What is the procedure if my student will be absent?
If a student must be absent, families should notify the school and provide a reason for the absence.  For students at the Kansas Avenue campus, please contact us at (202) 706-5828 by 9:00 AM.  For students at Georgia Avenue campus, please contact us at (202) 667-4446 at 9:15 AM.   Upon your child’s return to school, a written note, with your student’s name, date of absence and reason of absence must be turned into the Front Office.  Families will be contacted if their child is absent without explanation.

Campus	Phone Number	Notify School By
Kansas Avenue	(202) 667-4446	9:00 AM
Georgia Avenue	(202) 706-5828	9:15 AM

Back to Top

How will I be notified if school is cancelled or delayed?
On days that District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) are in session, E.L. Haynes will follow the decision of the DCPS to open late or close due to inclement weather or emergency as announced on the radio, TV, or internet. This policy also affects the Extended Day Program because there is no Extended Day Program when the building is closed and there is no Before School if school opening is delayed. To find out if DCPS or E.L. Haynes is closed, please listen to the radio, watch a local news station, or visit the E.L. Haynes website at www.elhaynes.org.

On days when E.L. Haynes is in session and DCPS is not in session, an automated phone message will be sent to the primary phone number listed on each student’s enrollment form. All other changes in the school schedule will be announced by telephone through the Alert Now system or through notices sent home in the “Thursday Express”. For this reason and others, parent contact numbers must be kept up to date. Back to Top

What is the dress code for students?
Dress Code for Pre-K through 5th Grade
Students must wear appropriate clothing at all times. Clothing that is provocative or contains inappropriate language is prohibited. Shirts with advertisements on them are discouraged. Parents should not send their children in open-toed shoes or with shirts that expose the midriff. Sneakers are recommended every day and are required on days the students have health & fitness and dance. Please do not send your child to school in short skirts because children sit cross-legged on the floor. Students should also not come to school in flip-flops or shoes that will hinder their ability to play outside or participate in special classes such as health and fitness and dance.

Students should wear or bring comfortable clothing suitable for both our air-conditioned and heated building and the outdoors. Because students go outdoors for play every day, except in heavy rain, they should arrive on cooler days with a coat, hat, gloves, and if necessary, boots so that they can fully participate in outdoor play. Parents should expect that students will get their clothes dirty from time to time during art or outdoor play, and dress their children appropriately. All clothing should have student’s name somewhere on the inside collar. All pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students need to keep a complete change of clothing at the school that is appropriate for the season.

Dress Code for 6th through 8th Grades
Students in the 6th through 8th grades are required to wear the following dress code to school each day:

• All students should wear an E.L. Haynes middle school T-shirt or Polo shirt. Shirts should be clean and should not be marked with writing or drawings.

• Students may wear an E.L. Haynes sweatshirt and/or an E.L. Haynes sweater over their shirts. It is recommended that families purchase an E.L. Haynes sweatshirt or sweater since the classrooms are sometimes cool. Students may not wear sweatshirts or sweaters from home.

• All students should wear khaki pants, shorts, or skirts. All pants, shorts, or skirts must be appropriate size and fit.

• Students are not allowed to wear makeup and only limited jewelry or other accessories. Earrings must be smaller than a quarter. Students may only wear small chain necklaces inside their shirt.

• No hats, bandannas, scarves or other head, neck, or shoulder coverings are allowed, except for reasons of religious practice that has been discussed between the student’s parent and the student’s administrator.

For information on how to place orders please contact the Front Office at the Georgia Avenue campus at (202) 667-4446.

The school will respond to students in violation of the dress code with the following:

• 1st and 2nd time missing proper shirt: Principal will provide student with a loaner shirt for the day.

• 3rd time missing proper shirt within four weeks: A parent will be required to come to school while the student waits; a conference with the principal will take place.

• Inappropriate pants, shorts, or skirts: A parent will be required to come to school while the student waits; a conference with the principal will take place.

• Sweaters, sweatshirts from home; inappropriate jewelry; hats; scarves: The teacher or principal will hold onto the items until the end of the day. After the third time, a parent will be required to come to the school to retrieve the item(s).

