Iveland Family and Student Handbook 2026-2027
Iveland Elementary Handbook
Contact Information
- Principal: Amanda Connelly
- Assistant Principal: Rebecca Wiliams
- (314) 493-6330
Iveland Vision
At Iveland Elementary, parents, staff and community members work collaboratively to provide a safe, student-centered learning environment where all students’ social, emotional and academic needs are met.
We are a community who strives to develop respectful, responsible, cooperative, peaceful and positive children who can problem solve and effectively contribute to society.
Iveland Mission
The Iveland community meets the needs of the whole child through positive, loving relationships, high expectations, and engaging learning opportunities that lead to college and career readiness for every student, every day.
Iveland Motto
Together We Can, Together We Will!
Dear Iveland Families:
Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year!
We want the best educational experience for your child while they are here at Iveland. For this to be a safe, welcoming environment that leads to productive learning for our children, we will to need to work together. In this handbook, you will find the information you need to positively contribute to the operations of the school. If you have any questions at any time, you can contact the school and we will be here to support you.
Thank you for your partnership!
Sincerely,
The Iveland Staff
Arrival
- All students must enter the building on their own. Parents/guardians will not be allowed to enter the building with their child (ren). There will be staff there to assist your children if they need support finding a class, or if there is another need.
- Students may enter the building between 8:15 and 8:40 a.m. After 8:40, students will be considered tardy. Students will go to the office to get a tardy pass. Parents must walk their child into the office to sign them in as tardy. Please arrive on time.
- There is no supervision for students before 8:15 a.m. Students will not be able to enter the building. Please do not drop off your child before 8:15.
- Students who are arriving by car should be dropped off in the back of the building via the south driveway. The car rider line will operate until 8:35 a.m. when students are considered tardy. Please walk your child to the front door if they are tardy.
- There are two lines of cars in the back of the building dropping off students. Please follow the direction of the staff member on duty. If a car is in the line closest to the building, children should exit from the driver’s side of the car and go directly into the building using the southeast exterior door. If a car is in the line closest to the playground, children should exit from the passengers’ side of the car and go to the staff member on duty who will safely escort children to the other side of the car lines.
- Children should be able to exit their car without the assistance of an adult. Family members should stay in their car in order for the drop-off line to flow.
- Only buses and daycare vans will be allowed in the front driveways and parking lot. The bus line is in the front of the building. Only students who are eligible for bus service may ride the bus. The school office can inform you if your address is eligible.
- Students will be dismissed from the bus one row at a time.
- Walkers may enter the front of the building with the bus riders or the back of the building with the car riders.
- For the safety of your child and all children, please follow all policies and directions of staff members. No child should be dropped off in a manner other than the described procedure mentioned above.
Attendance
- For your children’s educational success, it is extremely important to be engaged in Iveland classes and coursework every day.
- We recognize that there will be times when your child is ill. On these occasions, we ask you to keep your child at home. When your child is experiencing fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or other unexplained symptoms that require a doctor visit, please keep your child home.
- Children are expected to be at school 90% of the days of attendance. A doctor’s note or other form of proper documentation is needed for an absence to be classified as excused.
- Please expect to receive letters and phone calls should your child fall below the 90% attendance mark.
- If your child needs to be absent, please call the school attendance line at (314) 493-6331.
Behavior
- Iveland is a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support school (PBIS). We expect students to be respectful, responsible, cooperative, peaceful and positive.
- We will proactively teach social skills, expectations and routines throughout the school day and year.
- Our Ritenour Parent-Student Handbook outlines disciplinary offenses and potential consequences. That handbook can be found on the Ritenour website.
- We will make every effort to be positive and proactive with your child in helping him/her develop socially, emotionally and behaviorally. We need your help as parents to model and reinforce school-appropriate behaviors, as well. Following school rules, such as arrival and dismissal procedures, is one way to model appropriate behavior for your child.
- If you need assistance in supporting your child’s social, emotional or behavioral development, we have interventions both in the school and resources outside the school that can provide additional support. Please contact our school counselor for more information.
Bicycles
- Students in grades 4-5 may ride bicycles to school.
- Students are legally required to wear safety helmets when riding their bikes to school.
- Students riding bikes will be dismissed after parent pick up has ended.
- Students should walk their bikes on school property, park their bikes in the bike rack and attach the bike to the rack with a safety lock. They should walk their bikes off property before riding as well.
- The school does not assume responsibility for damages, losses or theft of bikes and related equipment.
- Skateboards, in-line skates, roller blades and scooters are not allowed on school property at any time.
Birthday Treats
- If a parent chooses to contact the teacher and arrange to bring a birthday treat to school, they may. This is meant to be a snack celebration. If you choose to do this, please do not bring any other items besides a snack. This would include balloons, presents, flowers.
- Birthday treats should be dropped off in the school office before the second recess of the day.
- Birthday treats will be given out at that time and students will not go outside for recess.
