Family Resources

Your child's education is very important. You want to see your child learn and grow. Throughout the school year, your child will take different tests to assess their learning and growth. As a parent or family member, sometimes it is hard to know what test is being taken and when or even what the test is for. This area is here to help answer those questions. You can learn more about the test that your child is taking, understand your child's test results, and become more familiar with policies related to each statewide assessment. 

Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning. Too many absences not only can affect achievement for the absent student but also can disrupt learning for the entire class.

Research shows that students who consistently miss school are at risk of lower academic achievement, failure and even dropping out of school altogether.

Indiana State Senate Bill 282, entitled Truancy Prevention Policy (IC 20-33-2.5), and Indiana House Bill 1243 require us to make changes to our attendance policy beginning this school year. These bills require:

• School boards to adopt a policy that will apply to students who are absent 5 days within a 10-week period unless the absence is (1) excused or (2) in conformity with a note on file from a physician, therapist, or other professional under a student’s IEP, service plan, or 504 plan.
• The superintendent or attendance officer to notify the prosecutor when a student has been identified as a habitual truant (defined as a student who has 10 unexcused absences).

Indiana Department of Education’s definitions regarding attendance:

• IC 18-2-6.5 IDOE defines “chronic absenteeism” as students absent from school for 10 percent or more of a school year for any reason.
• IC 18-2-6.5 defines “habitual truancy” to include students absent ten (10) days or more from school within a school year without being excused or without being absent under parental request filed with the school.

Attendance Notifications
We send automated Attendance Notifications to parents/guardians (via email) whose children are marked “Absent” on a given school day to notify them of the absence or late arrival. 

You will receive a notification of your child’s absence when they have missed the following number of days:

• 3rd Unexcused Absence: Letter
• 5th Excused/Unexcused Absence: Letter and Administrator Call
• 5th Excused/Unexcused Absences (in a 10 week period): Parent Conference
• 8th Excused/Unexcused Absence: Letter
• 10th Excused/Unexcused Absence: Letter and notification sent to the Prosecutor
• 15th Unexcused Absence: Letter and notification to DCS

What Can Families Do?
Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. Start building this habit on the first day of school so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college and in their careers.

What you can do:

• Avoid scheduling vacations when school is in session.
• Build regular routines for bedtime and the morning.
• Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
• Talk about the importance of regular attendance and about how your child feels about school.
• Don’t permit missing school unless your child is truly sick. Use a thermometer to check for a fever. Remember that stomach aches and headaches may be signs of anxiety.
• If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, or other parents for advice on how to make him/her feel comfortable and excited about learning.
• Avoid medical appointments when school is in session.
• Keep a chart recording your child’s attendance at home. At the end of the week, talk with your child about what you see.
• Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Ask a family member, neighbor or another parent for help.

Additional information regarding the Attendance Policy can be found in the Parent/Student Handbook.

Thank you for your support.

Attendance Goals
 

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has a list of resources and best practices available to the public regarding the prevention and reporting of bullying and cyberbullying.

IDOE Bullying Prevention Resources

This digital manual represents a multi-disciplinary effort to improve student mental health, safety, and school climate at SCM. 

Special thanks to the following team of professionals for making this project possible:

• Social Workers: Lynn Kamiak, Michele Hadary, Kristin Ermeti, and Rose Clark
• Director of Exceptional Learners: Matthew Johns
• School Psychologist: Nick Marchi

The following information is to clarify how families will receive communications in case of an emergency. Phone numbers and email addresses used for communications pull from the information in Skyward. Login to your Skyward account to verify your contact information is correct.

NON-THREATENING INCIDENT

Parents may be notified by call, email and/or text regarding the incident depending on the circumstances and nature of the event.
 

EMERGENCY INCIDENT

• Our first priority is to protect students and staff.
• Parents should not call or go to the school unless directed otherwise.
• Parents should avoid contacting students during an emergency.
• Please do not rely on unofficial reports of information coming from word of mouth, social media and/or any source other than the official School City of Mishawaka communication.
• Parents will be notified by call and email as soon as possible.
• Information will also be shared on the district website at MishawakaSchools.com. 
   

AFTER AN EMERGENCY

• Be patient and wait for information.
• If off-site family reunification is necessary, please remember to follow the emergency pick-up procedures communicated at that time. State-issued photo ID will be required.

Federal and state law requires that local school districts identify, locate, and evaluate every child who may have a disability requiring special education services. This is called Child Find.

Child Find - SCM

The ARC Indiana

Indiana Disability Resource Finder

Indiana Institute of Disability and Community

IN*SOURCE

The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning Suspension and Expulsion Policy (#5702)

Working with Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation

School City of Mishawaka recognizes that some students perform at, or show the potential to perform at an outstanding level of accomplishment in the core academic areas of language arts and mathematics. These students are found in all socio-economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, and this school corporation recognizes the need to identify such students through systematic, on-going procedures. The high ability program provides a supportive learning climate that will enrich learning so students can maximize academic potential and develop emotionally and socially in order to be contributing members of society.

