School Handbook

Riding the school bus is a privilege. The District is responsible for students while on the bus, and our first concern is for the safe transportation of each student. Not following posted instructions governing riding school buses may result in the loss of a student's privilege to ride District provided transportation and may result in additional disciplinary actions. The safe transportation of students is a responsibility the District and Springville take very seriously. 

Students and passengers are under the authority of the driver on the bus. Students who violate bus rules may initially receive a verbal warning. Further or serious violations may result in a formal bus citation. Parents/guardians will be contacted and the principal or assistant principal will determine the consequences of the citation.The driver may assign seats at any time.

BUS PROCEDURES

• Students are to get on and off the bus at the stop designated by the District’s transportation department.

• If a student plans to ride a bus other than their assigned bus or get off at a stop other than their assigned stop, a parent/guardian needs to submit a "Going Home Plan Change" form. The Going Home Plan Change form button is found at the bottom of the main page on the Springville Website. The office will provide two copies of the change to the classroom teacher. Teachers keep one copy and give one copy to your student for them to give to the bus driver.

• Be on time for the bus. Students should arrive at their assigned bus stop five minutes before the scheduled time.

• Families who are waiting at a bus stop in the afternoon should arrive five minutes before the scheduled drop off time. Drivers are not responsible for identifying a pick-up person at bus stops. Any student who doesn’t feel safe getting off the bus is driven back to school so the office staff can contact families. Families should talk with their students about what they should do if they do not see the person they expect to greet them.

BUS BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS: 

• Be respectful to the driver and others on the bus. 

• Use proper language at an appropriate voice level.

• Be inclusive and caring to others.

• Use your manners.

• Keep feet, hands and belongings to self and use them safely and appropriately.

• Enter and exit one at a time.

• Take your seat quickly and safely.

• Stay seated: Seat to Seat & Back to Back

• Stay in the same seat until you arrive at your stop. 

• Save food and beverages for when you are off the bus.

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Staff members will be stationed to greet and supervise students from 7:55 AM until 8:15 AM.

• Please DO NOT drop off children earlier than 7:55 AM.

• Parents/guardians must pull forward to the designated drop off area in the circle of our visitor parking lot

• It is extremely helpful if students are ready to exit the vehicle as it pulls into the designated drop off area. If extra time is needed please pull through and locate a parking space.

• After 8:15 AM, a parent/guardian MUST park and walk their child to the office. 

At the beginning of the school year, parents/guardians must formulate a consistent going-home plan for their child and provide a written plan to their child’s teacher. Any time there are changes from the normal routine, you MUST complete a Change of Going Home Plan form prior to noon on the day of the change. The form is linked at the bottom of our main page of the Springville Elementary website. Our hope is that students follow a consistent Going Home Plan as frequent plan changes result in confusion on the part of students, teachers, and office staff. 

If there is an emergency change to your child's dismissal plan after 12:00 PM, please call the office. Teachers are engaged with students all day long, and emailing changes to teachers is not a reliable way to share emergency information. Please change plans ONLY in case of rare emergencies. Our top priority is keeping every student safe. We cannot guarantee that last-minute information will reach students in a timely manner. 

At dismissal time, teachers of most classes walk their students out to the bus lane to drop off those riding the bus home. Then they walk along the side of the school near the staff parking lot and out to the front of the school. Teachers then release students according to their Going Home Plan: either to walk home independently, to connect with the person waiting on the front lawn, to connect with a sibling, or to wait in the car line. Kindergarten teachers walk their class outside through the front doors where they release students to parents/guardians or siblings to walk home. Other staff take Kindergarteners to the bus or supervise them waiting to be picked up in the car line. 

Students will be released to an authorized adult starting at 2:50 PM.

Those waiting on the front lawn for students need to stay behind the line of cones. This allows both teachers and students the ability to see whoever is waiting to take them home.

​​Students who walk to school should only cross NW Joss Ave at the intersections with a school crossing guard. We have one crossing guard at the intersection of NW Joss Ave and NW Rosetta St. We have another crossing guard at the intersection of NW Joss Ave and NW Milcliff St. Crossing guards are on duty 7:50-8:15 AM and 2:50-3:05 PM.

