The order of the consequences from left to right: verbal correction, teacher/student conference, timeout, loss of privilege, classroom exclusion, detention, suspension, and expulsion.
District Protocols
- School Closing Information
- Guidelines for Parent-Teacher Communications
- Emergency Preparedness
- Rules of Conduct and Selected Board Policies
School Closing Information
During the school year there may be times when one or all of the schools may be closed. In most cases school closures are the result of weather related conditions. The Northfield Township superintendents have developed guidelines pertaining to these closures and wanted to share them with you. We recognize that everyone looks at weather related closures through their own personal lens and there may be times that you may not agree with the District’s decision. Please know that any decision we make will be made with the safety of the children as our top priority.
Parents and students should assume that classes are in session at the normal time unless otherwise notified.
Priority on Safety
During periods of inclement weather or in emergency situations, our first priority is the safety and welfare of our students and staff. At the same time, the closing of school can be burdensome to families due to child care and work schedules. We consider cancelling school to be an exception and we place a strong emphasis on keeping our schools open. Some of the primary factors that are considered when making a decision include:
- The safety and well-being of students and staff.
- Severity of the weather (extreme cold, excessive snow, flooding, etc.).
- Timing of the weather events.
- The ability of buses and cars to travel safely.
- The operable condition of our buildings.
Please know that if school does remain open and you feel that it is unsafe to send your student to school, please contact the school attendance office and the student will be given an excused absence.
Making the Decision
The Superintendent of Schools determines when and if conditions at one or more of the schools warrant the cancellation of school. This decision is normally made in collaboration with the District Administration, other area superintendents, local Village departments, the bus service provider and the Illinois Department of Transportation depending on the condition.
Northbrook District 27 works collaboratively with Glenbrook District 225 and our Township Districts 28, 30, 31, 34, and NSSED on school closings. Because we have many families whose students are enrolled at both GBN and District 27, we seek to be consistent to create the least amount of disruption. This may not always occur but please be assured it is a priority in our deliberations.
Data source: The National Weather Service will be the primary meteorological source to determine and declare weather conditions such as snow forecasts, wind-chill advisory or wind-chill warnings.
Notifying Parents
In the event of a school closing or other emergency, parents can expect to receive an automated phone call, e-mail, and text. It is the responsibility of the parent to provide this information to the school. This process was completed during registration, but must be updated if either a phone number or e-mail is changed during the school year.
School closure decisions will normally be made before 6:00 a.m. the day of closure. This allows weather conditions to be monitored overnight to avoid unnecessary closures. Closure decisions will only be made the night before if conditions are known for certain and warrant closure. Parents should establish contingency plans for possible closures throughout the school year regardless of the season.
Emergency and closing information is also available through the following sources:
- School and district websites,
- WGN’s Emergency Closings website,
- Mass media including major radio and TV sources, and
- The district’s social media channels
General Information
School may be cancelled due to weather conditions or other emergency conditions that made the operation of school facilities unsafe. In extreme conditions or due to large-scale damage, the superintendent may close all buildings and cancel all events. General guidelines:
- School may be cancelled for all District 27 school facilities or for an individual facility as necessary.
- All after-school activities and field trips will be cancelled unless specifically announced by the school principal.
- All student events will be cancelled unless specifically announced by the school principal.
- Athletic events and practices will be cancelled unless specifically announced by the school principal.
Heavy Snow – School Will Be Closed
If we have heavy snow that creates conditions where the safety of students and staff is at risk, travel is prohibitive, or buildings cannot be prepared for a regular school day, school will be closed. Parents will be notified by all communication methods previously identified.
Unlike cold, it is more challenging to determine if the conditions will result in a closure due to snow. More often than not parents should expect notification of a school closure due to snow in the morning.