IDENTIFICATION

• Kindergarten-Second Grade high ability identification process: The parents/guardians of newly identified students will be notified in April.
• Third-Fifth Grade high ability identification process: The parents/guardians of newly identified students will be notified in April.
• Identifying students who are new to School City of Mishawaka: Please send recent achievement and aptitude test reports to your child's school so that the correct placement is made for your child.
• Parents/guardians may request test reports/results by emailing the SCM High Ability Program. 
• Parent/guardian appeal forms for grades K and 2 can be requested by emailing the SCM High Ability Program. The forms need to be sent to building principals.  The forms are due by May 1. This process allows parents/guardians to request additional review if the child is very close to a cut-off score.

PROGRAMS

• LEA (Language Enrichment & Acceleration) Program for Grades K-6: All Elementary Schools
  A combination of differentiated instruction and problem-based curriculum materials provides an accelerated ELA program that is based on individual student needs.  Emphasis is placed on creative and critical thinking, as well as basic skills. Cross-grade level placements will be made when appropriate.
• MAC (Mathematics Acceleration & Challenge) Program for Grades K-6: All Elementary Schools
  A combination of differentiated instruction and problem-based curriculum materials provides an accelerated math program that is based on individual student needs.  Emphasis is placed on problem solving and critical thinking, as well as basic skills. Cross-grade level placements will be made when appropriate. 
• Project DEEP (Developing Exceptional Educational Potential) for Grades 1-6: Twin Branch Elementary School
  Project DEEP is in an inclusive environment that provides an accelerated and enriched core curriculum for students who perform at or show the potential for performing at outstanding levels of academic achievement.

SCM recognizes that children with high abilities may have additional affective needs resulting from their increased capacity to think beyond their years, greater intensity in response, combinations of unique interests, personality characteristics, and conflicts that differ from those of their peers.  The goal of SCM is to meet the social and emotional needs of all high ability learners that must be completed to maximize their potential.  SCM will implement this plan to nurture the social and emotional needs of K-12 high ability students.  This proactive approach will facilitate the development of their high potential and promote positive adjustment. 

RESOURCES

SCM SEL High Ability Plan

SCM High Ability Handbook

National Association for Gifted Children

The Parent-Student Handbook is a guide of policies, laws and regulations that explain the rights and responsibilities of students. You can view the entire Parent-Student Handbook at the link below.

PARENT STUDENT HANDBOOK

The “Standard Response Protocol is courtesy of the “I Love U Guys” Foundation

Easy to understand. Easy to implement.
A uniform, planned, and practiced response to any incident is the foundation of a safe school. Safe business. Safe community. The SRP is action-based, flexible, and easy to learn. It rationally organizes tactics for response to weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to personal safety.

The SRP’s development is ever-evolving, created with extensive collaboration between experts such as first responders, public safety, school, districts, and communities. Its tactics are data-driven, researched and based on experience and contemporary practices.

On the Same Page. Everyone.
The benefits of SRP become quickly apparent. By standardizing the vocabulary, all stakeholders can understand the response and status of the event.

For students, this provides continuity of expectations and actions throughout their educational career. For teachers, this becomes a simpler process to train and drill. For communities, it leverages the growing adoption of the protocols from residents of all ages. For first responders, the common vocabulary and protocols establish a greater predictability that persists through the duration of an incident.

People easily understand the practices and can reinforce the protocol. Additionally, this protocol enables rapid response determination when an unforeseen event occurs.

SRP is Action Based
The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based on the response to any given situation not on individual scenarios. Like the Incident Command System (ICS), SRP demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple - these five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a "Term of Art" and is then followed by a "Directive." Execution of the action is performed by active participants.

	Hold is followed by the Directive: "In Your Room or Area" and is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants.
	Secure is followed by the Directive: "Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors" and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.
	Lockdown is followed by "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight" and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place.
	Evacuate may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.
	Shelter and state the Hazard and Safety Strategy for group and self protection.

Standard Response Protocol Parent Handout - English

Standard Response Protocol Parent Handout - Spanish

Your school nurse is a registered nurse who is present to strengthen, facilitate and enhance the educational process by improving and protecting the health status of children. We are able to offer health services through our partnership with Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center.

All medical forms can be filled out in Skyward. However, if you do need a printable form for the school nurse to administer medication, the forms can be found below:

Medication Form A: Authorization to administer Medication Form

Medication Form B: Authorization to posses and self-administer inhalers, EPI-Pens, and insulin.