Back to Top

What is the school's medication policy?
Medication cannot be administered without a completed Medication Administration Authorization
Form. The Medication Administration Authorization Form is available at the Front Desk of our
Kansas Avenue and Georgia Avenue campuses. No medications, including over-the-counter
medications, should be sent to school with your children. All medication must be brought in by a
parent or guardian and kept in the Front Office. We strongly encourage parents/guardians to
administer short-term medications, such as antibiotics, at home. Back to Top

What are the school's discipline policies?
Please see the Tiers of Discipline
E.L. Haynes’ approach to discipline is derived from the Responsive Classroom model, which incorporates social learning into the daily program.  E. L. Haynes uses a positive discipline approach in which rules and expectations are clearly communicated to students in advance as much as possible and consequences for breaking rules are administered calmly and fairly. Students are expected to make appropriate choices that ensure respect and safety for themselves and others.  Staff members will treat students respectfully in all situations.  The use of positive discipline is an expectation of all E.L. Haynes staff members.

In particular, students are expected to follow teachers or staff members’ directions and school rules, resolve conflicts without physical contact, show respect to adults and each other, use appropriate language at all times, and respect the rights and property of others. While at school or during fieldwork, parents/guardians are expected to discipline their students, if necessary, in a positive and respectful manner consistent with the Responsive Classroom model.  Parents/guardians who physically discipline their student at school may be prohibited from the building, and may be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Students will be involved in making classroom rules with their teachers and are expected to follow all classroom and school rules.  In keeping with Responsive Classroom, there are logical consequences for students who forget or choose not to follow the rules.

Logical consequences include:

Time Out or Take a Break: Time out or take a break allows students to think about the rules and their importance to the classroom and the school community.  Neither time-out nor take a break are considered punishment, but rather each provides time away from classroom activities in order for the student to regain their composure or productive frame of mind.  Thus, all students will likely take a break or have some time out during the year.  When a student receives repeated time-outs in the same day or successive time-outs for the same reason, a teacher may choose to have the student take a time-out in another classroom or with an Administrator.  The time-out from the classroom gives the student an opportunity to reflect on their behavior in the class and the importance of classroom rules.  If a time-out in another classroom or with an Administrator is needed, the teacher escorts the student or calls for another staff member to escort the student.

Loss of Privileges: Loss of privileges for a specific amount of time reminds students that privileges come with expectations.  For example, a student who chooses not handle material safely, in accordance to the classroom expectations that he or she already knows, may not be allowed to use the material again until he or she has demonstrated his or her knowledge of using the material safely.

“You Broke It, You Fix It”: “You Broke It, You Fix It” shows students that their actions are important.  For example, a student who writes on a table may be asked to clean all the tables.  A student who hurts another student’s feelings may be asked to write a letter of apology to that student.  Students are encouraged to suggest their own reparation if a classmate has hurt their feelings or they have treated school resources inappropriately.

Safety of all students is a primary concern at E.L. Haynes.  For fieldwork, trips to the library and the park, and even crossing Georgia Avenue for recess, students must be able to behave safely and follow staff members’ instructions.  Students must demonstrate a consistent ability to follow adult directions before they can participate in activities outside of the building.  If there is concern about a student’s safe behavior on fieldwork, a teacher may require the student to have a parent/guardian chaperone or disallow the student from participating in the trip.  At E.L. Haynes, the logical consequence for not behaving safely at recess is to miss recess for a specified number of days and to practice safe behavior.  The actions of students who break school rules and procedures will be documented in an incident report.

When students repeatedly break the rules and logical consequences appear not to be changing student’s behavior, the teacher will arrange a meeting with the parent/guardian, the student, and possibly an administrator. A behavior contract for the student will be developed and agreed upon at this meeting.  The purpose of a behavior contract is to make the classroom and school rules explicit to the student with daily reflection and recording of success.  The teacher will plan accommodations and implement strategies designed to support the student in meeting the goals of the behavior contract.  The parent/guardian may also be asked to try home strategies.  Frequent communication with the parent/guardian at this stage is expected and required. The teacher and parent/guardian will develop a plan for effective communication.  Parents/guardians must be accessible and easily reached when their student has a behavior contract.

For more serious infractions including fighting, not responding to a teacher’s directions, use of disrespectful language, intentional damage to school property, and threats of physical violence, parents/guardians will be called immediately and appropriate discipline will be determined.  Appropriate discipline might require having 1) parents/guardians come to school to observe student’s behavior, 2) students make reparations to the school (e.g. cleaning desks after marking one up), 3) students leave school for the rest of the day, 4) students get suspended from school.  (Please review the Suspension and Expulsion policies in Section 3.)  If a student is involved in a fight of any kind, parents/guardians will be called immediately and students will be expected to leave school within an hour of the administrator’s call to the parent/guardian.  Additional disciplinary actions may follow.