- We do have students in each classroom who have food allergies. Treats must be in store bought packages that provide access to the ingredient label. You must also provide any needed serving utensils. Teachers do not have the capability to leave the class to prepare treats. Please be considerate in choosing items.
Breakfast
- If your child is eating breakfast, please have them to school between 8:15 and 8:25 a.m.
- Breakfast and lunch are free for all Ritenour students every school day.
- All students eating breakfast will eat in their classrooms. Breakfasts will be a Grab & Go container that children will pick up and carry to their classroom.
Cellphones
- Students’ cellphones/communication devices should not be visible at Iveland.
- If a student has a cellphone out during the school day, or if a cellphone is causing a disruption to the class, the classroom teacher will hold onto that cellphone until arrangements can be made with a parent to pick up the phone.
- All rooms at Iveland have phones for emergency purposes. Students are not permitted to make calls or text during the school day.
- Classroom teachers will provide students with a space to lock up cellphones in the morning and return them to students at the end of school.
- The school cannot be responsible for any lost, stolen or broken personal devices.
- As a part of Ritenour School District’s policy, students may not record or take photos of other students using personal cellphones on school premises.
- Please talk to your child about appropriate use of cellphones both at school and when involving other students in texting outside of school.
- State testing prohibits students from having access to any unauthorized technology. Students will be asked to turn in cellphones during this time.
Classroom Visits
- Visits to classrooms will be limited to current district policies.
- All visits to the classroom must be prearranged with the school principal.
- There is district paperwork that must be completed before visiting any classrooms.
- We have a legal obligation to keep student academic progress confidential and provide a nondisruptive educational environment. Please note that confidentiality regarding our students is paramount and visitors to the classroom must agree to respect the rights of the school staff, as well as the students, and refrain from sharing any information observed during the visit. Please do not interrupt the teacher. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the teacher to have a conversation during noninstructional hours.
- Teachers are busy instructing students during the day and will not have the opportunity to respond to parents while they are in charge of supervising students. You can leave staff members messages on their email or voicemail and we will contact you at the earliest convenience.
Communication
- Please make sure your phone numbers and email addresses are up to date with the office, and notify the office of any changes. It is extremely important that we have a way to contact you should an emergency arise.
- Weekly communication will be sent home through the classroom teachers via Seesaw (grades K-1) and Class Dojo (grades 2-5).
- School communication includes our monthly newsletter, Facebook updates, Peachjar electronic flyers, and text/email/phone message communication blasts.
Dismissal
- Dismissal begins at 3:35 p.m. Please pick up your child on time. Dismissal ends at 3:50.
- Students who ride the bus should display the same behaviors as they would when riding in the family’s car. Parents or guardians must be at the bus stop to pick up students in grades K-1.
- Students must live more than one mile away to be eligible to ride the bus. The school office has addresses that qualify.
- Students who do not maintain proper behavior on the bus can be temporarily or permanently suspended from riding the bus.
- Any child traveling in a car on the ride home should be directed to the car rider line. Parents line up in their cars going south on Bryant or west on Eastbrook, from that intersection. Staff members will direct the lines of traffic. Once on the blacktop, teachers will bring your child to the car. Please follow the directions of all staff members.
- We will dismiss students by the method you sign up for in the parent portal. Any daily changes must be communicated to the school office before 3 p.m. so that we can communicate to the child’s teacher. For safety reasons, changes in dismissal need to be communicated by the guardian to the office.
- To ensure safety, walkers will be dismissed after the buses have left, and after a majority of the car traffic has left the campus. Parents can pick up walkers at the southwest door in the front of the building. Students continuing home without parent accompaniment will be walked to the edge of the school property by an adult who will assist students in crossing the street at the crosswalk. We will not dismiss walkers to parents who are motioning for their children to walk across the middle of the street.
- The YMCA also runs the YClub program for students before and after school. This program is run independently from Ritenour. The phone number for this program is (314) 962-9450.
- Several area daycare centers also pick up students. Ritenour does not promote or endorse any specific daycare provider but can give you the names of centers transporting students to school.
Dress Code
- Gym shoes should be worn daily since students will go outside and access the playground equipment and/or play athletic games at recess.
- Students should not wear clothes that are offensive or disruptive to the educational environment. Clothes should be school appropriate.
- Hats are not permitted to be worn during the school day per district policy, unless a sponsored spirit day is happening.
- Please see the Ritenour Parent Student Handbook for more information
Early Dismissal
- Instruction is occurring in classrooms until the end of the day, so please make every effort to keep your student in class until the end of the day.
- The office will not call students out of the classrooms after 3 p.m. unless administrators have approved of the dismissal prior to that day. Calls to classrooms at the end of the day are disruptive to the classroom environment.
Head Lice
The National Association of School Nurses and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following practices regarding head lice:
- Students should not be excluded from school due to head lice.
- The school should provide parents with information to support in treating head lice if needed.