• Students may ride bicycles to school. Once on school grounds, bicycles must be walked directly to the bike rack and locked securely.

• We strongly discourage students from bringing roller blades or scooters to school because they cannot be stored in the school building. They must be locked to the bike rack.

• Shoes with roller skates in the soles (eg. Heelys) are not allowed.

• Skateboards are not allowed on school grounds as per district policy.

• All students using bicycles, scooters or roller blades MUST wear a helmet at all times.

The safety of all children is our number one priority at Springville. Everyone must do their part to ensure the safety of our students. Staff will always be available to assist individuals unfamiliar with our drop-off and pick-up routines.

• The safest place to drop off or pick up your child in a vehicle is in our visitor lot by pulling along the outside curb of our car lane. Parking along NW Joss Ave to drop off or pick up your child is not as safe.

• Drive 10 MPH or slower in the parking lot for the safety of students and staff.

• The inner lane is for driving and the outer lane along the curb is for waiting to drop off or pick up students. Do not stop in the middle of the driving lanes or block any crosswalks.

• Drop off or pick up students along the east side of the building and around the corner along the front lawn. Students should exit and enter vehicles only along the curb (the passenger side of the vehicle). 

• The staff parking lot is for staff and school buses only. Students should not be dropped off or picked up from this lot. 

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All students are expected to attend school daily. If your child must be absent, please go to our school website and click on “Report Absence” at the bottom of the main page. You will need to fill out and submit this form. Some excusable reasons for absences include illness, quarantine, bereavement, family illness, inclement weather, religious instruction or emergencies. Please note that vacations are recorded as unexcused absences per District policy. All unexcused absences result in an autodialer call and email and there is nothing our school can do to override these messages from going out even when we have knowledge of the absence. 

Please make every effort to schedule your child's appointments, family vacations, music lessons, etc. outside the school day or when school is not in session. Missed instructional time, even in small increments, quickly adds up and impacts your child's overall learning.

We highly discourage families from taking vacations when school is in session. Occasionally, families will plan a trip which requires that the student be absent from school. On those occasions, it is important to fill out the ‘Report Absence’ form and notify your student’s teacher as soon as plans are set, stating the dates of absence and when the student will return. It is not reasonable to expect teachers to provide work for extended absences due to vacation. Most learning in elementary school occurs in the classroom through activities that can’t be duplicated at home. Parents/guardians are responsible for a child’s education during an extended absence. Please note that student absences due to vacations or family trips will be marked as unexcused.

Please note that the State of Oregon requirements and Beaverton School District policy require that children who are absent for more than 10 consecutive school days be automatically withdrawn and parents/guardians must re-enroll upon returning to school. We will make every effort to re-enroll your student within the same classroom they were in prior to their absence. However, our school experiences many enrollments throughout the school year. We may need to place your student in a different classroom if class sizes shift during your child’s absence.

It is very important for your child to be on time for school each day. Please ensure your child is at school no later than 8:10 AM. Attendance is taken and class begins promptly at 8:15 AM. Due to the size of our building, students need a few minutes to walk from our arrival zones to their classrooms. 

Please note; Children who enter the building after 8:15 AM are recorded as late/tardy. When students arrive late, they miss important instruction and also disrupt the learning of others when they arrive. If your child arrives after 8:15 AM, you must park, escort them to the school office and sign them in. Students will be given a late slip to provide to their teacher.  

Arriving late due to a bus delay is not considered tardy.

SNOW DAYS - SCHOOL CLOSURE OR DELAYED OPENING

Decisions about school closure or delayed start will typically be communicated to media outlets and posted on the district website, ParentSquare and social media by 5:30 AM.

We encourage families to make transportation and attendance decisions for their children based on their own assessment of travel conditions at their locations.

In the event of a two-hour delayed opening, school will begin at 10:15 AM.

SNOW ROUTES

In inclement weather, some buses will make limited runs and some routes will be canceled. Snow Routes will be updated and posted on the Beaverton School District Transportation website. Please familiarize your family with the Snow Routes before the need arises.

