School News

Rainy Day Dismissal

FCA RAINY DAY DISMISSAL PROCEDURES 2024-2025
RAINY DAY DELAY vs HOLD & RELEASE
What you need to know….
Rainy day dismissals require an all-hands on deck approach, in which we will all need to work diligently to ensure students get home safe and sound. This is not an ideal dismissal scenario, but by working together, all students will get home as safely and quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and support as we work to accomplish this feat.
There are TWO different types of Rainy-Day Dismissals that we will use at FCA. One for passing weather and another for severe, sustained weather. Depending on local skies, administration will make the call to do one or the other by 1:45PMpm (12:45pm on Wednesdays) if necessary. Staff and parents will be notified of the changes. Please become familiar with BOTH types of Rainy-Day Dismissals.
RAINY DAY DELAY:
A Rainy-Day Delay will be called when inclement weather is in the area but looks to be quickly passing. If this is called, ALL BIKER/WALKERS will be held within the building. Once the weather lightens and it is safe for student travel, the delay will be lifted and students will be able to dismiss as normal. In a delay, students will go home as planned, they will just be delayed. Staff and parents will be notified when the delay is lifted. NO check-outs will occur at this time.

RAINY DAY HOLD & RELEASE:
A Rainy-Day HOLD & RELEASE will be called when inclement weather is in the area and looks to be long lasting. If this is announced, we will dismiss as follows:
Regular Parent Pick Up Students – Students will be released to holding rooms within the building until their car arrives. Students will then come out to the Parent Pick Up loop when called. Thank you for your patience as this will take longer than the typical day.
Regular Biker/Walker Students –ALL BIKER/WALKER students will stay in their classrooms until released to their designated parent pick up location. This is when you will use the Parent Pick Up car sign with the red sticker.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation as there will be NO WALK-UP CHECKOUTS WHEN A RAINY-DAY HOLD & RELEASE IS CALLED. It is very difficult to call students out of classrooms at dismissal. If we can check out students, please have your ID with you.
*In the event of Rainy Day Delay or Hold & Release, please be attentive to all School Messenger alerts and messages*
Thank you in advance for your patience during any Rainy-Day Delay or Hold & Release.

Capturing Kids Hearts

When Freedom Crossing Academy K-8 opened its doors in 2018, a new team of administrators, educators, and staff had a unique opportunity to do something extraordinary: create a positive school culture. At Freedom Crossing Academy, we believe in fostering positive relationships among with all staff, students, and families and creating a safe and positive school culture focused on three goals. These goals include creating a healthy learning environment utilizing the Capturing Kids Hearts process, promoting teacher collaboration and student achievement through Professional Learning Communities, and fostering a positive school culture with the LiveSchool incentive program.

Capturing Kids Hearts
Our goal is for all students to feel connected, supported, and valued every day. Research states, “If a child has an appropriate relationship with a mature, responsible adult at home or at school, it is protective against virtually every adolescent risk factor including school absenteeism, intentional personal injury, violence, and academic performance” (Resnick et al, 1997: JAMA; CDC, Resnick replicated study, 2009). The Capturing Kids Hearts process allows us to stay connected to our students and tend to their social and emotional needs.

On a typical morning, music and dancing fill the hallways. Students and staff greet one another with friendly smiles and high fives. Teachers also greet students when they enter the classroom. Our students share “good news” during their morning meetings and begin each day with a launch of the school’s vision and mission statement.

In every classroom, teachers and students create social contracts to promote a family-friendly atmosphere and positive learning environment. The social contract, a signed agreement between teachers and students, promotes a self-managing, highly effective learning environment of productive relationships, teamwork, and leadership. Daily group roles help students develop leadership skills and responsibility. During each lesson, the social contract becomes a tool for community building and positive behavior within the classroom. Students receive recognition for demonstrating these expectations from both their teachers and peers. Each year, the staff also creates a social contract to foster a culture of norms, expectations, and commitments for how we will positively interact, communicate, and engage with each other.

Freedom Crossing Academy is cultivating a culture where relationships are the heart of everything we do. Our core beliefs and practices have helped us stay connected to our students, families, and staff, especially during these unprecedented times.