Parent Handbook - Lovejoy ISD

HealthStudent’s health/ immunization information is kept current along with the enrollment forms. Parents arealso asked to include allergies, special diets, and/or emergency health information.Parents may be called in the event a child becomes sick and is not able to participate in our regularlyscheduled activities. If a child becomes ill the parent will be contacted immediately and has a 30 minutetime period in which to pick up their child. In addition, if a child sustains an injury to the head or faceparents must be notified immediately.For the protection of all children in our center, the child may not return to school within 24 hours from thetime they are picked up with the following symptoms:• Intestinal disturbance accompanied by diarrhea or vomiting• Oral temperature of 100.4 or greater: armpit temperature of 99.4 or greater• Any undiagnosed rash• Discharge from the eyes/ ears or profuse nasal discharge• Symptoms of possible communicable disease (such as sniffles, red eyes, sore throat, headache, andabdominal pain with fever)• Symptoms that prevent a child from participating comfortably in childcare center activities includingoutdoor play.• Any illness that results in greater need for care than caregivers can provide without compromising thehealth, safety, and supervision of the other children in care.• A healthcare diagnosis of a communicable disease and the child does not have medical documentation toindicate that the child is no longer contagious.Student Attendance/Reporting AbsencesIf your child will not be attending Kids 1st because of a scheduled appointment, vacation or plannedabsence, please notify Kids 1st staff well in advance. If your child is ill, or being picked up early fromschool, please request that the school office put a notice of the child’s absence in the Kids 1st mailbox.Absences without prior notification may be mistaken for a missing child, and causeunnecessary concern and time searching for the child.If a child does not arrive at the program as intended, Kids 1st staff will utilize the following procedures:1) check with school office staff/teacher for absences2) contact the parent using the number listed on the enrollment form3) contact the emergency number listed on the enrollment form4) contact local police department if child is deemed “missing” from Kids 1st.(The Director of Child Care Services and campus principal will be involved at this level.).Since Kids 1st is open later in the evening than regular school, we do not allow children to walk home fromour program.In the event that a child is participating in an after school club or other activity by a separate organization,the parent must complete a separate permission slip indicating person/driver’s license who will be3

esponsible for signing out/in the child. This form can be obtained from the Kids 1st Site Coordinator.Examples may include, but are not limited to, scouting, dance, music, etc. It is imperative that a parentinform the Site Coordinator regarding other arrangements/programs that are a part of LISD (i.e. tutoring,clubs, talent shows, rehearsals, etc.) as your children may be mistaken for missing and cause unnecessaryconcern and time searching for your child.Contact NumbersDirector of Early Childhood and After School Programs 469-742-8150Director’s Cell 469-446-8863Administrative Assistant 469-742-8196Kids 1st Lovejoy Site Coordinator 214-585-7553Kids 1st Hart Site Coordinator 214-585-7554Kids 1st Puster Site Coordinator 214-218-3637Sloan Creek ASP Site CoordinatorCommunicationParents may pick up members at any time once the program starts. Parents will need to present picture IDin order to pick up their child. Parents must sign their child out before leaving.Choice Reports are short notes provided to the parents at the time of pick up as needed for communicatingpositive/negative notes to parents. Kids 1st believes parent communication is of the utmost importance inthe development of children, and staff will do their best to notify parents of accomplishments as well asconcerns. Parents are encouraged to talk with the Site Coordinator if questions arise.Safety is a major priority at Kids 1st, although we recognize at times students will get minor scrapes,bruises, etc. Incident Reports are a way for staff to communicate should an incident occur. These arereports in which the incident is documented, along with how it was handled and the care your childreceived. Program staff are trained in positive strategies for preventing and managing inappropriatebehavior. Should a concern arise regarding a child’s behavior/needs, parents will be contacted todiscuss/review the situation. Staff will use a variety of interventions to address the behavior. Ifinappropriate behavior should continue, or a child’s behavior becomes unsafe for him/her self or others,he/she may be suspended temporarily or permanently from membership. A meeting with the Kids 1stDirector and Site Coordinator will be held to determine permanent suspension. In addition, if a child’sneeds are greater than can be meet in a staff to child ratio of 1:17, Kids 1st may not be a suitable option forafter school care.Kids 1st welcomes your feedback and input. All questions regarding Kids 1 st AfterSchool Program should be addressed with the Site Coordinator at each program. Pleasedo not contact the campus staff or principal, as the program is managed separately fromthe school.Kids 1st is not a licensed day-care and has received exemption from the governance of Child-Care licensing.It is associated with Lovejoy ISD and is operated by Lovejoy ISD employees; therefore, Kids 1st isgoverned by the Texas Education Agency.4