Suspension and Expulsion
Students may be suspended from school for a specified number of days or expelled from school for the remainder of the school year by one of the Principals (for suspension or expulsion) or an Administrative Designee (for suspension only) for serious infractions.  Expelled students may re-apply to attend school the following year, but will receive no preference even if siblings attend.  The school will attempt to contact the student’s parents/guardians before a suspension or expulsion.

Serious Infractions
A serious infraction sufficient to justify consideration of suspension or expulsion is one which threatens the health, safety or welfare of a student, teacher or staff member or repeatedly impairs instruction for the student’s classmates.  Serious infractions include; but are not limited to:

1. Intentionally injuring, attempting to injure, or threatening to injure another person or oneself;
2. Intentionally causing damage to school property or the property of others at the school;
3. Using profane or extremely disrespectful language to another student or a teacher;
4. Possession of any weapons or instruments designed to commonly used as weapons;
5. Unsafe behavior including failing to respond to a teacher’s directions in such a way that it causes concern for the safety of the individual student or the class;
6. Leaving the school or classroom without the permission or consent of the teacher or supervising adult;
7. Possession of profane material, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or the display of sexually indecent or lascivious behavior;
8. Possession of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs; and
9. Repeated and consistent misbehavior that significantly disrupts classroom instruction after behavior management plans have been implemented.

Except for extenuating circumstances as determined on a case-by-case basis by an Administrator, any student who brings a weapon into the E. L. Haynes Public Charter School shall be expelled for not less than one year and must re-apply for admission in accordance with the admissions policy.  An Administrator shall refer to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system, simultaneous with expulsion, any student who is expelled for bringing a weapon into school, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 8921 et seq.  The term “weapon” means a firearm as such term is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921, a knife longer than 4”, or an explosive of any kind.

Procedures for Suspending and Expelling Students
The decision to suspend or expel a student shall be made by a Principal or Administrative Designee with or without the recommendation of the student’s teacher or other school employee.  The Principal or Administrative Designee will determine the number of days for suspension based on the severity of the infraction, the age of the student, and previous infractions.  The suspension or expulsion shall become effective immediately unless otherwise stated by a Principal or Administrative Designee.  After three suspensions from school within the same school year for the same or different infractions, expulsion will be seriously considered.

E.L. Haynes requires that a parent/guardian attend a meeting with a Principal or Administrative Designee and the student’s teacher before a suspended student may return to school.  Upon notification of suspension, a parent/guardian should contact a Principal or Administrative Designee to schedule this meeting.

The decision to suspend or expel a student shall be made in writing and given to the parent/guardian.  The student’s parents/guardians have five school days to challenge the suspension or expulsion by submitting an appeal of a Principal’s decision, in writing, to the Head of School and Chair of the Board of Trustees.  The Board of Trustees will issue a decision in writing to the parents/guardians and the Principal within 5 school days after receiving the appeal. The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall convene a special meeting of the Board of Trustees to consider the appeal of the suspension or expulsion.  The student and his or her parents/guardians, the student’s teachers, a Principal and other school staff may be invited to participate in this special meeting as the Board sees fit.  The decision of the Board of Trustees in affirming or reversing a Principal’s decision is final.

Procedures for Suspending and Expelling Students with Disabilities
The basis for disciplining, suspending or expelling students with disabilities shall be no different than the basis for such actions taken against students without disabilities.  Reasonable accommodation of a student’s disabilities shall not prevent a Principal from disciplining, suspending or expelling students when behavior not related to the disability threatens the health, safety or welfare of a student, teacher or staff member or repeatedly impairs instruction for the student’s classmates.
Back to Top

How can students celebrate their birthdays at school?
Birthdays are an important part of community at E.L. Haynes.  Each classroom will have a monthly birthday celebration for students whose birthdays fall within that month; thus, while we recognize an individual’s birthday, classes do not host individual birthday parties. For the monthly celebration, families are encouraged to join the festivities by contributing treats and/or attending the party.  Although E.L. Haynes does not allow soda, candy, or junk food during a regular school day (see the Meals and Healthy Eating section), the monthly birthday celebration may include cake, soda, or other appropriate party food.  Families must coordinate their involvement with the classroom teacher. 

Invitations for any birthday party held outside of school must be mailed to children rather than distributed at school.  Other preparations for individual birthday celebrations must be taken care of outside the school day, including transportation to or from an off-site event.    Back to Top