Severe Cold – Two Possible Outcomes
1. Wind-Chill Warning – Schools Will Be Closed:
Schools will be closed under the condition of a Wind-chill warning. A wind-chill warning indicates that life-threatening conditions and a risk to safety exist. Measures should be taken to safeguard life and property immediately. A Wind-chill warning is typically issued when the wind-chill will be -30 degrees Fahrenheit or colder and the winds are greater than or equal to 10 mph OR the actual temperature is -15° F.
General Range – Wind-chills -30°F or lower and wind speeds 10 mph or greater or Actual temperature -15°F or lower
- Classes will be cancelled and school closure protocols will be instituted.
- All notification systems will be leveraged to send school cancellation communications to families.
- Extracurricular activities will be cancelled.
2. Wind-Chill Advisory – Schools Will Be Open:
A Wind-chill advisory is issued when conditions do not meet the wind-chill warning criteria but still cause significant inconvenience. The weather during a wind-chill advisory is not life threatening but presents conditions that may result in inconvenience or pose moderate risk to safety. A wind-chill advisory is typically issued when the wind chill is -20 degrees Fahrenheit or colder AND the winds are greater to OR equal to 10 mph.
General Range – Wind-chills -20°F to -29°F and wind speeds 10 mph or greater or Actual temperature -5°F to -14°F
- Schools will be open and student attendance is expected.
- Fire and Police will be notified prior to the start of these school days.
- Extracurricular activities will be evaluated and may be suspended if conditions persist.
- All outside student activities will be suspended.
Family Situation
Whenever a decision is made to cancel school or alter the school day, it is based on the general safety conditions for all students and staff. The District recognizes that conditions may vary for each individual student or family. As mentioned above, if you feel that it is unsafe to send your student to school, please contact the school attendance office and the student will be given an excused absence.
Guidelines for Parent-Teacher Communications
We value the strong home-school partnership that we have in the District. Next to high-quality instruction in the classroom, our partnership stands as one of the most significant factors in a child's education. We want to ensure that we have an open and highly collaborative relationship with all our parents and that our communication is strong. In addition, we want to address any concerns you may have over the course of the year in a positive, constructive, and reasoned manner.
Our Commitment
Our Commitment to Our Parents When Concerns Arise
- We will promptly address any issues that arise and work closely with you to find a solution.
- If we have a concern, we will share it with you and suggest ideas to resolve it. We will seek your support and be open to your ideas for resolution.
- If you have a concern with the teacher or principal, we will:
- Clarify all those individuals who need to know about the situation.
- Explore what resources might be needed to address the situation, and
- Determine the time frame that we will update you on the situation or concern.
- We will develop a firm solution in a reasonable time and ensure the principal can support the solution and provide the resources to achieve it. We will develop a clear communication plan for updating you over time should ongoing monitoring be part of the solution.
How Best to Communicate
Parents have three direct ways to communicate with teachers: e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face meetings. Each of these methods can serve a useful purpose as follows:
Emails permit teachers to respond to questions that are simple and straight forward. They are efficient to transmit information. Email, though, has its limitations. It is not a productive method to problem-solve with parents and leaves room for misunderstanding. Moreover, it is devoid of any affective tone to reflect the true feelings of a person. With this context in mind, teachers will welcome the opportunity to share information or give a short response. Conversations that require more extensive interaction should include a telephone conversation or a face-to-face meeting.
Telephone or Face-to-Face Meetings
These two methods permit the teacher to more effectively problem-solve a concern with parents. While either of these two methods is appropriate, face-to-face meetings are useful if more than one person may need to be involved in the conversation. We encourage our staff to use these two methods to problem-solve concerns and topics with parents.
The Realities of Teachers' Lives
- Does not allow teachers to check their e-mails regularly. In most cases, teachers check and respond to emails before and after school.
- Teachers are sometimes unavailable because of meetings, peer collaboration, conferences or training sessions, which will delay their response.
- Teachers devote a considerable time before and after school developing lesson plans, preparing the room for daily activities, grading work, and reviewing the curriculum, standards and assessments that must be taught.
- Please remember the classroom environment and the complexity of a teacher’s day. If you don’t receive an immediate answer to your email, it doesn’t mean you are being ignored. A teacher will generally respond within 24 hours.
