PARENT HANDBOOK
General Procedures
1. School Hours
The school day begins at 8:40 AM and end at 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday. Small groups of designated children meet for enrichment and intervention services from 8:00 to 8:40, Monday through Thursday. Friday hours are 8:40 AM - 3:00 PM for all children.
2. Arrival
Parental Sign-in Procedures: The NYC Department of Education requires a written record of every person entering the school building. Therefore, in an effort to comply with this requirement but still allow families the ability to drop off their child at his or her class room door, we ask that you sign in at the table on the left when you enter the cafeteria. Print your name, your child's name and initial the entry. It is not necessary to sign out when you leave the building, as the DOE only requires a record of your entrance. The procedure is repeated at pick-up time. This is to ensure the safety of all children in the building. Thank you in advance for complying with this regulation that allows MTW to maintain its culture of family involvement while also satisfying safety requirements.
An adult should take children upstairs to their classroom 5 minutes before classes are scheduled to begin. Children arriving 5 minutes after classes are scheduled to begin will be marked late. A record of lateness appears on every child's Board of Education cumulative record. Chronic lateness impacts a child's educational success, the natural flow of the class day and is considered when a child applies to middle school. So please make every effort to be on time every day.
Please use the staircase designated for your child's class - either #3 or #10.
Children should not use any other staircase.
All children are eligible to receive breakfast and are required to take at least 3 food items.
Breakfast Schedule
Monday through Thursday 7:30 - 8:30
Friday 8:00 - 8:30
Children eating breakfast should check in with Tory and sit at the 6 tables nearest staircase #3 (near the Library/Media Center).
3. Pick Up
Children being picked up by their families or sitters should be picked up promptly at the end of the school day from their classroom. Upper grade children in grades 4 & 5 who are dismissed from their classrooms should report immediately to their designated after school program. Any child who has not been picked up by their parent or sitter by 3:00 should also report to the library. Upper grade children who have written permission to leave the building on their own should exit the building immediately. Please use designated Midtown West staircases: #3 and #10 (refer to floor plan.) Children should never use any other staircase other than #3 and #10.
Every child must have a Child Pick-Up Authorization form on file with his/her teacher. Your child will not be released to anyone not listed on this form, therefore please update it regularly. Parents must notify the school in writing of any change in pick-up arrangements, particularly if individuals other than parents are involved. Play date authorization forms must be filled out with the appropriate information and given to your child's teacher prior to the play date. These forms are available on the class bulletin boards.
4. Absences
Parents are expected to notify the school of absences by calling the school office at (212-247-0208, or, 0223). Absences are included as part of a child's Board of Education Cumulative Record, which is sent on to middle school. Please try to avoid unwarranted absences. Because Social Studies is the core of our curriculum students are involved in cumulative studies. When they miss vital lessons the student will have difficulty fully participating in classroom discussions and projects.
Parents are requested to keep children home during the infectious period of an illness or if the child has been running a fever during the previous 24 hour period. When a child becomes ill at school, the parent or others listed on the emergency card will be notified to pick the child up. If someone on the contact card can not be reached, the school will make a decision in consultation with the nurse to call for emergency medical attention. Please be sure the blue emergency card is always updated with any changes. Children returning to school after a contagious illness or an extended illness (3 or more days) or having had a contagious illness must bring a doctor's note with them upon return.
5. Transportation
Student Transportation: Children are provided Metro Cards according to grade, distance and other factors. General Education students must meet distance eligibility criteria to receive Metro Cards. According to the Chancellor's Regulations (A-801) yellow bus service is not available to General Education students at MTW.
Children in Temporary Housing: All children grades K-12 (general and special education) who have been placed in temporary housing are exempt from age and distance requirements and will be provided free transportation.
Eligibility for Metro Cards: Grades K-2 living less than 1/2 mile from school: half-fare Metro Card on public transportation. Grades K-2 living more than 1/2 mile from school: free Metro Card on public transportation. Grades 3-6 living between 1/2 and one mile from school: half-fare Metro Card on public transportation. Grades 3-6 living more than one mile from school: free Metro Card on public transportation.