Any early dismissal due to inclement weather or for any other reason (power outage, etc.) is considered an emergency school closure. Springville will follow the Emergency School Closure Plan that parents/guardians indicated on their online enrollment verification at the beginning of the school year. This plan includes information about how children will leave school and where they are to go in the event of an emergency closure. Parents/guardians should share this information with children in advance to help reduce anxiety. Families will be notified of any emergency closures through ParentSquare.

Beaverton School District has adopted the Standard Response Protocol for responses to emergencies and critical incidents that occur in our schools. The Standard Response Protocol is utilized for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Please take a moment to review the five actions as they are crucial for all Beaverton School District stakeholders.

• Secure – The threat or hazard is outside of the school building. Secure the perimeter.

• Lockdown – The threat is inside the building. Locks, lights, out of site.

• Evacuate – Evacuate students and staff from one location to another.

• Shelter in Place – Shelter is called when the need for personal protection is necessary.

• Hold - Hold means staff and students need to clear the hallways and remain in their area, room, or outdoor location until the "all clear" is announced. 

Fire and evacuation drills are practiced monthly. All other drills are held two or more times per year.

More information on the Standard Response Protocol can be found on the District website: Standard Response Protocol. 

Breakfast and lunch menus for the current month are posted on the Nutrition Services Webpage. Menu changes may occur during the year without prior notice. Please visit SchoolCafe for the most current menu offerings and nutrition information.

Breakfast is served daily from 7:55-8:10 AM.

Lunch is served daily between 10:25 AM and 12:55 PM depending on the grade level.

Health department regulations stipulate that students should wash their hands before eating and are not allowed to share any portion of their meal. Students are expected to clean up after themselves, return trays to the proper location, and dispose of garbage in the waste bins.

If your child is eating lunch from home, please do your best to have your child bring their lunch with them to school. If you are planning to deliver your child's lunch box after the start of school, please leave the lunch box on the cart in the lobby/vestibule marked LUNCHES. Please write your student's name, grade, and teacher on the provided sticky note. Office staff will retrieve the lunches and place them on a table outside of the office where students will go look for their lunch box on their way to the cafeteria for lunch. Unless it is an emergency situation, we will not be contacting students to inform them that their lunch has arrived.

When to Keep Your Child Home

If your child is sick with a diagnosed communicable disease, please notify the school as soon as possible. This notification will greatly assist others who, due to medical reasons and/or treatments, have weakened immune systems and may require immediate and specialized care.

Go to the BSD page, Too Sick for School, to help you make the decision about when to keep your child home from school. The recommendations are based on the guidelines provided by the Communicable Disease Program of the Washington County Department of Health and Human Services. They were developed to help prevent the spread of potentially contagious disease.

State Law requires students entering Oregon schools have certain immunizations. See Immunization Requirements. Kindergarteners and 1st graders must be immunized before starting school; older students must provide immunization records upon enrollment. If you have questions, contact your child's doctor or the County Health Department at 503-648-8881. Immunization Resources

Home is the best place for your child to receive medication. If possible, please space medication dosages to allow for home administration. If home administration is not possible and a child will need medication during the school day (including things such as eye drops, medicated lotions and throat lozenges), please observe the following guidelines:

• A parent/guardian must bring medication to the school office in person. Students may not transport medications.

• Prescription medication must be in a pharmacy container that states the student's name, dosage and frequency, prescription number, and doctor's name.

• Over-the-counter medication must be in its original packaging.

• Parents/guardians must complete a Medication Administration Authorization Form (available in our school office).

• A parent/guardian must pick up, in person, any left-over medication at the end of the school year.

If a student becomes seriously injured, injures their head, or becomes ill at school, every effort will be made to contact parents/guardians or other designated persons. Please keep your emergency contact information up-to-date with current phone numbers. In case of an emergency, the school will call 9-1-1 and emergency treatment will be pursued.

PARENTSQUARE

The Beaverton School District uses the ParentSquare platform for district, school and teacher communications, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent/guardian, using their preferred email address and phone number. Download the app or log into the ParentSquare Web Portal.

