Family-Teacher Communication
As a preparatory school, VPA believes that the student should be the primary agent in his or her education. He or she should be responsible for tracking assignments, understanding stated course requirements, and meeting deadlines. It is also the job of the students to communicate honestly to their parents about their day-to-day performance and academic standing. That said, it is the teacher’s duty to clearly communicate to the student what is expected of him or her. It is also the teacher’s responsibility to share information with the parents, even prior to the quarter reports or semester evaluations, when a student is struggling considerably with the material or is not performing as expected. When a student falls into the D or F range for a course, a
Deficiency Notice will be mailed home by the teacher. It is the responsibility of the parents to sign and return a copy of the Deficiency Notice to the reception desk or to the teacher as soon as possible. Teachers at VPA will often (but not in all cases) follow-up a mailed Deficiency Notice with a phone call.
We encourage parents to talk with the faculty as soon as they think their son or daughter might be having difficulty. The earlier a problem is recognized, the easier it is to resolve. If you wish to talk with your child's teacher by phone, or to make an appointment for a conference, please call the school office and leave a message on the individual teacher’s voice-mail box with your name, your child’s name, your phone number, and times during which you will be available. Teachers may also be reached via e-mail. The teacher will return communication within 24 hours. Please see the Directory at the back of this handbook for faculty contact information. Stopping by the classroom or faculty office before school starts is usually not a good time to meet with the teacher, unless an appointment has been made. Students or parents should not enter the faculty office(s). These are private workspaces which contain confidential student records. Teachers and parents and/or students may meet in the library/forum area, or in one of the classrooms.
Student-Teacher Relationships: On-campus and Off-campus
VPA highly values the working relationship between teachers (or staff) and students. This is a relationship best characterized as a
professional friendship grounded in mutual respect. Teachers will treat each student as a unique individual and will serve the student with a heart of charity. Students, on their part, will treat each teacher with the respect properly accorded his or her role as an authority figure and leader here at the Academy. With this in mind, students should address teachers by their formal title, i.e. Mrs., Ms., Mr., Dr., and their last name.
Our teachers, staff members, and coaches will maintain a proper professional boundary between him or her and the student. They will not be overly familiar with the student or get involved in the details of the student’s personal life. (If a teacher senses that a student requires counseling for a social or family issue, that issue will be referred confidentially to the administration and/or parents). The faculty/staff/coaches of VPA will insist on maintaining appropriate physical boundaries, and will not meet in a room alone with a student with the door closed. It is also Academy policy that faculty/staff do not transport students in their personal vehicles. This is excepting, of course, when transporting his/her own children, or when acting in some other capacity (for example as a camp counselor or church leader)
and parental permission for such transportation is explicitly granted.
Many of our teachers live in the same neighborhoods as our students hence it is appropriate to offer a word regarding off-campus relationships.
The same professional rules governing on-campus relationships apply to off-campus relationships or chance meetings between students and faculty. It is not appropriate for students and teachers to interact as anything other than students and teachers, regardless of the location, time, or day of the week. Furthermore, students should not contact or visit teachers off campus unless the teacher has spoken with the parents and explicitly invited such contact, nor should teachers (or staff) contact students off-campus (other than phone calls regarding academics or school-sponsored extra-curricular activities), unless such contact has been approved by the parents.
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