Communication

Open and courteous communication between faculty, staff, administration, and parents is expected at all times. St. Mary’s school provides many opportunities for both formal and informal communication between parents and the school. Tuesday Notes, Report cards, parent/teacher conferences, special events, the school website ( www.stmarysschool.net ), agenda books, RVS GradeBook, and Home and School meetings are all examples of contact opportunities. Parents are encouraged to take full advantage of these avenues. St. Mary’s also encourages parent involvement in the classroom. If you wish to visit your child’s class or volunteer during the school day, please make advanced arrangements with the teacher.

Contacting Teachers

Please contact the teacher by phone or e-mail when you have a question or concern. Teachers have scheduled planning times and will be happy to speak with you during these times. You may leave a message with the school secretary and the teacher will call you back.

It is difficult for teachers to meet informally before or after school hours. They use this time to prepare for the day and have supervisory duties. Please do not interrupt class to discuss issues with the teacher. Teachers can not take class time to meet with parents. If you would like to meet with a teacher, please make an appointment in advance. This allows the teacher time to gather necessary information and to provide their full attention to the meeting.

Please do not call a teacher at home unless you have been invited by the teacher to make contact in this way. Teachers check their e-mail at least twice each day. E-mail addresses are listed on our school website.

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Confidentiality

Staff members are only permitted to discuss information about a student with the student’s parent or guardian. Please do not ask a staff member to comment about other students.

Volunteers will exercise confidentiality by avoiding conversations about the students they interact with or come in contact with while volunteering. All questions should be directed to the teacher. If a volunteer does not exercise confidentiality or is unprofessional in their communications, the principal may discuss this issue with the volunteer. If the problem continues or becomes a detriment to the mission and policy of St. Mary’s School, the principal has the authority to ask for the volunteer’s resignation from school related activities. Should the behavior continue, the result of permanent removal of the individual from St. Mary’s School will be a joint decision made by the pastor and principal.

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Protocol for Concerns

Our school strives to cooperate closely with parents in the education of their children. Occasionally, parents may feel the need to express a concern, difficulty, or problem. To address these in the most efficient manner, families are expected to adhere to the following procedures:

An issue can best be resolved by contacting the teacher as soon as possible. The teacher may not know there is an issue until it is brought to his/her attention. Contact may be made either in writing, by e-mail, by phone, or by scheduling a conference. Please do not interrupt class time. Since teachers have assigned supervisory duties before and after school, unscheduled visits should be avoided; an appointment is suggested.

If possible, when expressing a concern, please indicate your observations, how long it has been occurring, how it is impacting your child, any steps you have taken to correct the problem, and how you would like the issue resolved. Staff members will only discuss the matter as it relates to your child or to the classroom as a whole. Other individual students will not be discussed.

If parents are dissatisfied with a decision made by the staff member, a letter or e-mail stating the reason for the dissatisfaction and how you would like the issue to be resolved should be forwarded to the principal for appeal.

If needed, the principal may meet with the parents and staff member to mediate a resolution.

Appeal and Review Policy of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria

The Diocese of Peoria has established a process for the review of decisions made by the competent authority of any school or parish for which conflict or disagreement may arise. The diocesan process, outlined in Policy G111 may be found at: http://www.cdop.org/files/cdop_documents/G111.pdf

This policy may be utilized if the procedures described above have not produced a resolution, and provided the particular concern or difficulty qualifies for administration review under the conditions defined in the policy.

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Statement of Policy:

A review or appeal of any decision concerning policies, procedures, or other serious matters made by the competent authority of any of the schools or parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria may be requested by any employee or member of a Parish under the following conditions only:

1. The decision violates or is in conflict with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church;

2. The decision violates or is in conflict with an applicable Diocesan policy;

3. The decision violates or is in conflict with a policy or procedure of the parish, the school, or other entity that takes precedence over the decision in question; or,

4. The decision violates or is in conflict with an applicable federal, state or local civil law.

It is to be noted that dissatisfaction with a decision is not a sufficient condition for appeal.

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Statement of Process:

The individual or group desiring the appeal or the review must make that request known to the governing Pastor or Board of Pastors responsible for that school or parish in the form of a letter. As a matter of record, a copy of that letter is to be forwarded to the local Vicar having jurisdiction over that particular parish, and in the case of a school matter also to the Office of Catholic Schools.

This letter must clearly cover each of the following points:

1. The decision that is being questioned and which competent authority made it;

2. The grounds for the appeal or the review with specific reference to one or more of the four (4) conditions listed above; and,

3. The proposed resolution

The governing pastor or Board of Pastors, having received the request for appeal or review, is to respond in writing to those making the request within thirty (30) days of receiving the request. A copy of the response letter is to be forwarded to the local Vicar having jurisdiction over that particular parish, and in the case of a school matter also to the Office of Catholic Schools. The Vicar General of the Diocese of Peoria shall make a final decision on the appeal in such cases. If the local Vicar decides to dismiss the case, he must as a matter of record, forward a copy of such decisions to the Vicar General, and in the case of a school matter also to the Officer of Catholic Schools.

It is the sole discretion of the Catholic Bishop of Peoria to intervene in any matter at any time, and to modify, reverse, or rescind any action taken by the above-referenced officials.

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Updated: 12/3/09