We encourage parents to complete any school business electronically if possible.

ATTENDANCE

Instruction begins promptly at 8:30 AM and ends at 4:00 PM.  When students are not in attendance within that time frame, they are missing important instructional time. Excessive Absences, Tardiness, and Early Pick Ups may result in the student being placed on Probation and a Growth Plan implemented based on the following policies:

ABSENCES – Students must not be absent more than 10 times during the course of the school year. After an absence, the student will give the Attendance Clerks written excuse from the parent stating the reason for the absence and a phone number for verification.  Absences are excused for the student’s personal illness, illness or death of an immediate family member, participation in legitimate school activities with permission of the principal, or emergency/extenuating circumstances as recognized by the principal or principal’s designee. Absences for religious holidays are not counted against a student’s attendance record as long as parent notifies the school in writing prior to the student’s observance of a religious holiday.  Any other planned absences must have prior approval of campus administrator. The parent must turn in the excuse within three days of the absence.   

TARDINESS - Students may not be tardy more than 5 times in a grading cycle.

EARLY PICK-UPS- Students leaving early must be checked out from school no later than 3:00 PM. Students may not be picked up early more than 3 times in a grading cycle.  

Attendance records of students placed on Probation and Growth Plan will be reviewed at the end of the school year before renewal of transfer for the following school year is approved.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

Students may arrive as early as 8:00 a.m. but not before that time.  Parents are responsible for ensuring their child is dropped off between 8:00 and 8:30 AM. Students arriving after the tardy bell will be marked as tardy for the day.  We encourage parents to pick their child up promptly when school is dismissed at 4:00 p.m. each day. 

CAMPUS SUPERVISION

Assigned staff supervises the arrival and dismissal of students.  Teachers have the authority and are directed by their administrator to correct any student at any time on The Rice School/La Escuela Rice campus.  For the safety and security of The Rice School students, staff, and school property, strict regulations are enforced. 

CAFETERIA LUNCHES

Students and parents can prepay for lunch in the cafeteria or online by setting up an account at https://www.schoolcafe.com/HOUSTONISD  The parent online cafeteria account can also be used to view student’s purchases and to receive low positive balance alert email messages. Students who owe a cafeteria balance at the end of the school year will have their report card held until the balance is paid.

COMMUNICATION

Parents are strongly encouraged to communicate regularly with their child’s teacher.  Email, Phone, and conferences are the most effective methods of communication when it is not urgent that the parent communicate with the teacher on the same day.  The best way to give your child’s teacher same day information is through email.

CONFERENCES

Arrangements can be made for parent conferences with individual teachers, academic teams, counselors, and/or administrators.  These meetings must be pre-arranged and cannot be guaranteed on a drop-in basis. All employees at The Rice School have e-mail access and some have voice-mail.  All visitors to the building must report immediately to the main office for a visitor’s pass.

CELL PHONES

Although students may bring cell phones to school, the use of cell phones is not permitted during the school day. Infractions against the cell phone policy will result in appropriate disciplinary action and confiscation of the cell phone (with a $15 processing fee).  Please keep in mind this policy is not intended to interfere with a safety plan you may have with your child.  They will have their phones available to them prior to entering and after they leave the school building each day.  Please remember, we work as a team and will only reach the expected level of success associated with this cellular phone policy if our parents support our efforts by reinforcing the message at home and expecting your child to follow this protocol.

COUNSELING SERVICES

Guidance services are available on an as-needed basis to assist the student in achieving success and coping with the challenges of school life.   Please contact your grade level counselor for assistance.

CLASSROOM VISITS

VIPS approved parents may make prearrangements to visit their child’s classroom. These visits must be prearranged through the child’s grade level administrator.  All visitors to the building must report immediately to the main office for a visitor’s pass.  

 DISCIPLINE

The Houston ISD Code of Student Conduct is our framework for campus discipline and The Rice School Bus Rider’s Agreement is our guideline for bus discipline. Parents and Students are encouraged to become familiar with the copy of The Houston ISD Code of Student Conduct and The Rice School Bus Rider’s Agreement that is sent home at the beginning of the school year. Teachers are primarily responsible for setting and implementing discipline management procedures for the classroom and other common areas of the school. Students are responsible for learning the behavior expectations of the classroom, school, and bus and will be held accountable for their chosen behaviors. Parents will be informed of student’s behavior in school through daily or weekly communication through the planner, emails, phone calls, or face-to-face conferences. Grade level administrators support teachers and other staff members in modeling, supervising, and correcting student behavior. At the teacher’s discretion, level II offenses may be referred to an administrator.  All level III and level IV offenses will be referred to an administrator. Students with a level III referral may receive a P or U in conduct on the progress report following the incident for which the student was referred. Administrators will contact parents when student is referred to the office by a teacher or staff member. Students with 3-level III offenses or conduct below S (For K students- a score of 1 in Social Development any time after Cycle 1) in a grading cycle will be placed on probation and considered for non-renewal of magnet transfer for the following school year. The Houston ISD Code of Student Conduct can also be found on the HISD portal. 

 FIELD TRIPS

Grade levels may attend curriculum related field trips. The teacher sponsor will obtain at least the minimum number of chaperones.  All chaperones will be expected to register with Volunteers in Public Schools and participate in the volunteer criminal history background check.  Volunteers must clear the background check before they can begin volunteer work. Only parents that are VIPS registered and approved for the school year may accompany their child as a chaperone on a grade level school field trip. Teachers, School Staff, VIPS approved parents, and grade level enrolled students may attend school field trips. 