Head lice do not jump. Students can only contract lice from direct head-to-head contact.
Independence
Developing independence is a process that begins now and continues until students reach maturity. Some ways to encourage your students to become independent are:
- Make sure they can button, zip, tie shoes and develop other self-care skills.
- Encourage students to attempt homework and coursework on their own.
- Allow students to exit and enter their car and take on/off their seat belt without assistance.
Join us at Family Events
- We will provide to you a calendar of family events that you can participate in with your family.
- We are always looking for parent input. Please let us know if you are available to volunteer and help give input to events!
Keep all unnecessary personal belongings at home
- Every year we have students who bring toys and other items to school that can become disruptive to the educational process. We ask that they only bring to school what directly relates to their school work.
- Please check your child’s backpack daily.
- The school cannot be held responsible for items brought from home that are lost, stolen or broken during the day.
Lunch
- School lunch is free-for-all students.
- Students will have three options to choose from at lunch.
- Please let the school nurse know if you have any food allergies so that we can accommodate meals.
- Students may bring a water bottle.
Meeting with the Teacher or Principals
- Staff members are always willing to meet with parents to review student learning or help resolve a situation.
- Please note that staff have supervision and other such requirements during the day. We want to be welcoming and supportive. Calling and making an appointment is required to ensure that the staff member is available and able to give you the attention you deserve.
Nurse
- We have a full-time school nurse in the building.
- If your child has an allergy or medical condition that requires medication or a nurse’s attention, please take time to meet with the nurse. She will help develop a plan or help fill out any necessary paperwork needed to administer medication.
Outside Recess
- We will make every attempt to allow students time outside daily. Research shows that recess helps social and physical development. It also provides an opportunity for students to release energy to help them focus on afternoon studies.
- Students will stay inside if there is precipitation, or the wind chill/ temperature goes below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. We also pay close attention to the heat index/hot temperatures that also may limit the time students spend outside. There may be other situations that require administration to keep students inside, as well.
- Please make sure your child dresses appropriately for the current weather conditions.
- If your child has medical reasons they need to be inside, please contact the school nurse.
- If your child does not have a coat, we do have resources. Please let a counselor or your child’s classroom teacher know.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Report Cards are standards based, which means that students are evaluated based on their progress toward year-end goals.
- Information about parent-teacher conferences will be forthcoming.
Parties
- Students will have two parties in their classroom each year – a Winter and a Spring Party. Families may be asked to donate items to support the celebrations. We appreciate your donations.
- At Iveland, we refrain from class celebrations recognizing any one single holiday. Our student population is very diverse and our students and families come to us representing many different cultures and beliefs.
Partnership
When we work together, your child will make the most progress possible.
Our parent expectations include:
- Ensuring your child has a regular bedtime and sleeping pattern
- Providing a quiet, conducive spot for homework and virtual coursework during Alternate Method of Instruction (AMI) days
- Talking to your child about their school day
- Assisting your child with skills when needed
- Staying informed about school and classroom events and projects
- Following building expectations
- Working with staff members in respectful, productive ways
The expectations you can hold us to include:
- Providing daily lessons incorporating reading, writing, math, science, social studies and social/emotional skills
- Caring about you and your child
- Providing classroom communities that seek to engage and invite children
- Providing a safe learning environment
- Providing quality instruction
- Recognizing and giving extra support when needed
- Communicating regularly with you
Reading
- The only way a student becomes a better reader is to practice reading.
- Please set aside time nightly to read to or with your child. Most teachers ask students to read or be read to for 20 additional minutes nightly.
- Students whose parents read with them nightly do better academically.
Safety
- All visitors to the building must report to the office, no matter what time of day.
- We will ask any person picking up a student to be able to present a valid ID to ensure that the person has permission to pick up the child.
- Throughout the year, we will conduct emergency drills as a part of our district and school safety plans. These drills include fire, tornado, earthquake and intruder drills.
- We will make every effort to provide your child with a safe classroom and school environment.
Teacher Selection
- We have 100 percent highly-qualified teachers for every class at Iveland Elementary.
- Each year in May, we go through an arduous process of developing classes for the following year that will be beneficial to all students. If you have information to share about what kind of learner your child is that would help us make a good decision, please share that information with us.
- We do not take parent requests for specific teachers, but will consider what environment best matches a students’ learning needs.
Technology
- Students will be lent a Ritenour Chromebook that is specific to them.
- Students are expected to take care of Chromebooks and accessories. Any damage beyond normal wear and tear will be assessed through the Information Technology (IT) department for damage costs.
- Students may not use Chromebook devices either to take photographs or recordings of other students or staff at school.
Telephone Usage
- Each classroom has a telephone for the teacher to be able to contact parents, and the school office in the case of emergency.
- These telephones are not meant for student use. Students will only be allowed to use telephones in case of emergency and under the supervision of a staff member.
- Please make after school arrangements for your child prior to the beginning of the school day.