- Please consider your goal in communicating with the teacher. If your purpose is to share information, or give the teacher time to think about an issue, an e-mail is appropriate. However, if you would like two-way dialogue on an issue, please consider a telephone call or request a face-to-face meeting.
- Each primary teacher has at least 18-22 students in her classroom. At Shabonee and Wood Oaks, teachers may teach 40-120 students. Please consider how many emails teachers could potentially receive throughout the day from parents!
Concern Management Process
| Step number | Description |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Contact the teacher via email or message at the office. The teacher will respond within one business day |
| Step 2 | If you send an email to the teacher, please state the general concern. If the concern can be resolved through email, the teacher will address it through email. However, if the concern is more involved, please state it without detailing all the specifics. We have found that that best way to resolve concerns is to discuss them, and not try to resolve them through email. Email is not an adequate collaboration tool to address concerns but it does serve to express the need to work on the issue. |
| Step 3 | The teacher will connect with you to understand and resolve the concern. This could be an email or phone call. The teacher may also suggest a time for a face-to-face meeting. |
| Step 4 | If you and the teacher cannot resolve the concern, please ask that the principal participate in the problem-solving process. The principal will be the final arbiter on all matters relating student concerns. In a rare case, the matter may be referred to the Superintendent or Central Office Administrator. |
Emergency Preparedness
In the unfortunate event that an emergency situation should arise in our area during the school day, Northbrook School District 27 is prepared. We have a well-developed Emergency Preparedness Plan and have procedures in place to respond effectively to such situations. Should an emergency situation ever occur, we would need your cooperation and assistance. Specifically, we ask that you follow the guidelines below:
- Do not telephone the school or District Office. Telephone lines may be needed for emergency communication.
- Check the District 27 website and/or the District 27 Facebook page for information and instructions on how to reunite with your child. In some serious emergency situations, students may be relocated to another facility for their safety.
- Northbrook School District 27 will also send information through the School Messenger System, the District's emergency notification system.
- Students will only be released to parents, legal guardians, and authorized individuals listed on the school emergency contact list, who are in possession of a valid government issued photo identification. Please review with your child, the names of those individuals who are listed as emergency contacts.
While every person's natural instinct in an emergency is to go to the school to safeguard his/her child, please understand that doing so may significantly impede that school's ability to respond to the situation. Parents driving to the school would severely restrict emergency personnel's ability to access the building and give care to the students or evacuate them from the site. We ask that you trust in the preparedness of the school staff and community first responders to swiftly and effectively handle the emergency.
We ask for complete parent cooperation with the reunification process. It is a thorough process that ensures your children are safe and reunited with you. It will also take some time to release students to parents/guardians, but we will keep them safe until you are reunited.
Rules of Conduct and Selected Board Policies
Rules of Conduct
Behavioral Expectations
The following behavioral expectations are taught proactively in each building.
Hickory Point Behavior Expectations
Hallway
Bathroom
Lunchroom
Feet, Eat, Seat, Neat.
Respectful
- Swallow before speaking.
- Listen to adults.
Responsible
- Use walking feet.
- Face forward.
- Feet on the floor.
- Eat your own food.
- Raise hand to leave your seat.
Kind
- Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
- Use kind words.
- Use table manners.
- Table talk.
- Seat 4 at a bench.
Voice Level
- 2*
Bus
Playground
Be Friendly, Be Safe, Have Fun.
Respectful
- Listen to supervisors.
Responsible
- Be safe.
- Walk on the wood chips, run on the grass.
- Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
- Use equipment appropriately.
- Get help from supervisors when needed.
Kind
- Take turns.
- Include others.
- Use kind words.
Voice Level
- 1 - 4*
Cubbies
Arrival/Dismissal/Assemblies
*Voice Levels (Schoolwide):
0 = No talking.
1 = Whisper.
2 = Table talk.
3 = Strong Speaker.
4 = Outside.
