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Student Safety

Student smiling walking in hallwayGateway Community Charters is committed to maintaining safe and secure campuses for all students and staff. To that end, a Comprehensive School Safety Plan covers GCC’s policies and expectations regarding the practices of each school in maintaining the security of the physical campus, responding appropriately to emergencies, increasing the safety and protection of students and staff, and creating a safe and orderly environment that is conducive to learning.  
 
All school employees receive training in the Comprehensive School Safety Plan upon joining the school, and review any changes to the Plan annually.  All GCC Schools have a safety plan addendum, in accordance with this plan, that describe school-specific policies/schedules such as schedules of safety trainings, schedules of drills, disaster plans, dress codes, policies for safe ingress/egress, and policies regarding student discipline. 
 
 

Student Discipline

GCC believes that one of the major functions of education is the preparation of youth for responsible citizenship. GCC shall foster a learning environment that reinforces self-discipline and the acceptance of personal responsibility. All GCC sites incorporate the Capturing Kids Heart (CKH) process known as Behave In – Behave Out. This process is designed to help students manage and accept responsibility for their own attitudes and behavior.
 
The process uses four (4) basic questions: 
 
    1. What are you doing?
    2. What are you supposed to be doing?
    3. Are you doing it?
    4. What are you going to do about it?
 
In addition, GCC works with students and families to provide a safe school environment that provides students with the opportunity to have a quality education. Each school has developed a process for handling, and if necessary escalating, individual cases of student misbehavior.  Strategies may include but are not limited to:
 
    • Relocating the student’s desk to a different part of the classroom/resource room
    • Assigning different or additional work appropriate to the infraction
    • Utilizing a peer mediation or student conflict resolution program
    • Individual conversation with the classroom/resource room teacher about behavior and consequences
    • Utilizing a written referral framework
    • Designating selected classrooms/resource rooms and teachers (typically, lead teachers or advisors) as places for “time out”
    • Referring students to the principal or a designee
    • Contacting parents/guardians; and/or
    • Requiring the student to attend before/after school detention or Saturday detention
    • Referring student to Student Study Team 
Safety Drills 

Safety Drills 

It is the principal’s responsibility to schedule emergency drills throughout the year, those drills include:
 
  • Fire Drill: At least once per month for elementary schools and at least four times a year for intermediate levels, a fire drill should be conducted in which all pupils, teachers, and other employees are required to vacate the building.
  • Civil Defense Drill: A Civil Defense Drill should be conducted at least twice each school year following the Civil Defense Procedures outlined in the Safety Plan. 
  • Earthquake Duck & Cover Drill:  This drill should be performed twice per school year.
  • Major Disaster Drill: This drill should be performed twice per school year. 
Visitors Policy

Visitors Policy

While the GCC and its Charter Schools encourage parents/guardians and interested members of the community to visit the Charter Schools and view the educational programs, the Charter Schools also endeavor to create a safe environment for students and staff. As such, parents and other visitors must adhere to the Visitors policy included in the Safety Plan, in order to maximize the safety of the students and minimize the disruption to the education environment.  If a parent or guardian wishes to visit the Charter School to view the educational program, the visitor must follow the following procedures, which have been developed to ensure the safety of students and staff as well as to minimize interruption of the instructional program, pursuant to California Penal Code Sections 627, et. seq.: 
 
    • Visits during school hours should first be arranged with the teacher and Principal or designee, at least three days in advance. If a conference is desired, an appointment should be set with the teacher during non-instructional time, at least three days in advance. Parents seeking to visit a classroom/resource room during school hours must first obtain the written approval of the classroom/resource room teacher and the Principal or designee.
    • All visitors shall register with the front office immediately upon entering any school building or grounds when during regular school hours. When registering, the visitor is required to provide his/her name, address, occupation, age (if under 21), his/her purpose for entering school grounds, and proof of identity. For purposes of school safety and security, the Principal or designee may design a visible means of identification for visitors while on school premises.
    • The Principal, or designee, may refuse to register an outsider if he or she has a reasonable basis for concluding that the visitor’s presence or acts would disrupt the school, its students, its teachers, or its other employees; would result in damage to property; or would result in the distribution or use of unlawful or controlled substances.
    • The Principal, or designee may withdraw consent to be on campus even if the visitor has a right to be on campus whenever there is reasonable basis for concluding that the visitor presence on school grounds would interfere or is interfering with the peaceful conduct of the activities of the school, or would disrupt or is disrupting the school, its students, its teachers, or its other employees.   
    • The Principal or designee may request that a visitor who has failed to register, or whose registration privileges have been denied or revoked, promptly leave school grounds. When a visitor is directed to leave, the Principal or designee shall inform the visitor that if he/she reenters the school without following the posted requirements he/she will be guilty of a misdemeanor.
    • Any visitor that is denied registration or has his/her registration revoked may request a hearing before the Principal, Superintendent/CEO or the Board on the propriety of the denial or revocation. The request shall be in writing, shall state why the denial or revocation was improper, shall give the address to which notice of hearing is to be sent, and shall be delivered to either the Principal, Superintendent/CEO or the Board President within five days after the denial or revocation. The Principal, Superintendent/CEO or Board President shall promptly mail a written notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing to the person who requested the hearing. A hearing before the Principal shall be held within seven days after the Principal receives the request. A hearing before the Board shall be held at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting after the President receives the request.
    • The Principal or designee shall seek the assistance of the police in dealing with or reporting any visitor in violation of this policy.
    • At each entrance to the Charter School grounds of, signs shall be posted specifying the hours during which registration is required, stating where the office of the Principal or designee is located and what route to take to that office, and setting forth the penalties for violation of this policy.
    • No electronic listening or recording device may be used by students or visitors in a classroom/resource room without the teacher’s and Principal’s written permission.