District Procedures

 Absence and Tardiness

Parents are responsible under the School Attendance Laws of New York State for their children’s regular attendance and punctuality. The child should bring a written excuse when returning to school after an absence. The reason for the absence and the dates covered should be included in the note. The excuse should be signed by the parent or guardian. Parents are requested to call the school on the first day of each absence, giving the reason for the absence and its anticipated duration. When there is a valid reason for a child’s tardiness, we request that the parent or guardian forward a note with the pupil when he or she reports to school, giving the reason for the tardiness.

 Bus Conduct

The Averill Park School District, in compliance with the New York State Compact for Learning, has developed a plan for “Shared Decision Making” and “School-Based Planning.” School-Based Planning and Shared Decision Making is a process for a meaningful partnership of students, teachers, parents, and building principals at each school in the district, designed to involve those responsible for implementing decisions in actually making those decisions.

• Be at the bus stop at the designated time – help keep the bus on schedule
• Always wait for the bus off the shoulder of the highway or sidewalk
• When boarding the bus, stay in line; crowding is dangerous
• Remain properly and quietly seated while the bus is in motion
• As a passenger, keep hands and arms inside the bus
• Never throw objects in the bus, out of the windows, or at vehicles
• Promptly obey instructions of the bus driver
• Do not mar or deface bus seats or equipment
• Be courteous to fellow passengers, the bus driver, and bus monitors
• Do not distract attention of the bus driver away from his or her duties
• No smoking on bus or any school district property
• When leaving the bus, stay in line; do not crowd or push, nor lag behind

Fighting and / or any infraction that jeopardizes the safety of the bus and its occupants may result in a bus referral. Bus referrals are reviewed by the Director of Transportation and handled by the building principal.

Social Media Policy

We encourage members of the community to comment, share, and engage with our social media posts, and the District expects participants to treat each other, students, and employees with respect. The District reserves the right to modify these guidelines at any time and expressly reserves the right to remove comments from its page(s), at the District’s sole discretion. Comments may be removed if they fall into the following categories:

Vulgar, abusive, or hateful language, personal attacks or derogatory language of any kind, offensive terms or comments that target specific ethnic or racial groups, and/or obscene or sexually explicit language;

• Threats of any kind;
• Promotion of services or products (non-commercial links that are relevant to the blog post or comment are acceptable);
• Comments that are clearly off topic, or spam;
• Comments that directly or indirectly attack individuals featured in posts;
• Comments that make unsupported accusations; and
• Comments that reference employees or students by name or other identifying information, whether by direct or indirect reference.

The District will not edit comments to remove objectionable content. Rather, the District will simply delete the objectionable comment in its entirety.  Accordingly, please ensure that your comments contain none of the prohibited content identified above.

 Emergency School Closings and Dismissals

Should an unexpected event occur forcing an early closing of school, arrangements must be made for the care of your child. Bus children will take their regular bus home unless other arrangements have been made and are stated on the Blue Emergency Card filed in the school office.

Please note the above and inform your child where he or she is to go if school closes early. Early morning school closings or delays will be announced on radio / TV stations, as well as the district’s social media and website.

These announcements will be made as early as possible in the morning since most school closings are not anticipated in advance. Every attempt is made to inform news stations before 6:30 AM. Other emergencies which may cause an early dismissal are broadcast by the same stations.

 School Records

Students 18 or older and parents of students under 18 have a right to inspect and review any and all official records, files, and data directly related to their children or themselves.

The parent should request access to school records in writing from the principal, guidance counselor, or Superintendent of Schools. Upon receipt of the request, arrangements will be made to provide access to the requested records within a reasonable period of time, not more than 45 days after the request has been received. Parents and students are also entitled to a hearing to challenge the content of such records. Any questions concerning the procedure to be followed in requesting such a hearing should be directed to the Superintendent of Schools.

Student records are confidential and may not be released or made available to persons other than parents or students without written consent. There are a number of exceptions to this rule, such as school employees and officials, as well as certain state and federal officials who have a legitimate educational need for access to such records in the course of their employment.

Students with disabilities have the option of deciding whether to disclose the existence of their disability on their high school transcripts.

 Textbook Return

Students residing within the Averill Park Central School District, attending parochial, private, or out-of-district schools are reminded that all textbooks must be returned at the end of the school year. A date is drop off textbooks at Averill Park High School is communicated in June. You can also drop off textbooks directly to the Questar III office located at 1070 Route 9 (rear entrance), Castleton.

 Special Transportation Arrangement

Parents of resident students in need of special transportation arrangements (e.g. private and parochial school transportation, et cetera) are reminded to request this transportation no later than the first of April. Please forward your written requests to:

Transportation Supervisor
Averill Park Central School District
145 Gettle Road
Averill Park, NY 12018

For additional information, you may call 674-7070.

 Visitors to Our Schools

Parents are encouraged to visit the school and actively participate in the education of their child. We request that parents avoid conferences with the teacher during such visits, but rather schedule a conference for a mutually acceptable time. For the protection of all students, all non-students are to report to the office upon entering the building. Please do not go directly to the classroom.

If you need to give your child a message, medication, school work, lunch money, supplies, et cetera, please go to the school office. Interrupting class hampers valuable instruction time. Also, standing in the hall while waiting for your child or the teacher may be disruptive to the learning environment.