Policies
Attendance Guidelines and Expectations
Student instructional time is important. Please support your child’s attendance!
We value instructional time at Mount Vernon Community School (MVCS) and hope you will do all you can to maximize students’ time in the classroom. Below is a combination of guidelines from Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and the Code of Virginia on attendance. We hope to work with you to remove any barriers to regular student attendance, thus increasing learning in a given year.
Attendance
Each parent/guardian shall be responsible for their child’s regular and punctual attendance to school. If your child is unable to attend school due to an illness or another excused reason, it is your responsibility to contact the school on the day of the absence by calling 703-706-4460 or e-mailing the registrar at Ingrid.franco-callejas@acps.k12.va.us. Parents may also submit a handwritten note to the main office. When a student fails to report to school on a scheduled school day without a valid excuse and no excuse is provided, school personnel will make every reasonable effort to contact the parent/guardian to verify and obtain an explanation of the absence. This contact will be recorded in the child’s attendance records.
Absences
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If a student has 3 consecutive illness days or has 5 total illness days, a doctor’s note must be provided to the school.
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If a student has more than 3 unexcused absences, a letter will be sent home informing the parent/guardian of their child’s emerging attendance pattern.
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If a student has more than 5 unexcused absences, the school principal and school social worker will meet with the parent to discuss the reasons for the absences and develop a plan to improve student attendance.
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If the student continues to have unexcused absences after this meeting, the school social worker may refer the parent /guardian to the Attendance Review Panel at the Alexandria Court Service Unit.
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***NOTE: Family vacations are UNEXCUSED absences***
Tardy
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If a student arrives after 8 am, he/she gets a tardy slip from the office before going to class. This is recorded in the student information system.
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If a student has 5 tardies, a letter will be sent home informing the parent/guardian of their child’s emerging attendance pattern.
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If a student has 10 tardies, the school principal and school social worker must make face-to- face contact with the parent to discuss the reasons for the tardies and develop a plan to improve his/her attendance.
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If the student continues to have tardy issues following this meeting, the appropriate school staff will meet with the family to develop further interventions.
Early Pick-Up
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Students are dismissed at 2:35 pm.
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The only valid reasons for early pick-up are doctor appointments and family emergencies. Students are to be picked up before 2:00pm in order to ensure a smooth transition during dismissal time.
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If your child is picked up early without a valid excuse 3 times, a letter will be sent home informing the parent/guardian of their child’s emerging attendance pattern.
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If your child is picked up early without an excuse more than 5 times, the school principal and school social worker must make face-to-face contact with the parent to discuss the reasons for the early dismissal and develop a plan to limit missed instructional time
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Please note the following reminders about arrival and dismissal to ensure the safety of all of our students, staff and families.
Arrival
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Parent drop-off at the main entrance - Stay in your car! Staff members are available on the sidewalk to assist your child exiting the car.
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When possible, please have your child exit on the right side of the vehicle. This reduces any safety risk.
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Cars should pull all the way to the front of the school. Do not stop near the playground to let your child out of the car.
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Always follow the directives of staff members out front directing traffic.
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The parking spots in front of the library will no longer be available between 7:00am - 8:00am. Pulling in and out of these spots causes disruption to the traffic flow and safety concerns during parent drop-off. As of December 1, these spots will be unavailable and coned-off.
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Door #11 (by cafeteria) is open at 7:15am. Door #1 (main office) is open at 7:00am.
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Playgrounds (when weather permits) will be staffed at 7:40am. Teachers will begin taking their kids inside at 7:50am.
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Class begins promptly at 8:00am.
Dismissal
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Cars may not stop or double-park on Uhler Ave. Parents should keep crosswalks clear for pedestrians. Parents should NOT park in or in front of driveways of our neighbors.
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Traffic will only be permitted at the main entrance driveway when no buses are present. Even if you are parked in the spots designated for the library at dismissal time, you will need to wait until all buses have left to leave the school driveway.
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A staff member has now been assigned to ensure the smooth flow of traffic on Uhler Ave during dismissal. Please follow the directives of this staff member.
Uniform Guidelines
Show your Mount Vernon Community School pride by wearing our colors and adhering to the uniform guidelines.
For more information, please read the Mount Vernon Community School Uniform Guidelines (PDF—English and Spanish).
The MVCS Uniform Policy is framed the 4 Social Emotional Learning (SEL) pillars. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision making.
The MVCS uniform policy will accommodate students’ religious expression, i.e. wearing of head coverings as part of a religious practice. The policy will also accommodate the needs of students with sensory issues.
DRESS CODE
The MVCS dress code promotes a safe and structured school environment. It seeks to prevent interference with schoolwork and behavior management. It encourages uniformity of student dress and fosters a more serious school atmosphere. Dress codes in school settings are used as a strategy to reduce social conflict and peer pressure that may be associated with appearance.
ACPS School Board Policies
Please visit the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) website to view the Alexandria City School Board policies.