School Policies

Included on this page are highlights from our policies and procedures. The Rothenberg Preparatory Academy Student Handbook includes more details about each of these items.

Attendance Policies

As a reminder, our hours are:

School Hours: 7:40 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.
Office Hours: 7:15 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Preschool

• The preschool team cannot accept students before 7:45 a.m.
• Only the preschool entrance on the playground may be used for preschool arrival and dismissal.
• Preschoolers must be signed in and out by an adult.
• Preschool parents must pick older siblings up from the designated dismissal locations. There is no access through the school building.

Car Riders

• Car drop-off and pick-up for grades K-6 will take place on the Main Street side of the building.
• Parents of car riders should pull up behind the buses on Main Street. So students can be escorted to cars by a staff member.
• Parents should not exit their vehicles to pick up or drop off a child so that the process runs smoothly and safely.
• If parents need to enter the building, they should park in a designated parking space to enter the office.

Walkers

All walkers will be dismissed from the gym to a parent or adult. Students in grades prek-2 must be escorted by a parent or adult.

Dismissal

• The gym doors will be opened at 2:15 p.m. for parents to pick up students.
• All dismissal changes must be communicated by writing a note to the classroom teacher. Calls are only accepted in cases of emergency.
• No student will be released for early dismissal after 2 p.m.
• Your cooperation and support is essential as we work to maximize instruction time and enhance our student safety procedures. To avoid wait time, please arrive as close to 2:15 p.m. as possible. Thank you

Tardy Procedures
Students arriving late must report to the office for a tardy slip. Tardies are recorded and reported to the school social worker.

Absence Procedures
To report an absent child, call the school office or email us using this Absence Reporting Form.

Please call the school office at (513) 363-5700 before 9:00 a.m. when your child is ill. A written note signed by a student’s parents or guardian is to be given to the teacher when the student returns to school. Acceptable reasons for absences are personal illness, critical illness in the family, quarantine of the home, death of a relative or observance of religious holidays.

Bus Safety

Student behavior that distracts bus drivers is a hazard to the vehicle's safe operation, and jeopardizes the safety and welfare of all passengers. Misbehavior while on a yellow school bus or a Metro bus can result in disciplinary action for the student or the suspension of transportation service for the student. Read more about our requirements for student behavior on buses.

Cell Phone Policy

Cell phones are not permitted during the school day for personal use. The school is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen cell phones. Phones must be turned off and given to the homeroom teacher for safe keeping until dismissal.

Discipline

Review CPS' Code of Conduct for disciplinary procedures.

Our students must follow the district-wide Code of Conduct before, during and after school. The Code is in effect in school buildings, on school grounds, at school-related activities, and on the way to or from school. Students also must follow these rules on the yellow bus/van or Metro bus that brings them to school or takes them home.

Steps Following Student Misbehavior
 
When the Principal finds that a student has committed an offense, the Principal or another school administrator will:

• Investigate the incident, including meeting with the student and any others involved to allow them to ex­plain the situation.
• Notify the family if a corrective strategy is used.
• Send a letter to the family if the corrective strategy is an assignment to an alternative program. (See Bullet No. 3 below.)

Actions families can take:

• Ask for a meeting with the principal to discuss the decision and to request information about the investigation or the appeal process.
• Appeal an assignment to Alternative to Suspension (A2S) by writing to the district’s Hearing Officer stating the reason for the appeal.
• Appeal an assignment to Alternative to Expulsion (A2E) by writing a letter to the district’s Hearing Officer, stating the reason for the appeal. The letter will be forwarded to the responsible school supervisor, who will make final decisions on expulsion appeals.