Transportation Variance: Transportation variances (Medical, Hazard, Emergency and Access) are waivers of the existing eligibility requirements for a pupil who would not ordinarily be eligible for transportation under the distance requirements provided for in the regulations, due to special circumstances. Variance forms can be requested from the Office of Pupil Transportation.
All children must live in District Two in order to qualify for Metro Cards. Lost cards must be reported to the MTW office staff. (Tory) Replacements can take two (2) weeks to arrive.
6. Meals
Every September, all families (regardless of need), are required to fill out free or reduced lunch eligibility forms. School funding depends on the prompt return of these forms so every family is required to return a signed form completing, at least, Section I. Parents applying for free or reduced lunches must complete the entire form and are notified of eligibility in writing.
NOTE: All children are eligible to receive breakfast (regardless of financial need) and are required to take at least 3 food items.
Breakfast Schedule
Monday through Thursday 7:30 - 8:30
Friday 8:00 - 8:30
Children eating breakfast should check in with Tory and sit at the 6 tables nearest staircase #3 (near the Library/Media Center).
A schedule of fees is distributed in the beginning of the year and posted in the school office. Families are asked to pay by the 10th of every month based on this schedule. Payments should be returned to the school office with a completed Payment Form.
Monthly menus are posted in the school cafeteria. Families are welcome to join the School Partnership Committee in order to address school lunch & cafeteria issues.
7. Chronic Health Issues
Any child requiring the administration of long-term medication during the school day must submit a 504 form, available in the main office. After district approval of the 504 request, a school nurse will administer the medication, when needed. A separate form must be filled out for children who can self-administer medication for asthma. This
process takes time, therefore, submit your request A.S.A.P. Please note that teachers cannot legally administer or be responsible for any form of medication. Families must submit a medical note to the school secretary regarding food allergies if applicable.
8. School Office
The MTW office is located in room 210. Teachers' mailboxes, lunch payment box and various school forms are located in this room. Please respect the limited workspace of our hard working office staff. Phones and office equipment are for staff use only.
9. School Leadership Team
School Leadership Teams are advisory committees, mandated by the state, and provide a structure for collaborative school based decision making. The Team represents the key stakeholders in the education of our children - administrators, parents, teachers and school staff. The number of staff members and parents must be balanced. The mandatory core members are the principal, PTA president and the UFT Chapter leader. The remaining members include one parent and 1 teacher from grades K - 1 (lower school), one parent and 1 teacher from grades 2 - 3 (middle school), one parent from grades 4 - 5 (upper school), one parent and teacher member at-large from any age group and one alternate. At the May PTA meeting, the parent body elects PTA officers and parent members of the School Leadership Team. We also try to insure that the ethnic diversity of the school is reflected.
The SLT facilitates the collaboration between staff and families, supports and advises the principal on the school's mission and policies and writes the Comprehensive Educational Plan for the school.
MTW parents are invited to attend meetings as observers. Minutes and schedules are posted on the PTA bulletin board outside room 210. Parents may submit agenda items to SLT members and/or class reps and PTA officers.
10. Family/Teacher Conferences and Curriculum Meetings
Class curriculum meetings are scheduled in the fall semester. This gives families the opportunity to learn about the proposed curriculum and individual classroom procedures. It also provides an opportunity to meet other families.
There are two individual family/teacher conferences during the school year (November and March) All students are required to attend family conferences except for the first kindergarten conference in the fall which is for parents/guardians only. These conferences help to integrate the child's experiences at home and in school as well as provide the framework for setting goals and assessing progress. If an additional conference is needed, please notify the teacher in writing. Please check the school calendars or the Board of Education Website at schools.nyc.gov for specific dates and times.
Workshops for parents are held periodically throughout the year, outside of the classroom setting in the Family Center.
11. Communicating with Teaching and Administrative Staff
While teachers encourage dialogue with families, please respect individual classroom meeting and work times. Do not interrupt classes once work has started or if the classroom door is closed. Remember that the morning arrival time is a very difficult time to address important issues with your child's teacher. If you need to speak with him/her about an important issue, please leave a note in the teacher's mailbox located in the main office. The teacher will make every effort to respond as soon as possible.