PARENTVUE

ParentVUE is a web portal that allows parents/guardians access to real-time information related to their students. It is also used on an annual basis during the start of each school year to verify student enrollment information. Information that can be found in ParentVUE includes:

• Attendance

• Calendars

• Course history

• Emergency contacts

• Grade Book information

• Report cards

• Schedules

• School information

ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM

The Beaverton School District uses an Online Payment System for all schools. Using a Visa, Discover, or MasterCard​ debit or credit card, you may make secure online payments for your students with no transaction fees. You can access the Online Payment System to pay:

• Student fees – athletic, student body, choir, field trip, etc.

• Fines – lost library book, lost textbook

• Donations to programs and activities

Information and registration for all of these electronic resources can be found on the Parent Apps & Resources Page.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled in the fall and spring. A conference provides an opportunity to discuss your child's academic achievement and social-emotional learning and are typically 20 minutes long.

Home-School Communication is an integral component to each child's success. If you have concerns at any other time during the year, please call your child's teacher or send them a message on ParentSquare as it is better to address small concerns than to wait until they become large ones.

All Beaverton School District elementary schools operate on semesters and have two grading periods. Report cards are distributed in February and June. Parents/guardians can view report cards through their ParentVUE accounts. Hard copies can be sent home upon request.

Office staff will deliver messages to students in class when communication from home is urgent. Please discuss after-school plans with your child before they leave for school in the morning.

Students are allowed to use the school telephones in the case of emergencies. Going home with a friend after school or staying for activities does not qualify as a critical situation and must be pre-arranged so that telephoning from school is not necessary.

At Springville Elementary, we are committed to providing our students with an exceptional learning experience where every student belongs, believes, and achieves. Students spend the school day engaged in learning activities. Each grade level will share their homework policy with families during their Back-to-School Presentations. In general, students in our younger grades typically do not receive any homework and students in our upper grades start to receive a small amount which increases as they reach the end of fifth grade. 

It is strongly recommended that all students read each day outside of school for building a strong reading life. This reading could be independent, family reading, being read to, or listening to audio books.

School ends at 2:50 PM and students are to be picked up promptly from school. Please make arrangements for dismissal changes in advance of the school day when possible. We must receive a Going Home Plan Change form (linked at the bottom of the main page of Springville’s website) prior to noon on the day of the change or students will be sent home according to their regular dismissal plan. 

If there is an emergency change to your child's dismissal plan after 12:00 PM, please call the office. Teachers are engaged with students all day long, and emailing changes to teachers or sending ParentSquare messages to teachers is not a reliable way to share emergency information. Please change plans ONLY in case of rare emergencies. Our top priority is keeping every student safe. We cannot guarantee that last-minute information will reach students in a timely manner. 

A fee-based after school care program from an outside provider is available at Springville. The Beaverton School District and Springvillel do not screen or endorse any childcare services.

Springville’s office is open from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday except on holidays. Classroom teachers are typically available from 7:45 AM to 3:45 PM.

School hours for students are 8:15 AM to 2:50 PM.

Dress and grooming are primary responsibilities of students and parents/guardians. However, students may be directed to change dress or grooming if it interferes with the learning process or school climate, is unclean, or threatens the health or safety of the student or others. Clothing, jewelry, or wording/graphics on clothing or on the person that is sexually suggestive, drug or alcohol-related, vulgar, depicts violence, is insulting, is gang related, or ridicules a particular person or group may be prohibited.

Hats and other headwear (including hoodies) must allow the face to be visible to school staff. Students will be asked to put their hat in a backpack if it is repeatedly used as a toy.

Cell Phones, Smart Watches, & Electronics

Cell phones and other electronic devices are not allowed to be turned on or used while on school grounds without a specific educational purpose and teacher’s permission. Any misuse of an electronic device that interrupts the learning environment can result in the temporary confiscation of the device. If a staff member confiscates a device, it will be secured in the office. 

Students may wear a smartwatch at school as long as it is only used to tell time. Students who are using their smartwatch to communicate with others, play games, or do other activities will be asked to put it in their backpack. Any misuse that interrupts the learning environment can result in the temporary confiscation of the smartwatch. If a staff member confiscates it, it will be secured in the office. 

Phone calls and messages to and from families during the school day should only be delivered through school communication channels and not a student's personal device. This includes cell phones, tablets, and smartwatches. The office can also get emergency messages to students during the school day when needed.

Any personal cell phone, smartwatch, or device brought to school is done at the owner’s risk. The school will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged devices.

