IN Greensburg Salem Fall 2019 | Page 30

Starting the School Year 2019 continued regarding this matter, please contact your building principal or the superintendent. Health Precautions GSSD has developed contingency plans to proactively deal with any influenza outbreak or other medical threat. The district continually works not only with the PA Department of Education, but also with the PA Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control to keep current on all information and to gain knowledge on applicable procedures and guidelines. Our plans focus on proactively educating all students and parents on prevention and mitigation measures, and monitoring the situation with respect to illness. This happens in all of our buildings in order to limit the impact of medical threats on our students and staff, enabling us to meet our primary goal of keeping our schools open and serving students. Asbestos Inspections Inspections of known asbestos-containing materials are conducted by school district maintenance personnel every month. The results of the inspections and any response actions are incorporated into the district’s Operations & Maintenance Plan and the reports become a part of the regular monthly meetings of the Greensburg Salem Board of School Directors. The district’s Asbestos Operations & Maintenance Plan is available for review in the Greensburg Salem School District’s administration office. Any questions concerning the district’s Asbestos Program should be directed to the Coordinator of Institutional Facilities, Maintenance, and Grounds, Greensburg Salem School District, 724.832.2910. Delay/Closing of Schools Due to Weather In the event that weather or other emergency conditions are such that the normal school schedule will be changed or school will be cancelled for the day, the district will attempt to make this decision between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. This information will then be posted on the district website and social media, as well as be announced via KDKA Radio (1020 AM), KDKA-TV (Channel 2), WTAE-TV (Channel 4), and WPXI-TV (Channel 11). Should conditions warrant an early dismissal, the district will take steps to inform parents/guardians and to ensure that all students can be safely dismissed. All parents will receive automatic notifications to the primary household number designated in their child’s school records. Parents and students who have previously signed up for Mobile Text/Phone e-Alerts will continue to receive those notifications. Remember that while e-Alerts are available for your convenience, they are not a substitute for conventional notifications through the local news media. Access to Student Information… Release of “Directory Information” As part of the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended (§9528), 28 GREENSBURG SALEM Greensburg Salem is required to release the names, addresses and telephone numbers (generally referred to as “directory information”) of students to military recruiters and to an institution of higher education. Military recruiters and education institutions generally request directory information for members of the junior class. Parents, however, have the right to request that their son’s or daughter’s directory information or a specific part of it not be released. Parents who wish to exercise this option should do so in writing and mail the request to the high school principal at Greensburg Salem High School, 65 Mennel Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601. Greensburg Salem maintains the security of student information and releases specific information only as required by law. Any parent can request that information be withheld by making this request in writing to the principal of each building in which his/her children are enrolled. The district will honor these requests as permitted by commonwealth and federal statute. Student Record Information The collection, maintenance, and dissemination of pupil records are legitimate and expected functions of a school system. The professional staff recognizes the confidential nature of such data and the need to strike a balance between the necessity for educationally relevant information about children and the protection of individual rights to privacy. The Greensburg Salem School Board and staff believe that student files should contain only information of value in assisting students. In addition to academic records, student files often contain data from personality, psychological and intelligence tests; health records; reports from school psychologists and guidance counselors; and anecdotal records and evaluations by teachers and administrators. Certain information gathered on students in the Greensburg Salem School District will be designated as “Directory Type Information.” This includes the following information relating to a student: the student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, and other similar information. The above information is primarily used in publicizing public school functions and student achievements in the local media, for example, student participation, sports programs, band rosters, and so forth. You have the right, as a parent, guardian or eligible student, to refuse to permit the school district to designate any or all of the above categories of personally identifiable information with respect to the “Directory Type Information.” In addition, the Greensburg Salem School District will release, upon request of a parent or another school, without notice to parents, records of a student who is entering another elementary or secondary school. If the school district fails to comply with the request of the parent or eligible student to review records, that parent or eligible student may file a complaint with the Office of Health, Education and Welfare in Washington D.C., and/or request a hearing as specified in the “Challenge Procedure” section of the Policy on the Collection, Maintenance, and Dissemination of Records. The Policy on the Collection, Maintenance, and Dissemination of Records is available through the principal’s office. If English is not understood, the school district will notify parents of their rights in the language used at home. PrimeroEdge School Nutrition Software Students in all district schools use the PrimeroEdge School Nutrition software for lunch and breakfast purchases. PrimeroEdge is a computerized accounting system, which can eliminate the need for parents to send money to school with their son or daughter on a daily basis to pay for food or drinks purchased in any of the district’s cafeterias. Every student is assigned an account that can be accessed only by his or her student PIN (Personal Identification Number). Once given to a student, the PIN remains the same from year to year. When making a purchase at the cafeteria, the student enters his/her PIN and if there is money in the account, the price of the purchase, including ala carte items, is deducted from the account balance. Students with no funds in their account will not be permitted to charge ala carte items to their account. The district may impose charge limits for individuals who fail to keep their account current. Funds in the student’s account can only be used for cafeteria purchases. The PrimeroEdge system will automatically recognize the students who meet eligibility requirements for free or reduced meals and make appropriate deductions. Students/parents can place money into individual accounts by sending a check (made payable to the Greensburg Salem Cafeteria Fund) to school. In addition, families now have the opportunity to use SchoolCafe.com or the SchoolCafe app, a service that offers a review of a child’s cafeteria purchases, as well as allows prepayment to the cafeteria account using a credit or debit card. Accounts on SchoolCafe can be created free-of-charge, without providing credit card information, to give any parent the ability to review student cafeteria purchases. Families are not required to make deposits into their child’s account using the SchoolCafe.com service. Parents who would like the convenience of paying online can do so with a minimum of $20.00 payment subtotal, excluding the 5% service fee charged for each payment. Greensburg Salem School District does not receive any of the service fees charged by SchoolCafe on all online food service payments. More information about the PrimeroEdge School Nutrition program will be provided to students and parents at the beginning of the school year. If at any time you have questions about PrimeroEdge or any aspects of our food service program, please feel free to call your child’s school or the Food Service Director at 724.832.2990.