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armona union academy
Our Mission Statement
Love God, Serve Others, Value Learning
Our Core Values
Respect, Responsibility, Compassion
14435 Locust Street / P.O. Box 397
Armona, CA93202
phone: (559) 582-4468
fax: (559) 582-6609
website: www.auaweb.com
email: aua@auaweb.com
Office Hours:
Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Accredited By:
WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventists
Armona Union Academy is committed to admitting students to AUA who already have a personal relationship with God and are living in a Christian lifestyle, as well as those who are willing to experience the same.
The purpose of this handbook is to provide information on school policy and procedures. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information in the handbook, please contact Aniesha Kleinhammer by calling the school office.
By the grace of God, Armona Union Academy students will:
Demonstrate academic success by:
¨ Successfully completing a course of study to prepare for higher education;
¨ Scoring at or above the minimum competency levels for English and Math standardized testing;
¨ Being able to think and communicate clearly;
¨ Acquiring the necessary tools to become a lifelong learner.
Improve physically by:
¨ Participating in physical education, sports and health classes;
¨ Meeting standardized fitness test goals;
¨ Practicing a healthful Christian lifestyle.
Grow spiritually by:
¨ Sharing personal spiritual beliefs;
¨ Participating in Christian oriented activities;
¨ Participating in spiritual applications as presented in Religion classes;
¨ Witnessing to those around them.
Be productive citizens by:
¨ Living AUA’s core values: Respect, Responsibility, Compassion (Christ’s Value System);
¨ Participating in community service activities;
¨ Demonstrating active participation in social settings;
¨ Maintaining a clean and safe campus.
“I will instruct and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”
Psalm 32:8 (NIV)
Armona Union Academy had its humble beginnings in a room in the Nis Hansen home in 1904. The school was moved to its present site in 1907 when Nis Hansen donated 5 acres to the Seventh-day Adventist church for the purpose of a church school. In 1956 the ten acres across Locust Street were acquired and later the Elementary School was located on this property.
Armona Union Academy (thanks to the support of the constituent Seventh-day Adventist Churches, school Alumni, and community members) has operated continuously through many challenges including fires in 1935 and 1998. As the years passed, buildings were constructed to meet the needs, including the elementary complex, the industrial arts complex, and the constituency center (gymnasium). Following the last fire, six new rooms including a new science lab were constructed to meet the needs of our high school classrooms.
Students who express and demonstrate a sincere desire for a Christian education and who pledge to live by the standards of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are welcome.
No religious test is required of any student upon entering, but it is expected that all who present themselves for enrollment will show respect and honor for the religious principles on which the school is founded, and pledge themselves to support the efforts of the teachers and fellow students.
Armona Union Academy is not equipped to handle special scholastic, learning or disciplinary problems and will not knowingly accept or retain such students. All students enrolled in the school must be living with parents or responsible guardians. Students and parents will be expected to sign a statement of agreement with intent to comply with the philosophy, policies, rules and regulations of the school.
Application to Armona Union Academy is made by presenting to the school office the completed application forms and registration fee, which includes a personal interview with the Principal and appropriate teacher. The office staff will supply the required forms upon request.
Non - Discrimination Policy: This school admits students of any race, color, national, or ethnic origins to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic background, country of origin, or gender in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.
1. Every student must make a formal application for admittance. Application shall include letter of reference from prior principal, teacher, and/or Pastor for new students.
2. An Admissions Committee must approve all applications, and final acceptance will be withheld until records from the previous school have been evaluated.
3. No student will be accepted who has an outstanding account at any Seventh-day Adventist school without prior arrangement with the Treasurer.
4. All new students and those who are entering kindergarten, grades four, seven and nine, must have a physical examination within two weeks of the first day of attendance. After this time they will not be allowed to attend class. All new students, seventh graders and ninth graders MUST have a medical examination and present a certificate of health to the school from the examining doctor BEFORE they are allowed to attend classes. (Pacific Union Conference Education Code Section 1534)
5. All students must show proof that they have been immunized for polio, DPT, Hepatitis, and measles (rubella) when initially registering for school. (Pacific Union Conference Education Code Section 1536)
6. All students entering grade seven must have completed the 3-dose series Hepatitis B vaccine effective July 1, 1999. Evidence of completion is to be submitted to the school office.
7. New students must be tested for placement by the classroom teacher.
Administration:
Instructional:
Support:
Representatives are elected from the membership of seven constituent churches. Constituent churches are those which have joined with other church bodies in support of Armona Union Academy. The number of representatives from any one church is based on the total membership of that church. In addition to those elected, the church pastor is a member ex-officio of the School Board. Constituent churches are Armona, Caruthers, Corcoran, Hanford Bilingual, Hanford-Redington, House of Hope and Lemoore Seventh-day Adventist churches.