GIFTED AND TALENTED

All students in Kindergarten and Grade 5 are tested for GT identification in a Universal Testing conducted in the current school year. Students identified as GT in the universal testing qualify for placement in a Vanguard class for the following school year.   Results of testing are sent out to parents in late spring of current school year.  Students in grades 1 thru 4 and 6 thru 8 may test once in a calendar year.  There are 3 testing windows for students in grades 1 thru 4 and 6 thru 8:  September, January, and May (exact dates may be found on the school website and in the Falcon Flyer).  Applications for GT testing are available in the main office and on the HISD portal under the Advanced Academics’ department.  No additional data is required with the application when applying at the current school of enrollment.

GRADING POLICIES

The Rice School follows HISD grading policies. Individual grade levels will provide students and parents with detailed information describing how grades are assigned.  In grades K-5 students must maintain an average of 70 or higher in all core and magnet classes.  In grades 6-8 students must maintain an average of 75 or higher in core classes and an 80 average or higher in magnet classes.  Students must also meet promotion standards for their grade level.  Students who do not meet these magnets and/or Rice School guidelines are at risk of being placed on probation and facing non-renewal at the end of the school year.

LUNCH/BIRTHDAY TREATS

If you are bringing a lunch to your child, please have it in the cafeteria by the beginning of your child’s lunch time (see Daily Schedule Chart on next page).  We welcome all parents to have lunch with their children on any day.  Students are not allowed to have parties at lunch for any reason.  Parents may make arrangements with their child’s teacher to bring treats to celebrate their child’s birthday in the classroom. Please sign in at attendance window when visiting your child for lunch time for a birthday celebration.

MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR CAFETERIA

Students may choose to purchase a lunch or bring a lunch and at in the dining room.  All other areas are off-limits during lunch.  Students’ assigned lunch period is an opportunity to enjoy being with their friends and enjoy a well-prepared lunch from the cafeteria, sack lunch from home or for middle school students, food from the snack bar.  The following guidelines will assist all students in making lunchtime a more enjoyable experience.

• Arrive on time or early to lunch. (Being late to lunch without a permit is being tardy).
• Purchase all food items desired from line or snack bar before entering the seating area of the cafeteria.
• Go immediately to a chosen seat and once there, remain seated until lunch is completed.  Students must request permission from one of the adults on duty if it is necessary to leave their seat.
• Upon completion of lunch, dispose of all trash in trash cans and place soda cans in recycling bin.  Return to the same seat and remain there until dismissed from the cafeteria.
• At the five-minute signal clean their eating area (table and floor) while one volunteer wipes the table with a cloth.
• Remember to BE COURTEOUS.  Keep the noise level at a whisper.
• Disruptive students will be referred to homeroom teacher for disciplinary action. Chronic disruption may result in discipline referral to administrator.

NURSE/CLINIC

Students who become ill at school are sent to the clinic with a pass from the teacher. The nurse is able to administer only medications for which parents have provided physician orders giving the nurse permission to administer.  See the nurse to provide required documentation for medication that your child needs to take at school. Students with fever, vomiting, or a contagious condition will be sent home. Parents will always be notified in the case of serious illness or injury. For other circumstances, parents will receive notification of visit to the clinic in the form of a note from the nurse.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

Students are strongly encouraged to leave all personal property such as toys, balls, electronic devices, and large sums of money at home.  The school is not responsible for lost or stolen personal property that is brought to school by a student.  If personal property is brought to school, it must be kept in the student’s backpack or locker for the entire instructional day.  The classroom teacher or administrator will collect such items from a student who uses them in school.

TRANSPORTATION

Students should know how they are getting home before they get to school every day. Changes in Transportation must be communicated to the teacher 24 hours in advance through email, note, or planner. In the case of extenuating circumstances only, same day changes from bus, car, or extended day should only be made through the Main Office before 2:00 PM (713-349-1800). Excessive same day transportation changes for a student will result in parent/administrator conference to establish a more consistent method of transportation for the safety of the student. In the case of miscommunication regarding a student’s mode of transportation for a given day, every effort will be made to contact the parent.  When the school is not able to get in touch with a parent or guardian, the student will remain at school for the parent to pick up.  It is important that contact information be kept up to date. Permanent changes from car to bus or change in route # must be made through the magnet coordinator at the school.

1. Buses:  Students are expected to obey appropriate safety and conduct rules to remain eligible for transportation services. Bus rules can be found in The Rice School Bus Riders Agreement that is part of this planner.  Other Helpful Bus information: Students should learn their route# and stop name. Students should have their route #, stop name, and parent/guardian contact information on a backpack tag or school planner in their backpack. Majority of the buses leave Rice by 4:05 PM.  Once students have boarded, they must not get off the bus. Extenuating circumstances will be handled by the magnet coordinator or other administrator. When making inquiries to the school or motor pool about the status of a student’s bus, be ready to provide the student’s route # and stop name.

Contact:  HISD Customer Care 713-556-9400

2. Carpool: Students can be dropped off or picked up in designated areas only.  Cell phone use in the carpool lanes is prohibited.

AM Drop-Off: The car lanes in front of the cafeteria are the designated lanes for AM drop-off.  Students can only be dropped off from the carpool lanes.  Students can be dropped off no earlier than 8:00 am. School hours are 8:30-4:00PM and instruction begins promptly at 8:30am.

PM Pick-Up:  The car lanes closer to the auditorium (Braeswood St.) are the designated lanes for PM pick-up. Students must be picked up from these lanes when they are being picked up in a vehicle. Parents are responsible for ensuring their child is picked up promptly at 4:00PM.  The carpool lane stops at 4:20 PM on regular school day. Students not picked up at after 4:20PM will be taken inside the school.  Parents must park and go inside the school to Attendance window to pick up their child. You will be required to provide proper identification. Please make the necessary arrangements to pick up your child on time.