Getting to School

School Hours: 7:30 a.m. through 2:35 p.m. No students will be dismissed after 2:00 p.m. except in the case of an emergency.

Arrival times: Student drop-off and supervision is available for students beginning at 7:15 a.m. Students should be at school no later than 7:30.

PreK and 1st with older siblings will be dropped off and enter on the East Circle Drive between 7:15 - 7:30; gates close at 7:30; parents will proceed to the office entrance if arrived past 7:30.

2nd – 5th Grade Student Arrival: students who do not have younger siblings will enter the gymnasium door in the front of the building and report directly to class.

Tardies: Students are considered tardy at 7:31 a.m. Students arriving at 7:31 and later will enter the office doors for a tardy pass. Students arriving after 8:00 must be walked in by the parent/guardian.

Dismissal:
a. Students in PK - 1st and their older siblings will be picked up as a family group at the youngest student’s teacher on East Circle Drive. (I.e. if you have a 1st, 3rd, and 5th grader, the 3rd and 5th grade students will be with the 1st grade child on the E. Circle Dr.)

b. Students in 3rd - 5th who are picked up by their parents will be picked up on Atlanta, just past Educare on the right (going North); parents must pull up to the curb.

c. Late Pick-up: please call the office if you will be picking up your student late due to an emergency.
Important: order of contacts if we have not heard from you and are unable to reach you:

• Student calls parent
• School calls parent
• School calls approved emergency contacts
• School calls Campus Police
• School calls DHS

District Policy: School ends each day at 2:35 Any child left unattended and without notice after 30 minutes is subject to being surrendered to the Tulsa Public Schools Campus Police Department or the Tulsa Police Department and will be recorded as a Child in Need of Supervision with a referral to the Department of Human Services.

**Please make every effort to be on time picking up your student(s); call the School at 918-833-9900 if you are having an emergency situation that is causing your delay.

• Daily attendance in public school is required. 
• Students arriving after 8:00 a.m. will need to be accompanied by an adult into the office, providing the clerk the reason for tardiness.
• If your child cannot come to school, report the absence by calling the main office and report the reason for the absence before 8:30 a.m.  The phone number for the main office is 918-833-9900 
• Poor Attendance Outcomes: If you do not contact the school, the absence will be considered an unexcused absence. Frequent tardies and absences affect your child’s academic progress and self-esteem. Additionally, a high frequency of tardies and/or  absences may cause your student to be reported to the district Truancy Officer, resulting in a Court appearance and fines. Lastly, students with excessive absences may be retained.
• Excused (E) absences are granted for the following reasons: 
  • Student illness.  If a student is absent for three days or more, a doctor’s note is requested
  • Death in the family or family emergencies
  • Head lice/nit removal—2 days are considered “explained”; days after that will be considered unexplained
  • Students with regularly scheduled appointments or frequent absences will be asked to show an appointment card or bring a doctor’s note
• Students who have several consecutive unexcused absences will be automatically dropped from enrollment. When the student returns to school after a 10 day unexcused absence, a parent must take a proof of address to the Enrollment Center and re-enroll the student.  If the student is at the school on a transfer, this may affect whether or not the child will be allowed to return the following school year.
• Tardy - Reporting to school at 7:31 and after, constitutes tardy
• Truancy - Failure to report to school without a valid excuse or skipping school constitutes truancy

We provide bus transportation for:

• Non-transfer elementary students living 1.5 miles or more from their school; and
• Non-transfer middle school or high school students living 2 miles or more from their school.

Buses may arrive up to 15 minutes after the scheduled stop time. Students should remain at the stop up to 15 minutes after the scheduled stop time. If students wait longer than 15 minutes, call 918-833-8100.

bus Discipline

A student may be reported by the bus driver and removed from the bus by the principal or designated representative for the following reasons:

• Leaving their seat while the bus is in motion
• Drinking or eating on the bus unless students are provided water by the district on excessively hot days
• Use of offensive or vulgar language
• Disrespect to the bus driver or other passengers
• Throwing objects on the bus
• Fighting
• Destruction of property
• Putting any body part out of the bus window
• Unlocking the emergency door except at the direction of the bus driver

Consequences for being reported by the bus driver range from:

• Temporary suspension from the bus ranging from 1 day to 1 week
• Permanent suspension from the bus - depending on the severity of the offense, a student may permanently lose bus privileges

SUSPENSION FROM THE BUS MEANS THE STUDENT MAY NOT RIDE ANY TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOL BUS TO OR FROM SCHOOL.
The student is still expected to be in attendance at school when he/she is suspended from the bus.
**All bus riders must have a signed transportation form on file to ride the bus

Any step may be skipped due to the severity of the offense.

