Wyckoff Public Schools
Communication Information
The Board of Education wants an informed electorate and strives to communicate with all Wyckoff residents. Board newsletters are sent to all residents. Staff instructional reports are presented to the public at Board of Education meetings. A Kindergarten Handbook is given to all parents when they register their children for Kindergarten and an Eisenhower Handbook is distributed to all middle school students. In addition, copies of the Board Agenda, minutes of past meetings, and the policy manual are available at the Wyckoff Public Library. Periodically, press releases are also distributed to local newspapers. You can also learn more about our schools by going to our district's website @ www.wyckoffschools.org.
The Board of Education conducts regular business meetings monthly. During business meetings, action is taken, and questions concerning action items may be addressed to the Board.
With some exceptions, Board meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays each month at 8:00 p.m. at the Eisenhower Middle School, 344 Calvin Court. Please consult the calendar for exceptions to the regular schedule.
Effective communication between parent and teacher often involves more than the regularly scheduled parent conference and report cards. Teachers welcome the opportunity to discuss a child's work on any facet of the classroom program. A telephone call, memo, or visit to school may avoid a problem or misunderstanding.
If a visit is preferred, please call the school office to schedule an appointment with your child's teacher.
Parents are invited to visit their child's classroom on identified school days. Should there be a need for an additional visit, please contact the principal. Items to be delivered to children such as lunches, instruments, books, and sneakers should be taken to the School Office for delivery to the classrooms by office staff.
Items to be delivered to the middle school must be brought to the office by 10:30am. Students are responsible to read a posted list in the cafe and pick up items in the office. emergency notes will be delivered.
Homework is given to extend and reinforce what is taught in the classroom. The following suggestions are endorsed by the staff:
- Take an interest in what your child is doing in school;
- Provide a quiet atmosphere and a suitable time in which the child can do his/her assignment;
- Encourage your child to do the homework, but do not assume the reponsibility of completing the assignment yourself;
- Accept your child's own best work;
- When a child is absent from school please wait at least 2 days before requesting make-up work.
The current homework regulations suggest that homework be given to pupils in grades Kindergarten through eight. On any given night, homework should not exceed thirty minutes in grades Kindergarten through three, one hour in grades four through six, and two hours in grades seven and eight. At all levels, independent reading should be done nightly.
The program for reporting progress in grades one through five includes two parts: skill progress reports at the end of the second, third, and fourth marking periods and a parent-teacher conference at the end of the first marking period.
Conducted informally but purposefully, the parent-teacher conference provides the parent and the teacher an opportunity for full exploration of a student's progress and behavior.
Specific arrangements for the conference will be made by the school. It will be held each year in November.
Kindergarten reports are given at individual parent conferences twice a year. A written report is provided between the two conference dates.
At Eisenhower, sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students receive a report card at the end of each of the four marking periods.
Upon parent or teacher request, a conference may be arranged at any time during the school year.
New Jersey Administrative Code states that parents have the right to view their child's cumulative record. If you care to do so, call the counselor at your respective school for an appointment. Records of students who have been evaluated by the district Child Study Team may be reviewed at the Student Personnel Services Office, Washington School Annex, Woodland avenue. (201-848-5690).