Birthdays, Invitations, and Treats

Springville acknowledges each student’s birthday during the Morning Announcements on the first school day of each week by sharing the student’s first name during the week of their birthday. August birthdays before school begins are announced during the first few weeks of the school year. Late June and July birthdays are announced towards the end of May and early June. Classroom teachers each handle student birthdays differently. If you do not want your child’s birthday announced at school, please contact our school office. We do not celebrate student birthdays with treats from home or allow other gifts or items from home to be distributed during the school day. All of these items need to be distributed outside of the school day to avoid disruption at school. 

We prefer that party invitations be distributed outside of school. If you want to host a party outside of school and provide a paper invitation to students at school, invitations need to be given to every student in the class so that students do not feel excluded. The expectation is that students do not open invitations at school or on the bus to avoid hurt feelings and a disruption to the learning environment. 

Occasionally, teachers will host a celebration in their classroom and ask families to contribute snacks or treats. Per our district’s Local Wellness Policy EFA-AR, each celebration may include no more than one food or beverage that does not meet nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually (these are described in detail in Appendix A). Please reference this School Celebrations document for healthy ideas. Any food consumed at school must be distributed by our cafeteria or purchased from a store and pre-packaged. Homemade items cannot be distributed to students.

Staff may accept gifts from families and the community as long as the gift from any one person or family does not exceed $50 per calendar year, per State of Oregon ethics rules. There is no limit to donations of classroom supplies or monetary donations spent on classroom supplies or other items for the school or classroom. 

We are fortunate that Springville is a very diverse school filled with families that come from many different countries, cultures, faiths and backgrounds. At Springville, we may teach about holidays or ask students to share about the holidays they observe, but we leave the celebration of holidays to our families. We strive to create a fun and inviting environment for all students. For this reason, the celebrations we focus on are inclusive to everyone and are not centered on or around religious or secular holidays. 

Problem-solving is an important life skill. When students experience difficulties with others, students are learning about what problems they can try and solve themselves and those they might need additional support from an adult to solve. 

When children experience difficulties with others, we encourage them to try at least TWO of the following ideas to resolve "small" problems:

• go to another game

• share and/or take turns

• walk away

• ignore it

• tell the other person to stop

• apologize

• wait and cool off

When students experience difficulties with others that are "big" problems, they are asked to tell an adult they trust. 

Students should make an immediate report to a trusted adult if they feel unsafe or threatened at any time.

Learning to differentiate between various levels of conflict is an ongoing process which is supported in the classroom and through counseling lessons. Partnerships between home and school also increase the ability to support student learning and growth in this area. 

RULES FOR A SAFE PLAYGROUND

These are some of our key expectations for our playground:

• Recess coaches (staff) supervise each recess and support students during this time

• Students will show good sportsmanship by following school and game rules.

• Toys and sports equipment from home are not permitted on the playground.

• Students who need to enter the building to use the restroom or go to the office during recess bring a classmate with them to a Recess Coach to get a key card. The classmate uses the key card to unlock the door so the other student can go indoors. The classmate then immediately returns the key card to the recess coach. 

• Tag games can be played in areas where you can run (bark chips, field)—not on or under the play structure nor near the poles. Playground coaches can stop tag games/running that is deemed unsafe

• Keep the bark chips on the ground

• Use recess equipment for its intended purposes.

• Safe hands, safe feet, personal space—capture games or games with pretend weapons are never allowed

• All games will be safe, kind, fair, and inclusive.

• During games, all students will abide by the decisions made by the judge. Disagreements will be solved by rock paper scissors or with help from a recess coach

• At the end of recess, students will freeze and have voices off when the first whistle blows. Students will put equipment away and line up after hearing the second whistle. 

• One person on the slide at a time.

• When using the slide go feet-first, bottom down, facing forward.

• Always sit on the swings with your back to the fence, and one person per swing only.

• When using the swings, students are to swing back and forth and not jump off. Swings should not be twisted to make them higher.

• All activities or running must be a safe distance from the swings.

• When waiting your turn in line for the swings, count slowly to 50, or sing the ABCs 2 times.

• The playground is for FUN! Help others to have FUN!