School Plans and Policies
School Safety Plan
Ayers 2024-25 Safety Plan Redacted (PDF)
The complete Ayers School Safety Plan is available for review by appointment only. Please contact the office to set up an appointment.
Prior Years: Ayers 2023-24 Safety Plan Redacted.pdf (PDF)
School Policies
Pets on Campus
We love seeing your furry friends, but, for everyone's safety, please leave all pets at home during school hours. If you are visiting after school hours, please clean up after your pet. If your pet must accompany you during drop-off or pick-up, please arrange to do so off campus. Thanks for helping us keep everyone safe and healthy.
Attendance
Daily Attendance:
Daily school attendance is extremely important. The instruction a student misses with his/her classroom community can NEVER be made up. Even if the written work is completed, student learning is compromised. In addition, the school and district lose valuable funding for each day each child misses school.
Reporting an Absence:
To report an absence, please call or email our attendance hotline. The phone number is (925) 682-8000 ext. 85708. The email address is ayersattendance@mdusd.org. Please leave the following information:
· Child’s name
· Teacher name
· Date(s) and reason for absence
· Your name and relationship to the student
Please don’t report absences to the teacher via phone calls or notes. It’s important to contact our attendance hotline within 72 hours of absence or your student will be marked truant. A total of 10 absences per year are considered excessive. The Ayers School Attendance Review Team (SART) or the MDUSD School Attendance and Reporting Board (SARB) will be notified if a student is absent excessively.
Independent Study:
If a student must be absent for 3 or more consecutive days for a reason other than illness, obtain an Application and Contract for Independent Study from the office. Advanced notice (one-two week) is required. Please remember that missed instructional time cannot be fully made up, even if the paperwork is completed.
Home and Hospital:
Students who must be absent from school for more than three weeks because of a medical problem are eligible to receive home instruction. Contact the school office to obtain a Home and Hospital application for the parent/guardian and physician to complete. A home teacher will be assigned when the application has been received and approved.
Arrival and Dismissal
Tardiness:
School begins at 7:42 a.m. The warning bell rings at 7:40 a.m. Students who arrive at school after the 7:42 a.m. bell has rung are considered tardy. Students arriving tardy must report to the office for a tardy pass before they go to class. A tardy of 30 minutes or more without a valid excuse is considered truant. A valid excuse is for student dental/doctor appointments or illness (not traffic, woke up late, etc.). Medical verification may be required.
Being on time is very important. Students miss valuable directions and instruction at the beginning of the day. Furthermore, when they enter the class late, it disturbs the learning environment for other students. The Ayers School Attendance Review Team (SART) or the MDUSD School Attendance and Reporting Board (SARB) will be notified if a student is tardy excessively.
Early Release from School:
Students who must leave school during the regular day should have a note from the parent to the teacher indicating the time the child needs to leave and why. Please allow yourself a few extra minutes as students are often at recess, prep classes or P.E. during various times of the school day. The parent or designee on the emergency card must pick the student up from the office, where they will be asked to sign student out and show identification if unknown. Parents may not pick a child up directly from the classroom without going to the office first. The office is unable to call your student to the office before you're physically in the office to sign them out.
Late Pick Ups:
Please be on time to pick up your child after school. For student safety, students in Grades 1 through 5 who are not picked up by 2:30pm will be in the office (1:20 on Wednesday’s). Parents will need to sign their child out from the office at that time. We know it is inconvenient, but we also know that you want your child to be safe. Early Bird Kindergartner’s are brought to the office at 11:10 and Late Bird Kindergartner’s are brought to the office at 1:35 (12:50 on Wednesday’s).
Drop Off, Pick Up and Parking:
Cars should not be left unattended. To ensure the safety of all students, it is necessary to have an area in which parents can drop off or pick up students while remaining in their cars. If you need to park and walk your student to school, please park in the appropriate areas. Concord Police officers may cite cars that are left unattended in the "Passenger Drop Off/Pick Up Area" or vehicles that are parked in other unauthorized areas. We want all students to be safe. Thank you in advance for your compliance with this regulation.
All parking within in the school is reserved and assigned to staff members only. Please do not park in the staff parking lots. You’re cooperation with this is appreciated.
Supervision for grades 1 -5 begins at 7:30 a.m. on the playground. Please do not send your student to school before this time. Parents and caregivers are to check-in at the office BEFORE walking to the playground or entering hallways. This is for the safety of our students and staff. The same procedure applies for after school pick up. Parents and caregivers are asked not to wait in the hallways or playground to pick up.
Other Policies
School Visitors:
District policy states that all visitors must check in at the school office and wear a visitor badge while on campus. No visitors, including parents or district personnel, may go to the classrooms or other site locations without first checking in at the office.
Delivering Items to Students:
Occasionally students forget a lunch, notebook, report or other important item. To minimize classroom disruption, please do not bring these items directly to the classroom.
Tell your children that, if they forget an item, you will drop it off in the office for them to check at recess/lunch break. Classrooms can’t be disrupted with a phone call for forgotten items. Please remember the office can’t store or hold items for after school activities, these are personal items that shouldn’t be brought to school or left in the child’s backpack.
Messages for Students:
We request the cooperation of parents in limiting messages to students to emergency situations. If you have a message for your student, please be sure to call BEFORE their lunch hour. The office has been asked NOT TO INTERRUPT instructional time; therefore, unless it is an emergency, we will place the message in the teacher's mailbox so they can pick it up during their lunch and hand it to your student in the classroom. Please be aware that if you call after lunch, your student may not receive the message.
Please establish a routine for picking up your children – make sure they know who will be picking them up and where to meet. Discuss a plan if you happen to be "running a few minutes late". We know emergencies sometimes do arise; however, calling the office frequently with last minute changes does not constitute an emergency.
Lunch Money:
If your student buys only on occasion, please send lunch money with your student to bring directly to the cafeteria. If you would like to pre-pay for several lunches, envelopes are available on the front counter in the office. Please fill out the envelope, include cash or check (payable to Ayers) and place the envelope in the cafeteria’s mailbox located on the front counter of the office. The office has no knowledge of how much money is left on your student’s “account” or if you have any balance due. If you have any questions regarding lunch accounts, you can leave a note for the cafeteria manager or call (925) 682-8000 ext. 85706.
Lost and Found:
Clothing and other items are picked up daily from the playgrounds and cafeteria. The Lost and Found is located at the end of the D-wing. Please label your child’s belongings with their full name. If your child has lost an item, please check the lost and found. All unclaimed items are donated at the end of every month to a charitable organization.
Medication at School:
If your child needs to take medication while at school – either prescription OR over-the-counter – you will need to do the following:
1) Fill out an Authorization to Administer Medication at School and have it signed by the student’s physician, parent, principal or designee. A new form must be filed with school office every year, for each medication.
2) Provide the medication in its original container and labeled with the student’s name, method of administration, dosage, frequency, etc.
3) Pick up the medication at the end of each school year – the office will discard any remaining in the office.
Please don’t send medication to school with your student. All medication on campus must follow the above instructions.