Please remember that it is very important that issues of concern must always be addressed first with your classroom teacher or specialist. When the teacher or parent requires additional support, the Parent Coordinator and/or Administration are available.
12. Communicating with MTW Families
All written communication to families must be approved (and initialed) by the Principal before being distributed in mailboxes or posted throughout the school.
13. Birthday Parties
Plans for birthday celebrations in school must be discussed in advance with your child's teacher. Please keep the celebration as simple as possible with cake or cup cakes, juice, and whatever utensils are needed. It is not appropriate to include decorations, entertainment or party favors.
If you plan to have a birthday party at home, and only a few children will be invited, birthday party invitations are not to be distributed at school. Young children will be hurt when they realize that they have been excluded from a classmate's birthday celebration. Class contact lists are distributed at the beginning of the school year for mailings.
14. Holidays
It is the policy of Midtown West not to celebrate any holidays. Such celebrations are the province of the family. Holidays may be a part of the curriculum, so that children will learn about holidays, religions and ritual, but a distinction is made between learning about holidays and actually celebrating them. Family support of these policies is appreciated.
We do hold an annual Concert and pot-luck dinner honoring the values of diversity that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught throughout his life and that we find so integral to the spirit and the philosophy of MTW. Our MLK celebration and the many other Cultural Connection Celebrations throughout the school year honor our interracial, intercultural commitment to diversity, cooperation and sharing. We continue to demonstrate our commitment to creating citizens of the world who will have a higher tolerance, sensitivity and respect for ethnic, social and economic differences.
15. Giving Gifts to Staff Members
The Chancellor's regulations prohibit giving gifts valued over $5 to any staff member in your child's school. There is a wide diversity in our family body that precludes the ability for every family to give gifts. This can create an uncomfortable atmosphere of competition and inequality. For these reasons, holiday gift giving is discouraged.
16. Field Trips
Class field trips are important to our core Social Studies curriculum and are viewed as extensions of the classroom. At the beginning of each school year, parents are requested to fill out consent forms allowing their child to go on neighborhood walks. For more extensive trips, parents are informed in writing and individual permission slips are required. Parents may be requested to participate in class trips as volunteers but siblings are not permitted. Teachers will coordinate plans and procedures for trips with parent volunteers. There is also a Volunteer Handbook available and volunteer orientations provided.
Please Note: All children are expected to participate in all class trips as they are a vital part of our core Social Studies curriculum. There are no academic provisions made for children who do not attend a class trip.
17. Family Center
Family Center: The Family Center of Midtown West, located in Room #214, is an integral part of the school community, involving parents, guardians, families, students, teachers and administrators through its vast array of workshops, seminars, breakfasts, cultural events and outreach. The work that goes on in the Family Center breaks down into three basic elements: Educational Workshops, Cultural Connections, and Family Support Services. Its goals are to involve families as informed and active partners in their children's education and to create an environment where children, parents, guardians and staff from different racial, cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds can work together to achieve an integrated school community where each child is valued and fulfills his/her academic potential.
The Parent Coordinator's role is to facilitate these many programs
18. After School Program
The Extended Day program is a fee-based after school program that provides child care between 3 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. The program offers an extensive variety of enriching developmentally appropriate activities such as dance, art, gymnastics, chess, computer, cooking, free play, sports and more. Extended Day functions with a governing committee of parent volunteers. The goal of the program is to provide quality child care for working parents and a sense of continuity between the school day and the extended day. Many MTW teachers are also on the Extended Day staff. Mini camps are offered on scheduled half days throughout the year as well as holiday camps on the two week-long vacations (during February and April). Pre-registration is required. Applications, fee schedules and activity descriptions can be picked up at the Extended Day office in room 108 (immediately upon entering the building), before or after school.
The Extended Day telephone number is: 212-307-5523
The E-mail address is: MTWExtendedDay@verizon.net
The Virtual Y is a free after school program housed in the MTW building, sponsored by the YMCA. The program runs from October through May. If interested, contact the Director by leaving a note in the Virtual Y mailbox in the MTW office.
