Attendance Policy
Help Your Child Succeed in Life: Build the Habit of Good School Attendance.
DID YOU KNOW?
- It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to get their child to school.
- Missing just five days of school means 30 hours of missed instructional time.
- Starting in kindergarten, there is a direct link between absences and reading level.
- One in ten kindergarten and first-grade students is chronically absent.
- Students who are chronically absent are 7.5 times more likely to drop out of high school.
CHRONIC ABSENCE: 10 or more days
WARNING SIGNS: 7-9 days
SATISFACTORY: 6 or fewer days
Two easy ways to report an absence:
Phone: 269.925.3807
Fax: 269.927.3673
Uniform Policy
A student will maintain personal attire and grooming standards that promote safety, health, and acceptable standards of social conduct, and are not disruptive to the educational environment.
Pants
- Solid black only
- No holes, rips, decorations, patches, or logos
- Must fit properly (not sagging, no undergarments showing)
- Belts are optional, but pants should fit without one
Shirts, Sweaters, and Sweatshirts
- Shirts: Solid black (crew neck or collared) with no logos (except BHCSA)
- Each student will receive one short-sleeve polo at the start of the year
- Long-sleeve solid black or white shirts may be worn under polos
- Sweaters/cardigans: Solid black or white, no words or logos
- BHCSA t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies are allowed — but hoods may not be worn inside.
- After a second warning, hoodies may be taken away if the hood is kept up indoors.
Hair and Head Coverings
- Professional headscarves, wraps, or religious coverings are welcome (must be neat and clean).
- Sleepwear coverings (such as bonnets, do-rags, or scarves meant for bedtime) may not be worn during school.
Shoes
- Closed-toe shoes only
- No sandals, slides, flip-flops, or slippers
If a Student is Out of Dress Code
- If a student is not in uniform, the following may happen:
- They may be asked to quickly change into proper clothing.
- Parents/guardians will be contacted.
- Items that don’t meet dress code may be taken and returned later.
- A meeting may be scheduled with parents/guardians if issues continue.
- Students will not lose class time or grades because of clothing.
Social Media Privacy
Social networking means opening up and sharing information online with others, but it’s important that children and parents alike use high-security settings to ensure that only approved friends are seeing their information. Our Social Media Privacy Guide helps you and your children select the highest security settings so that only approved friends can access your information.
We take cyberbullying very seriously. It is our goal to educate all of our school families about the internet and social media safety. If you suspect that your child may be experiencing cyberbullying, please contact your school administration immediately.
Volunteering
The process to becoming a volunteer is within these steps:
1) Submit the interest form below to the office, along with a description of your availability.
2) In order to ensure the protection of children in the care of Benton Harbor Charter School Academy, School policy requires, prior to any and all persons providing a volunteer service at the school or for any function conducted by the school; all potential volunteers complete an I-CHAT background check to certify that they have not been charged with child abuse, neglect, or a felony. Any applicant declining to complete an I-CHAT background check acknowledgment form will not be considered. The Academy reserves the right to “approve” or “deny” any volunteer service upon review of the returned background check. The determination will be based upon the individual’s fitness to have responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of children. Providing false or contradicting information to the background check is grounds for denial.
3) Be explained in-person about the expectations our school has for volunteers.
4) Be assigned a role and schedule depending on the amount of participation interest.
Student Pick Up Procedures
- Anyone picking up your child must show their ID card (identification card) and must be on record as a person who can pick up your child from school. Please bring your ID and stop by the front office with the names of people who can pick up your child from school. We will not accept telephone permission.
- The pick-up person will not be allowed in the building or bus loading area during pick-up time. If the pick-up person is caught in the building, a report of trespassing will be filed with local law enforcement.
- If you or anyone you allow to pick up your child wants to visit classrooms for any reason – you must first fill out a volunteer form for a background check.
- The River Terrace Apartments will no longer be on the bus route. Instead, we will provide a crossing guard at the rear of our building from 7:50 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. and for after-school crossing.
Food Program
Due to website compliance laws, we are temporarily unable to put our lunch menus on our site.
If you would like a copy of the lunch menu, please visit our school office and we would be happy to print you a copy.