Shabonee SWIM Expectations
- Arrival/Dismissal
- Bus
- Playground/Recess
- Bathroom
- Hallway
- Lunchroom
- Assemblies
- 3rd Grade Classroom
- 4th Grade Classroom
- 5th Grade Classroom
- Specials Classes
- Indoor Recess
- Library
- Intervention Rooms
- Office
Arrival/Dismissal
Bus
Playground/Recess
Show Respect
- Listen to supervisors, whistle, and bell.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to self.
We're Responsible
- Ask for permission to go inside.
- Put equipment away.
- Stay in assigned areas.
- Report unsafe play to supervisors.
I'M Kind
- Use kind words and actions.
- Invite others to play.
- Play by the rules and take turns.
Bathroom
Hallway
Lunchroom
Show Respect
- Keep your area clean.
- Use the correct trash can.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to self.
- Use good table manners.
- Permission to get up.
- Chew with your mouth closed.
- Use a napkin.
We're Responsible
- Be ready.
- Bring your entire lunch with you.
- Sit at the correct table with your classroom and watch for Nut Safe Zones.
- Eat only your food.
I'M Kind
- Use kind words and actions.
- Include others.
Assemblies
3rd Grade Classroom
Show Respect
- Raise your hand.
- Wait your turn.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to self.
We're Responsible
- Use your time appropriately.
- Make good decisions.
- Do your personal best.
- Follow teacher directions and classroom routines.
I'M Kind
- Work cooperatively.
- Be encouraging and kind to our classmates.
- Help each other.
4th Grade Classroom
Show Respect
- Use appropriate voice level.
- Listen and take turns sharing.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to self.
We're Responsible
- Use your time appropriately.
- Take pride in your work.
- Come prepared and organized.
- Follow teacher directions and routines.
I'M Kind
- Work cooperatively with others.
- Use encouraging and kind words.
- Listen and support others' ideas.
5th Grade Classroom
Show Respect
- Raise your hand.
- Wait your turn.
- Be considerate of others' property and ideas.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to self.
We're Responsible
- Be prepared.
- Follow directions and routines.
- Take pride in your work.
- Make positive contributions.
- Use your time constructively.
I'M Kind
- Work cooperatively.
- Include and help others.
- Use appropriate words and actions.
- Share.
Specials Classes
Show Respect
- Use and clean up equipment and materials properly.
- Raise your hand.
- Wait your turn.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to self.
We're Responsible
- Use your time appropriately.
- Take pride in your work.
- Follow directions and routines.
I'M Kind
- Work cooperatively.
- Use encouraging and kind words/actions.
- Listen and support others' ideas and efforts.
Indoor Recess
Library
Intervention Rooms
Office
Show Respect
- Say please and thank you.
- Wait your turn to sign in or ask a question.
- Speak politely to your parents when you call home.
- Sit quietly while waiting.
We're Responsible
- Check the lunch cart before asking to call home.
- Arrive to school on time.
- Know your after school plans.
I'M Kind
- Cooperate when sharing a task.
Wood Oaks R.O.A.R Expectations
Consequences Chart
Consequences for infractions to the expected behavior will be consistent and age appropriate. However, serious infractions may immediately invoke consequences further along the continuum. Parent notification is an important component of problem-solving. Parents will be notified of consequences due to misbehavior as appropriate.
Definition of terms
Verbal Correction: Restatement of the expected behavior by the teacher or similar reminder to the student. This may be preceded by attempts to redirect behavior.
Private Conference: A private conversation takes place between teacher and student to attempt to resolve issues.
Timeout: A timeout is a brief removal of a student from the group activity as a result of behavior interferes with the group process. A timeout is assigned at the discretion of the teacher.
Loss of Privilege: The removal from a designated student or other sanction as appropriate (e.g.: loss of recess, club activity or extra -curricular activity).
Definition of Classroom Exclusion, Detention, Suspension, and Expulsion are found in Board of Education Discipline Policy 7:190.