REVISED 11/2011
ES Communication Protocol
A. ESs should not communicate to their parents as a group
unless:
1. It is a parent list serve message, a school directive, or selected portions from the school newsletter or school webpage.
2. (If other than above) The content has been approved by their advisor prior to sending it. E-mails related to routine service to their families are the only exception.
3. The email addresses on a group e-mail are hidden from view by the recipients, or all of your families have given you written permission to be on a “list” of your class.
4. No communication should ever be sent by an ES on school letterhead without prior approval from the school director.
B. ESs should communicate professionally to their parents at
all time
1. It is not appropriate to discuss ES job duties with parents in our school, information regarding students from other families (even anonymously), job duty changes, ES employment issues, school pay issues, etc .
2. Parents are our customers, and need to be treated professionally as such at all times, and not as fellow employees.
3. All school communications should be communicated positively.
4. ESs should never give other staff's personal phone numbers to any requesting party, but can email or call the person in question, requesting that they contact the party that needs to communicate with them. Please note, all ESes must have a number listed in the work number field of the ES detail; if for some reason you have your home number listed in the work number field, your home number may be given to your students or other staff members.
5. Report parent concerns about school issues to your ES Advisor ASAP.
6. If an ES expects to be away from home during the school year, they must get approval from their advisor at least two weeks prior to leaving. They must inform their parents and their advisor of when they are leaving and when they expect to return, and must provide them with contact information in case of need. All work responsibilities, email and phone responses within 24 hours on work days included, must be tended to as normal.
C. ES Communication
Chain of Command
1. An ESs first line of communication for all issues (that are not personal personnel issues) is your assigned ES Advisor.
2. If you do not feel your ES Advisor is being responsive to your needs, or has not addressed your issue to your satisfaction, your next point of contact as an ES is to contact the School Director.
3. After step 3, you may file a formal complaint with the HR department.
4. Personal personnel issues should only be directed to the HR/Personnel Department.
D. ES Communication
When Unable to Meet Job Obligations
When an ES is unable to meet their job obligations, they must communicate to both the party expecting them, and the Waterford Office. (The Waterford Office will then notify the ES Advisor).For instance, if an ES is expected to attend an Elluminate online class, but must miss it or will arrive late due to an urgent situation or illness, they must contact the Elluminate teacher and cc the Waterford Office cwcs@connectingwaters.org. Or, if an ES has to miss a learning record appointment, but has an emergency and cannot reach the parent to reschedule before the appointed time, they should leave a message for the parent and also contact the Waterford Office. The Office will notify the advisor in all situations in case the parent attempts to call the advisor for more information.
E. If a student/parent has a complaint about an instructor or employee,
If a student/parent has a complaint about an instructor or employee, they should talk to the instructor/employee first so that they can fully understand the person's intent regarding the issue. If there is still a problem then they should talk to the direct supervisor of the person. If the problem still is not resolved then they should talk to the executive director, Sherri Nelson.
F. We often receive
requests from outside sources for verification of information regarding both
students and Education Specialists. Only the staff at the IEM office or an
IEM school office should address these types of questions.
1. For requests for verification of employment or income, please have the inquiring party contact hr@ieminc.org or call 800-979-4436 to speak to the personnel office.
2. For requests for verification of enrollment, attendance, and transcripts, contact studentrecords@ieminc.org or call 800-979-4436 to speak to the student records office.
G. Email Business Etiquette
It is important to use a plain font, when writing emails and signatures, because not all email programs view messages the same way. Sometimes reader's email program cannot view the font the same way yours did.
Basic fonts like Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman work well. Select a 10 or 12 point font size, depending on how much content you have in your email message.
H. Teacher Speech and the First Amendment in Public Schools: The judicial position that has been taken recently by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals:
In concrete terms of educational practice, this means that class discussions, instructional materials, and bulletin board postings related to religion must be neutral and free of advocacy on the part of the teacher. The courts have been clear that teachers, as representatives of the state, do not have the right to practice their religion in the presence of students during the school day. Of course, like any other Americans, teachers are permitted to engage in religious activities on their own time, alone or with other teachers at the school when students are not present. Personal beliefs of teachers have sometimes led them to step over the line toward advocacy for their beliefs or for religion in general in their interactions with students. This has resulted in needless and costly lawsuits.
What does this mean for schools in California? Schools and teachers need to remember that what they say, what they write, and what they display matters in that it represents their roles as government officials, and subject to the constitutional limits of the establishment clause. By selecting and displaying historical documents representing only a religious viewpoint, they need to consider the effect that it appears to promote religion, not history. It is wise to go back to the oft published 3Rs list of parameters for maintaining religious neutrality by determining the purpose of any teacher or school speech. Appropriate speech fulfills the role of the public school and the teacher as its representative…
to sponsor study about religion, not practice religion
to expose students to a diversity of religious [and non religious] views but not impose any particular view
to educate about religions but not promote or denigrate any religion, religion in general, or non belief