesh" shirts, tank tops, short tops, or tops designed with holes or skinny straps.
6. Shirts and other apparel that promote the use or consumption of alcohol and/or drugs or apparel that displays a suggestive or inappropriate message.
7. Articles of clothing that are ripped or torn in a manner that would make them inappropriate.
8. Body piercing with the exception of the ears.
9. The above list is not all inclusive. For the orderly and efficient operation of the school, the school administration may determine other attire to be inappropriate as situations arise.  If there is a question as to whether an article of clothing is appropriate for school wear, please contact the school administration prior to wearing it.
10. Students who are considered to be in violation of the student dress code will be required to be in compliance immediately or be placed in in-school suspension until he/she in is compliance. In extreme cases of dress, make-up, jewelry, and/or hair, etc...the student may be sent home to make corrections.