Board Meetings are generally held the last Monday of each month, at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to all members of the constituent churches, except when in executive session. Any constituent member may, in advance, suggest items for the agenda.
School Board Officers:
Members at Large:
Home and School Co-chairs:
Central California Conference:
Vern Biloff………..phone: 347-3051 Ken Bullington…….phone: 347-3052
Ileana Espinosa…...phone: 347-3053 Jerry Page……….....phone: 347-3000
Pacific Union Conference:
Dr. Kelly Bock.......phone: 805-497-9457
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONAL FLOW CHART
As a condition of enrollment, each family agrees to contribute ten (15) hours of service to Armona Union Academy. In the alternative, each family will donate $10.00 per each hour not contributed. Service benefits the service provider, their child or children, and Armona Union Academy. At registration, a contribution commitment form must be signed. Once an activity is completed, please record completion the Administration Office. It is the responsibility of the parent to make sure hours are reported.
1. Not only are students called upon to actively support the objectives of the school, but parents are also asked to contribute to the success of the student and the school by upholding the work of the faculty.
2. Parents should guard sacredly the evening study hour. While the school aims to have the students do as much of their studying as possible at the school, necessity requires that a considerable amount of work must be done at home.
3. Parents are urged to call the teachers if they have questions.
4. Parents are also asked and expected to cooperate in assuring student’s attendance and participation in field trips, musical presentations and other school programs. These activities are as much a part of the total program as the classroom activities and should not be encroached upon by work schedules, vacations or other activities. Activities not directly associated with the classroom are designed to enhance educational and personal growth. These activities may involve construction projects, grounds beautification, fund-raising projects, social events, off-campus performances, etc. Parents are expected to support these programs by not using those times to take students out of school or allowing students to remain at home.
5. Parents must attend Parent-Teacher conferences, or make other arrangements.
Because communication sometimes breaks down and misunderstandings can result, a grievance procedure has been established in harmony with the council of Jesus in Mathew 18. The student is our prime concern. The following steps are offered with this in mind. It is recommended that the steps be followed in sequence.
1. A parent-teacher conference should be held in order to identify the problem and isolate the facts. This first step should resolve the majority of the problems. Parents should not approach teachers during the school day unless prior arrangements have been made.
2. A parent-teacher conference with the principal may be held if the concerns remain unresolved at the first meeting.
3. Before further action is taken, a second parent-teacher-principal conference should be held with the problem area stated in written form. Only first hand information which is current for this year and which directly affects the individuals concerned should be considered.
4. Any unresolved problems should be brought before the Personnel Committee through the principal or board chairman.
5. If any of the parties involved still feel that the problem is unresolved, they may request that it be brought before the School Board. This is done by requesting that the matter be placed on the agenda for the School Board.
MULTIPLE CHILD DISCOUNT: 2 or more children ~ 4% per child.
NOTE: An additional sports fee of $65.00 will be added for each team a child participates in. This will be added to your monthly invoice.
Should you require financial assistance, please contact the school office to schedule a meeting with our finance office.
All payments on an account are considered late if not received by the 10th of the month following the billing date. If an account becomes delinquent (45 days past due) including, but not limited to, tuition, any deferred tuition, fines, lab, and special fees is considered sufficient cause, until the debt is settled with the Academy, to:
1. Bar the student from classes or examinations.
2. Bar the student from any travel involving classes, varsity, or school-sponsored activities.
3. Withhold diploma or transcripts.
Academy students will not be permitted to take their semester finals until their accounts are in good standing. The students will receive an incomplete in their classes until final exams are taken.
8th graders and seniors will be unable to participate in graduation services if their accounts are not in good standing.
The account for the previous year’s expenses at Armona Union Academy must be settled before the student is permitted to enroll for the current school year. Any delinquent accounts remaining at Armona Union Academy from siblings who attended must be cleared before another member of the family is admitted as a student.
If a student is transferring to Armona Union Academy from another school, their account must be cleared or in satisfactory standing with their former school before they will be admitted.
It is the purpose of ArmonaUnionAcademy to create an environment that allows each student (K-12) to reach his or her God-given potential spiritually, mentally, physically and socially; and to successfully participate in and complete the educational programs implemented at AUA. To accomplish this mission, the school has established the following classroom and school-wide behavioral system:
Ø Respect God.
Ø Respect self.
Ø Respect others.
Ø Respect property.
Ø Dress appropriately.
Ø Be present and on time to class.
Ø Listen carefully to and follow teacher’s instructions.
Ø Complete class work and homework as assigned.
Ø Walk to all appointments while on campus.
