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5136.02 - CELLULAR PHONES IN CLASSROOMS (Modified)
While students may possess cell phones or smartphones on school property, during after school activities (e.g., extra-curricular activities), at school-related functions, and on school buses or other Board-approved vehicles, they must be stored out of sight during any class time, study hall, or other instructional time.
For purposes of this policy, "cellular phones" includes cell phones (e.g., mobile/cellular telephones, smartphones (e.g., BlackBerry, iPhone, Android devices, Windows Mobile devices, etc.)). Students may use cell phones while riding to and from school on a school bus or other Board-provided vehicles or on a school bus or Board-provided vehicle during school-sponsored activities, at the discretion of the bus driver, classroom teacher, or sponsor/advisor/coach. Students may not use cell phones on school property, at a school-sponsored activity, on a school bus or other Board-approved vehicle to access and/or view Internet web sites that are otherwise blocked to students at school. Distracting behavior that creates an unsafe environment will not be tolerated.
Except as authorized by an administrator or IEP team, students are prohibited from using cell phones during the school day, including while off-campus on a field trip, to capture, record and/or transmit the words or sounds (i.e., audio) and/or images (i.e., pictures/video) of any student, staff member or other person. Using a cell phone to capture, record and/or transmit audio and/or pictures/video of an individual without proper consent of the individual and the supervising staff member is considered an invasion of privacy and is not permitted. Students who violate this provision and/or use a cell phone to violate the privacy rights of another person may have their cell phone confiscated and held until the end of the school day or a parent picks it up and maybe directed to delete the audio and/or picture/video file while the parent is present. If the violation involves potentially illegal activity, the confiscated cell phone may be turned over to law enforcement.
Cell phones, with cameras or any other recording capabilities, may not be activated or utilized at any time in any school situation where a reasonable expectation of personal privacy exists. These locations and circumstances include, but are not limited to, classrooms, gymnasiums, locker rooms, shower facilities, rest/bathrooms, and any other areas where students or others may change clothes or be in any stage or degree of disrobing or changing clothes. The Superintendent and building principals are authorized to determine other specific locations and situations where the use of a cell phone is absolutely prohibited.
Possession of a cell phone by a student at school during school hours and/or during extra-curricular activities is a privilege that may be forfeited by any student who fails to abide by the terms of this policy or otherwise abuses this privilege.
Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action and/or confiscation of the cell phone. The building principal will also refer the matter to law enforcement or child services if the violation involves an illegal activity (e.g., child pornography, sexting). Discipline will be imposed on an escalating scale ranging from a warning to an expulsion based on the number of previous violations and/or the nature of or circumstances surrounding a particular violation. If the cell phone is confiscated, it will be released/returned to the student's parent after the student complies with any other disciplinary consequences that are imposed, unless the violation involves potentially illegal activity in which case the cell phone may be turned over to law enforcement. A confiscated device will be marked in a removable manner with the student's name and held in a secure location in the building's central office until it is retrieved by the parent or turned over to law enforcement. School officials will not search or otherwise tamper with cell phones in District custody unless they reasonably suspect that the search is required to discover evidence of a violation of the law or other school rules. Any search will be conducted in accordance with Policy 5771 – Search and Seizure. If multiple offenses occur, a student may lose his/her privilege to bring a cell phone to school for a designated length of time or on a permanent basis.
ACT Schoolwide Testing Information - Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 3rd tenth and eleventh-grade students at Waukesha West and our other district high schools will be taking the ACT test. Tenth-grade students will take a district-approved practice test while our eleventh-grade students will take the state-mandated ACT nationally normed test. Please see the information below which was also sent to families and is available on our school's website. Freshmen and Seniors do not have school tomorrow and busses run on a normal schedule.
Stretch Class Follow-Up - In my recent blog posts I pushed on our expectations of students taking a "stretch" class in that colleges, universities, technical colleges, and the workforce are looking for students to take a rigorous course schedule. The "stretch" class push was for our students and families to define what a stretch class is for them and to ensure they are taking a rigorous course schedule. The preliminary data is showing students have followed through with this expectation. This year about 70% of the approximately 570 students who shared with us what a stretch class is for them, chose an AP or honors level class as a stretch class. That has resulted in another 220 student course requests for our students to take a pre-college or college-level course as part of their schedule! This is a strong preliminary indication that our students are pushing themselves academically through a rigorous course schedule. Requests do not always end up with students taking the course, but my next challenge for students who requested an AP or honors level course is to follow through with the commitment and ensure it remains part of your schedule for next year!!
Westapalooza - This past weekend the Waukesha West Booster club put on Westapalooza held at Foxx View Lanes. I wanted to say thank you to all involved in planning and for those attending in support of Waukesha West programs! Preliminary information is that the event was a success and all for the benefit of our students!
West End Players - See the flyer below and get your plans set to come and enjoy the work of our talented students!!
Waukesha Education Foundation (WEF) - The WEF is an organization that works to provide funding to classroom teachers to enhance the learning experience. If you are interested in supporting the WEF and/or understanding exactly how they give back, please access their website linked here. Below is a one-pager to showcase a little bit about where they have been...
Looking for work....become an AVID tutor! - The School District of Waukesha and West High School are continuing to look for AVID tutors. We are looking for people who want part-time work and are seeking to make a difference with our students. We have a consistent need district-wide to fill tutoring positions as AVID is continuing to bring success and is spreading throughout our district. Please consider joining our successes with AVID or pass this information along to someone you think would be a great fit. The flyer and information for the position are below:
Archived Announcements (Link) Please access this link to find all of the information in our daily announcements from previous weeks.
