FAQ

Our website is full of helpful information for our students, parents, and community. But sometimes you just have a question you need an answer to—quickly. We’ve compiled a list of some of the questions our school and district office staff are asked most often and put them all in one place here for you.

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We expect students to use common sense and good judgment when dressing for school each day. Students should show respect for themselves and others within the educational environment. In general, we do not allow:

  • Clothing that contains slogans and/or designs that advertise or promote illegal or controlled substances or that may offend other students due to their gender, race, and/or religious reasons
  • Clothing that creates a distraction from the learning environment of the school, presents a safety hazard, hints at anything of a sexual nature, profanity, gangs, or anything that is disruptive to the educational process
  • Clothing worn in a manner that reveals excessive chest areas (i.e. low-cut blouses, spaghetti strap shirts, tops with only one shoulder, undershirts worn as shirts), the midriff, or buttock areas

School administrators make the final decision regarding the appropriateness of any clothing.

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If your child must miss school, please contact your school office by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Students are responsible for all missed work for the duration of their absence.

Research shows that school attendance is one of the most important correlations to being successful in school. Poor attendance lowers achievement and disrupts the educational process. Regular attendance shows a sense of responsibility and is a good indicator of future success in life. However, we understand that children sometimes get ill or have to miss school for family emergencies.

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The North Cedar Community School District’s Board of Directors offers a variety of voluntary activities designed to enhance the classroom education of its students. We consider students who participate in extracurricular activities ambassadors of the school throughout the calendar year, whether away from or at school. We expect students who participate in these activities to conduct themselves in accordance with board policy and school expectations and to refrain from activities that are illegal, immoral, unhealthy, or highly inappropriate. Participation in extracurricular activities is a privilege, and district administration reserves the right to revoke that privilege if students do not abide by the code of conduct. For more information, please read the student handbook for your child’s school.

A.

Our district nurse and trained school personnel will take care of your child should he or she become ill while at school. Each school has a designated location for children to rest, and we will notify a parent or guardian promptly if the illness or injury requires further medical attention. If the situation is a medical emergency, we will follow standard emergency procedures.

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To ensure the safety and well-being of all students, we do not allow children to carry medication with them at school. We require a parent or guardian to bring all medication in the original container to the front office. Trained personnel can administer medication to students in the safety of the school office.

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Student use of cellular phones is an increasing concern across the country. Privacy issues, cyber-bullying, and classroom interruptions are just a few reasons why we discourage students from bringing phones to school. However, we understand that parents worry about their child’s safety on the way to and home from school. We enforce the following policies regarding cell phones:

  • We encourage students to leave cell phones outside the school building.
  • If a student brings a cell phone inside the building, it must be out of sight and turned off whenever the student is in a classroom, library, computer lab, restroom, or locker room.
  • We will confiscate cell phones for the remainder of the school day if they are heard inside these areas. We will return confiscated phones to the student at the end of the last class period. The main office will hold phones of repeat offenders until the student’s parents can retrieve the phone.
  • We consider failure of a student to turn over a phone to a staff member insubordination.
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In the event of severely inclement weather or mechanical breakdown, the administration may consider closing school or delaying the start time. The same conditions may also necessitate early dismissal. We will announce school closures, delayed start times, or early dismissal via Remind App and television stations KGAN-TV (channel 2), KCRG-TV (channel 9), KWQC-TV (channel 6), and KWWL-TV (channel 7) and radio stations WMT 600 and KMAQ 1320.

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It is the policy of the North Cedar School District that school employees not commit acts of physical, verbal, or sexual abuse, including inappropriate and intentional sexual behavior toward students. Any school employee who commits such acts is subject to disciplinary sanctions up to and including discharge.

It is the policy to respond promptly to allegations of student abuse by school employees by investigating or arranging a full investigation of any allegation, and to do so in a reasonably prudent manner. We handle the processing of a complaint or allegation confidentially to the maximum extent possible. All employees are required to assist in the investigation when requested to provide information, and to maintain the confidentiality of the reporting and investigating process. North Cedar School District’s level-one investigator is Allison White and our alternate investigators are the building principals. You can email Allison White, 7-12 school counselor, or call at (563) 452.3179. Mary Bendixen, Jr/Sr High School principal, can be reached at (563)452.3179 or email.  Jenny Horman, elementary principal, can be contacted at (563) 941.5383 for Lowden, (563) 432.6933 for Mechanicsville, or by email.