ArmonaUnionAcademy expects its students to strictly comply with the regulations it has adopted and to otherwise be models of Christian behavior, both in relationship to the school and otherwise. Failure of a student to comply with this standard of behavior will result in the imposition of appropriate discipline. The overall goal of ArmonaUnionAcademy in this regard is to work with parents in addressing unacceptable behavior and assisting students in correcting problems and achieving success in life with the minimum discipline reasonably necessary. To help minimize a number of issues AUA has instituted a hands-off policy. Therefore, all physical contact is prohibited, and violations will be addressed through our referral process.
Infractions will be noted with a citizenship referral. These may be completed by any staff member. Referrals will be given to the Registrar for processing. The Registrar will then input it into the student’s disciplinary record, make copies for the student’s file, staff member who wrote the referral, and student’s homeroom teacher. The original will then be mailed home.
The stages of the citizenship referral procedure are as follows:
Types of behavior that may lead to a referral include:
· Violations of the campus hands-off policy.
Possible consequences for referral #1 - # 3 may include: detention or campus beautification. Students assigned detention must bring study materials. Failure to attend detention will immediately result in one day of in-house suspension. Repetitive behaviors and/or multiple referrals in any given week may result in accelerated discipline action.
Some misconduct is so serious that it may lead to suspension, expulsion, or non-readmittance of the student. Examples of such misconduct include, but are not necessarily limited to:
· Willfully causing, attempting to cause, or threaten to cause physical injury to another person.
· Possessing, selling, offering, arranging, negotiating, or otherwise furnishing any firearm, knife, explosive, firework or other dangerous object, or attempting to do so.
· Possessing, selling, offering, arranging, negotiating, or otherwise furnishing, or being under the influence of alcohol, tobacco or other nicotine containing product, or any controlled substance, without a doctor’s prescription, or Possessing, selling, offering, arranging, negotiating, or otherwise furnishing drug paraphernalia, or attempting to do any of the above.
· Committing or attempting to commit robbery, burglary, extortion, or theft, or receiving or attempting to receive any stolen property. This also includes cheating.
· Willfully causing or attempting to cause damage to real or personal property of others.
· Committing an obscene act or engaging in habitual profanity or vulgarity.
· Willfully disrupting school activities or otherwise defying the valid authority of administrators, teachers, supervisors, school officials, or other personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.
· Engaging in or conspiring to engage in hazing or any act that causes or is likely to cause bodily danger, physical harm, or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to harm any person. (Pacific Union Conference Education Code Section 1562)
· Serious or continued sexual or other harassment as defined in this school’s harassment policies.
· Willfully engaging in the disruption of the school’s religious environment through negative comments or by negative attitudes.
· Becoming or causing someone to become pregnant.
Suspension is removal of a student from classes or school activities for disciplinary reasons. Suspension may be on or off campus at the discretion of the administration. Suspensions will not exceed ten (10) consecutive school days. A student will not be suspended for a total of more than twenty (20) days during a school year. Suspension may be appealed to the administration for review. Generally the student will remain suspended until the review is conducted. If the suspension is not upheld, the remainder of the suspension is removed and all records of the suspension shall be removed.
The school board is the ultimate authority in the dismissal or expulsion of a student upon the recommendation of the administration. As a general rule, dismissal or expulsion is used only when other means of correction fail to effect a change in conduct or the parent does not, or will not voluntarily withdraw the student.
Expulsion is removal of a student from the school program. The student must not be on campus for any reason (including school and non-school functions) for at least one semester, without permission from the principal. This may be enforced using law enforcement if necessary. When administration believes expulsion is warranted, an investigation will take place. Students involved will be given the opportunity to tell their account of the incident. After the facts have been gathered, if the behavior warrants expulsion the parents will be notified and asked to remove the student from the campus immediately.
In the case of expulsion, the student will be suspended until the School Board can be convened for the hearing. The Principal, or designee, shall conduct an investigation, including questioning all parties involved. The Principal shall give periodic, reasonable, verbal notification of the status of the investigation to the student and/or the student’s parents. If, as a result of the investigation, the Principal recommends that the student be expelled, the Principal shall prepare a written report regarding the facts of the investigation, and any other relevant factors, and the recommendation. The report shall be presented to the school board with a copy being sent to the Conference Superintendent of Schools.
If the Principal recommends expulsion, he/she shall provide immediate written notification, personally delivered or sent by certified mail to the student and his/her parents of: the proposed expulsion; the reason(s) therefore, the date, time and place of the scheduled hearing of the school board; and the right of the student and the parents to appear and be heard at the hearing, to inspect and obtain copies of all documents to be used at the hearing, to ask questions of persons present at the hearing, to question evidence presented at the hearing, and to present oral and documentary evidence, including witnesses, on the student’s behalf. The notice shall be accompanied by a copy of these guidelines and the Principal’s written report to the disciplinary committee. A copy of the notice shall be sent to the Conference Superintendent of Schools.
The school board shall hold a hearing on the principal’s recommendation for expulsion at l | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