SUSPENSION FROM THE BUS MEANS THE STUDENT MAY NOT RIDE ANY TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOL BUS TO OR FROM SCHOOL. 

• The student is still expected to be in attendance at school when he/she is suspended from the bus.

For the safety of your child, a permission slip must be signed for your child to attend a field trip. Phone permission will not be accepted.

Your child’s behavior in class may require a parent/guardian to accompany the child on a field trip in order for the child to participate.

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Chaperones: teacher selected

All chaperones selected must pass a background check per district policy including the parent of a child who is being  requested to accompany a student; background check form must be obtained in the front office and submitted 3 weeks prior to the field trip; if a form was completed and turned in as part of your child’s beginning-of-the-year packet, you do NOT need to complete a new form.

• No chaperone will be allowed to be alone with children or accompany children to the restroom unless accompanied by district personnel.
• Class chaperones may not bring any of their personal children, since they are needed to oversee other students in the class.
• Parents MAY NOT use tobacco or alcoholic products on field trips.
• Parents MAY NOT purchase items of food or souvenirs for their own child or other children if they are a chaperone.
• Parents MAY NOT take their child home with them from the field trip location; the child is required to ride the bus back to the school.

Guest Parking:

• The front circle is for buses only during drop-off and pick-up times, with the exception of those with a pick-up hanger (families with special needs students who are being transported).
• You may park in the east parking lot on the east side of the building or on the street curb on the south side of 5th Place.
• Loading and unloading ONLY on the east circle drive or curbside directly in front of the school - you must stay with your vehicle at all times to avoid being ticketed.

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Visitors:

**Parents, PLEASE make sure we have EMERGENCY NUMBERS on file!

• Parents are only allowed into the classrooms during the school day who have a prior appointment with the teacher or are volunteering in the classroom.
  • A volunteer form must be completed and approved by the principal prior to the parent volunteering in the classroom.
• Parents who come during school hours must first confirm the appointment through the front desk clerk with the school personnel they are meeting with, check your photo ID, and wear a visitors name tag before going into the building.

Early Release Due to Inclement Weather/ Natural Disasters/ Emergency Event:
You will be notified by School Messenger if we are releasing early for any of the above reasons (please be sure your primary phone number is current and accurate at the school; MESSENGER: text 67587 and respond YES; if from Kendall-Whittier, you will see KWES Update) .

Snow Days:
Stay tuned to your radio/TV/School Messenger (phone) and listen for school closing updates.

Inclement Weather Pick-UP at the End of the School Day:
Parents will be notified by MESSENGER between 2:00 - 2:10 pm if they need to come into the school to pick up their child(ren) due to inclement weather.

• PK and Kinder (and older siblings) parents will enter the morning drop off walkway on the East Circle Drive
• 1st and 2nd (and older siblings) grade parents will enter the door along the walkway of the main building taking them to the cafeteria, just past the entrance to the PK/Kinder wing
• 3-5 grade parents enter through the gym doors
• Walkers will be allowed to leave once weather permits (must be 3rd grade and older)
• Bus/Day-Care kids will ride their buses/vans
• Students will be dismissed at 2:35 P.M. At 2:50, all remaining students will be taken to the front lobby where parents can then pick them up in the front circle drive. Please make every effort to be on time.
• After 2:50, if your child has not yet been picked up, late pick-up rules apply and you will be required to show your Photo ID

Students will not be released after 2:00 p.m. except in the case of an emergency. Students miss valuable information at the end of every school day!

Early release is only allowed in the case of a medical/family/student/weather emergency. If, in the event an early release is absolutely necessary, the guardian must sign the student out in the main office; procedures will be strictly adhered to:

1. Per district policy, the adult picking up the child must be on the student’s emergency contact list – it is critical that you keep these updated. If the parent/guardian is not the individual picking up the student, the parent must call the Main Office to inform them of the emergency contact person who will be picking your child up; the clerk will confirm at that time that the adult is on the emergency contact list; a new emergency contact will not be allowed to be added over the phone

2. In addition, the adult picking up the child, per district policy, must have photo identification (i.e. Driver’s license, workplace ID, college or career school ID, etc.). It will be checked every time your child is picked up prior to the end of the school day.

3. Abuse of Early Release will be addressed on a case by case basis with administration