Ideal School
...training is covered financially by our school funding, which allows us to oblige continuous education for teachers as well. Teachers are expected to be understanding of the freedom of religion for students, but ask for notification if a student will be missing school because of a holiday. We do not allow any religious jewelry, crosses, stars of David, etc, to be visible on students, but that is not to say that they may not wear them. We have a properly trained school nurse and psychologist, which are available for students to meet with during free periods and discuss any problems they may be having. We also have two guidance counselors, which students have mandatory meetings with, starting their junior year, until graduation. These fine counselors will provide the information on the type of University/ College that the student is interested in attending. A child will never be told that he/she cannot apply to a school because they will not get accepted, but the expectations of the school will be well written out and left for the student to decide. They will also have time to assist students in the application/ acceptance process. The Escuela Bilingüe is proud to offer a wide variety of teachers from many nationalities and beliefs whom are excellent in their profession. It is mandatory for students to wear uniforms, khakis and white tops, especially when considering the amount of gang problems within this neighborhood. It is essential to have each student enter the school as an equal to his/her peers. We do not allow students to wear excessive, showing jewelry to eliminate as much jealousy between students as possible, financially. Although it is inevitable that some students will insist on showing off what they have, as a community, our goal is to limit the most amount of this as possible. Any student who does not come to school in proper dress code will loaned the proper uniform for the day. This will be considered their first dress-code offense. The second violation of code will have student sent home and expected to make up all work missed for the day. If a parent is unable to pick student up, he/she will sit in the office doing the missing work. It will be left to the teacher’s judgment whether or not they want to accept this missed work. A third violation will result in Saturday detention. This is a very serious problem that many public schools in Chicago must face everyday and we are going to have a very strict policy. Students who ditch class will need a legitimate excuse (signed note, call from parent, Drs. Note, etc) in order to be allowed to turn in missed work. Again this will be left to the teacher’s judgment, but as a community we encourage teachers not to give the same students “too many” chances. Missing an entire school day will result with a phone call home (until the guardian is reached), a Saturday detention, and teachers have been instructed to not accept missed work. We have a strict policy on ditching school and will not accept students to have more than 4 per semester. If a student’s academic performance is under a 2.0 GPA, or if student is on disciplinary probation, they are not allowed any unexcused absences or disciplinary action will be taken. Considering that the Escuela Bilingüe is in the south side of Chicago, the campus space is limiting, but we do offer the essential facilities for both students and teachers in a more urban, high-rise building. The fourth floor is supplied with modern technology, such as a computer lab, where students may spend their free-periods doing their work. Each computer has both Spanish and English programs to facilitate students with writing assignments, along with internet capabilities for research purposes. Our library (also on the fourth floor and open until 6pm) is equipped with several computers and “quiet rooms” for students working on group projects, taking un-timed tests, or simply studying in a more isolated environment. These quiet rooms are used on a first come, first serve basis, but also through appointment by signing up for certain hours on a specified day. Many classes may be held in the library for research purposes, to introduce and eventually have students master writing research papers and finding appropriate material. Also on the fourth floor are the teacher’s offices, each teacher sharing space with the other teachers in the same subject, making it convenient for students to consult with their teachers during their free periods. The third floor consists of the Language Arts, Humanities, History and English classrooms. On second floor are the Math and Science, including laboratory roo...