Policies and Procedures
Managing COVID-19 and Other Illnesses, FCPS Attendance Requirements
Use these links to best navigate your decisions to keep your child home from school. COVID-19, and other illnesses, should be communicated with the school when your child is absent.
Lice
Although lice do not spread disease, they can be a nuisance and cause great concern in the community.
The following resources are available for parents/guardians to learn more about lice and its treatment:
- FCPS Lice: Treatment and Prevention Page
- FCHD Head Lice Treatment and Prevention Brochure
Your Child Needs Your Involvement
Students achieve when their parents communicate and model a valuing of the importance of education. We need you to attend:
- Open House and Back to School Night meet the teacher ask questions about the grade level curriculum and expectations (online presentations available)
- Your child’s Parent-Teacher Conference to learn about progress and concerns
- Volunteer opportunities for class events
- School events and activities
Security and Visitors
Stratford Landing welcomes parents at all times during the school day. All parents and guests are required to stop at the main office to sign in and receive a badge to wear when visiting the school. For special events, sign-in may occur in the front lobby. Please bring your driver's license every time you visit to use our Visitor Management System.
We do not permit younger children, friends of students or students from other schools to visit classrooms. Any pet/animal visiting the school must have principal approval and be accompanied by a parent unless the pet is a certified therapy/comfort pet.
Parents seeking to observe in a homeroom classroom should notify the classroom teacher and administration. Observations are scheduled in advance and are limited to thirty minutes to preserve the learning environment for all children. Parents are accompanied by a member of the Stratford Landing administration team or designee. Parents who do not have a student enrolled at Stratford Landing are not able to observe potential classrooms. We encourage prospective parents to follow our school on Twitter @StratfordlndgES. Our parent liaison can also schedule a tour of the general school environment with perspective families before/after school hours.
Volunteers
Stratford Landing Elementary enjoys the support of a strong volunteer program. Typically, volunteers work with students, assist in the library, help with art projects, perform clerical jobs, prepare instructional materials, or work on PTA projects. You may contact your child’s teacher, or a PTA officer to participate.
Personal Property
FCPS does not assume responsibility for the personal property of students and does not purchase insurance for their property. Stratford Landing urges parents and students to carefully consider the types and value of property taken to school. Unidentified articles found in the school are placed in the Lost and Found in the cafe. Please label personal items.
If you choose to allow your child to carry a cell phone to school they must be kept turned off and out of sight in a backpack or they will be confiscated and only returned to a parent/guardian. If it is a registered device, students must follow teacher direction when having them out.
Returning Forgotten Items
Students should arrive and depart promptly, with all materials necessary. Students and parents should not plan to return to school to retrieve forgotten homework, glasses, lunch boxes, coats, etc. There are many after-school activities in the building (clubs, SACC, recreation, etc.) that require classrooms be secure once a teacher or staff member departs for the day. Custodians & office staff WILL NOT admit students or parents to an unoccupied classroom during or after school hours.
Discipline
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Bullying Prevention and Intervention
Homework
Our school wide homework policy is “reading and writing for pleasure.” Our desired outcome with this homework policy approach is to encourage lifelong learning habits and promote stamina building in our students.
Our expectation is that students in grades K-3 will spend 15-30 minutes each night participating in these activities and students in grades 4-6 will spend 30-45 minutes.
Homework worksheets, or incomplete/missing classwork to complete, will not be sent home. Consider reviewing the weekly newsletter for content that your family might choose to do the nightly reading and writing around. Challenge your student to be creative and find ways to incorporate other subjects into these activities as well.
Progress Reports
FCPS utilizes an elementary progress report that is based on curriculum standards. The progress report will:
- Provide parents with comprehensive information about how their child is learning.
- Align with the Program of Studies (POS) curriculum students are learning.
- Provide teachers with resources to communicate a more exact and consistent assessment.
- Provide parents with comprehensive information about how their child is learning.
- Incorporate research-based best practices in student grading and reporting.
- Report Life, Work, and Citizenship skills separately from academic achievement.
Progress reports are sent home every nine weeks. They are the teacher’s way of letting students and parents know the degree to which students have mastered certain academic and social skills.
Parties
Room parents and the classroom teacher make arrangements for the class parties, which are limited to two per year. Room parents may request non-monetary donations for parties. Surprise parties are not allowed.
School Clothes
We expect students to arrive dressed in proper attire for school activities. Clothing should fit, be neat and clean, and conform to standards of decency.
We do not permit:
- Clothing with improper language or images.
- Sagging or low-cut pants, low-cut necklines, tube tops, spaghetti straps, halter tops, backless blouses or blouses with only ties in the back, short shorts, half shirts, and clothing constructed of see-through materials.
- Head coverings, such as scarves or bandannas, unless required for religious or medical reasons.
- Shoes with wheels
Tennis shoes or shoes with rubber soles are necessary for physical education classes and active recess play. Therefore, flip-flops and sandals are discouraged.
Safety Patrols
Stratford Landing has both “bus” and “walker” safety patrols. Bus patrols maintain order at the bus stops and on the buses, as well as supervise students as they get on and off the buses. There are usually three patrols per bus, with one to two substitutes. Walker patrols help students safely cross busy intersections. They also assist children out of cars at the Kiss & Ride drop-off area.
Students frequently wonder how they can become a safety patrol. During April and May, current patrols recommend rising sixth graders as new safety patrols. Classroom teachers also review these recommendations based on academic and citizenship achievements. Training of new patrols begins in the spring. Each trainee works with an existing patrol for two weeks and must pass a written test before becoming a full-fledged patrol. Mr. David Magee is the staff member supervising the patrols. He can be contacted at [email protected].