Policy Manual - Watervliet City School District

Please be advised that the District’s Policy Manual developed with Erie 1 BOCES Policy Services is not to be interpreted as the rendering of legal advice. Application of Board policies to specific situations may necessitate consultation with the School Administrators/School Attorney to address the particular circumstances.

Foreword

Contained herein are the policy statements formulated by the Board of Education of the Watervliet City School District. Policy is defined as a basic plan of action. It establishes limits within which freedom of judgment can be exercised. Policy is a governing principle of management. It is a statement that has an effect on the interests of those who come under its jurisdiction. A policy may originate from the constitution, from statute, from local determinations and/or from customary patterns of formal behavior.

Policy should accomplish the following:

State a position taken by the District;
Grant the authority to act;
Be sufficiently detailed to give adequate direction;
Be achievable within the real environment of the school and community;
Provide for impartial procedures.

In addition to the adopted policies, the operation of the School District is governed by and subject to all applicable Laws, Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, Civil Service requirements, Board of Education Resolutions, School Administrative Regulations and Contracts of Agreement.

If any part of this manual is made invalid by judicial decision or legislative or administrative enactment, all other parts shall remain in full effect unless and until they are amended or repealed by the Board of Education. The official record of the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the by-laws and policies of the Watervliet City School District shall be the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Education.

To assist the Watervliet City School District in providing for the prompt, thorough and equitable resolution of alleged discrimination and/or harassment allegations, please download and complete the complaint/grievances form to the best of your abilities and submit it to the district’s Civil Rights Compliance Officers: Kirsten DeMento or Molly McGrath.

Policy Index

All policies are listed in policy number order.

The following abbreviations will be used in the Policy Manual:

Federal:

USC: United States Code
CFR: United States Code of Federal Regulations

State:

NYCRR: New York Code of Rules and Regulations
8 NYCRR: Regulations of the Commissioner of Education

Philosophy Statement

In preparing individuals to develop their fullest potential for living in the society of today and tomorrow, the Board of Education and the staff of the Watervliet City School District:

I. Recognize their responsibility to help meet the physical, intellectual and emotional needs of children; particularly the needs to inquire, learn, think, and create; to establish aesthetic, moral and ethical values; and to relate satisfactorily to others in social situations involving family, work, government and recreation.

II. Accept primary responsibility for giving students a mastery of the basic skills of learning, thinking and problem-solving; for teaching them to use the various media of self-expression; for instilling in them a knowledge of the social and natural sciences; for acquainting them with the richness of our heritage; and for stimulating them to productive work in the various areas of human endeavor.

III. Acknowledge the importance of their supplemental role to the home and other social agencies in developing habits and attitudes which make for effective personal living, the maintenance of optimum physical and mental health, and the establishment of sound moral, ethical, and aesthetic values.

Realizing that education, as here defined, is a lifelong process, the School System seeks to orient its graduates toward various types of post-secondary education and further formal training and study of many types; and to provide educational opportunities particularly suited to the needs of adults, both as individuals and as citizens in a democracy.