Resources

Annual AHERA Notification

Bullying Policy and Bullying Report Form

CA Cellphone and Internet Safety Clearinghouse

Collegiate Academies (CA) has established this Cell Phone and Internet Safety Clearinghouse in response to revisions to R.S. 17:409, and R.S. 17:3399.16.

CA Cell Phone and Internet Clearinghouse Disclaimer:

Collegiate Academies does not endorse particular programs or the totality of resources and views contained within these sites. For CA’s policies regarding the acceptable use of technology, please reference the CA Scholar Technology Use Agreement.

Complaint, Grievance, and Information Requests Procedure

Any student, parent, or legal guardian may make a complaint or request additional information from the school regarding an incident or action for any reason, including to appeal a disciplinary decision. We believe that strong relationships and frequent communication between students, parents, and our teachers and school based staff are critical to ensuring the success of our students. We also believe that collaboration between these parties is often the quickest and best way to resolve issues. Complainants should first schedule a conference with the immediately involved school staff member to discuss the issue. For example, if the complaint is regarding math class, the parent should contact the math teacher. Collegiate Academies reserves the right to redirect complainant(s) to the appropriate personnel if this step has not been followed.

CA has established the following procedures to solve disputes or complaints in a fair and prompt manner. The formal procedures described below may be implemented only after the parties have engaged in an earnest attempt to resolve matter(s) informally. At each step in the process the responsible parties will verify that all previous steps have been followed and documented. Collegiate Academies reserves the right to redirect complainant(s) to the appropriate personnel if the following procedure has not been followed.

A student or parent/guardian of a student who has a question or concerns may choose to seek the help of the building administrator or another adult with whom they trust, such as a teacher, counselor, nurse, psychologist.

1. If satisfaction cannot be achieved through this discussion, the student or parent should send a written complaint or request for information to the school compliance officer, within 5 working days.

The written complaint or request should include:

the issue/concern/complaint information requested
What steps have been taken to resolve the situation
the reason for the complainants dissatisfaction with the actions already taken or information provided
proposed solutions

The compliance officer will commence an effective, thorough, objective and complete investigation of the complaint/request within ten (10) working days after receipt of the complaint. The compliance officer will consult with all individuals reasonably believed to have relevant information, including the complainant and any alleged violator(s), any witnesses to the conduct, and any victims of similar conduct that the investigator reasonably believes may exist. The investigation shall be free of stereotypical assumptions about either party. The investigation shall be carried on discreetly, maintaining confidentiality insofar as possible while still conducting an effective and thorough investigation. Throughout the entire investigation process, due process rights will be upheld. No reprisals will be taken or permitted for truthfully asserting a complaint.

The compliance officer shall make a written report summarizing the results of the investigation and proposed disposition of the matter, and shall provide copies to the complainant, the alleged violator, the Principal and, as appropriate, to all others directly concerned within fifteen (15) working days after receiving the complaint.

2. If complainant(s) conclude that the initial response/course of action was insufficient, the complainant may request that a meeting may then be scheduled with the Principal.

Prior to the meeting the Principal will first investigate the matter to ensure that Steps 1 and 2 have been appropriately documented and completed.
After the meeting the Principal will record the complaint and/or appeal and will address any concerns regarding appeal of a disciplinary decision, or any action or inaction taken by the school administration, within five (5) working days.

3. If the complainant is not satisfied with the decision of the Principal, an appeal in writing may be made to Collegiate Academies’ Chief Executive Office, Jerel Bryant, within ten (10) days of receipt of the decision.

Appeals may be submitted via email to jbryant@collegiateacademies.org or mailed to:
Collegiate Academies
Attn: Jerel Bryant
PO Box 5367
New Orleans, LA 70153

Within thirty (30) working days the Chief Executive Officer will investigate the complaint and may conduct a hearing to gather additional information before issuing a decision. The decision of the Chief Executive Officer will be final. The Board of Directors does not consider individual parent grievances except in cases related to the alleged violation of law.

Note: that the above procedures are intended to provide a default process for seeking information or making a complaint where other policies or legal requirements do not apply; they do not supersede any other statutorily-mandated procedures in place for receiving, investigating, and resolving reports made pursuant to specific state or federal requirements. These include, but are not limited to, reports made pursuant to Louisiana’s bullying and harassment laws and complaints of disability-based discrimination.

Disability Discrimination and Special Education Complaint Procedure

Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS) Hotline

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Parent Engagement Policy

The staff of each Collegiate Academies school will communicate, partner, and engage regularly with parents and guardians, and we encourage parents and guardians to contact us whenever they have questions and concerns. We are all part of a team and can only succeed when students, staff, and families are communicating openly and frequently. There are several ways we will communicate throughout the year:

Calls, Texts, and Emails to/from staff: We will send home a contact list with the cell phone numbers and email addresses of all staff at the start of the year; you can also pick this list up in our main office. If you reach out to a staff member, they will reply within 48 hours. Similarly, your child’s advisor, teachers, and school administrators will reach out to you. If the message requires a response, please reply within 48 hours.
Calls to/from the main office: The main office will be open from 8:30 am - 4 pm. We will do our best to answer any phone calls that come in during that time. If we are unable to answer the phone, please leave a message and we will reply within 24 hours. You will also receive automated phone calls from the main office to inform you of important events and updates.
Written Communication: Each Collegiate Academies school will regularly communicate with families about field trips, events, and other important information. We ask that you read all notes sent home from school and promptly return any permission slips or forms.
SchoolRunner: SchoolRunner is a website that gives families live updates about their child’s attendance, grades, and behavior at school. Families will receive usernames, passwords, and information about how to access SchoolRunner at the start of the year.
School Website and Social Media: Our school website, collegiateacademies.org, will have the most up-to-date calendar and announcements, as well as digital copies of important documents. You can also follow us on Instagram to see your student in action!
Visits: To arrange a visit to the school, please contact the main office or your child’s advisor.
School-Wide Meetings and Events: We host a variety of in-person or online meetings each year to build connections, share information, and ask for your feedback about school programming and the family engagement structures that work best for you and your child. These are typically held in the evenings and other convenient times for families. You may also provide suggestions at any point during the year by scheduling a meeting or visit to the school.
Specific Meetings: If the school requests a meeting with you and your child, we need to discuss something important with you. If you would like to meet with a specific teacher or administrator, please reach out to that staff member.

We hope that you will openly share all feedback with the school and its staff so that we can now celebrate successes and work to improve. If you have a concern about a school policy, academic grade, disciplinary decision, or anything else, we ask that you take the time to reflect on it and then contact the school. We welcome the conversation and understand that you have very strong feelings about your child’s education and experience at school.

We promise to treat you and your concern with respect. If a parent/guardian/family member is unable to have a respectful conversation with a Collegiate staff member, we will reschedule the meeting for another time so that we can act in the best interest of our community. We reserve the right to ban family members from campus in extreme cases. In these situations, we will work with you to ensure that you can still actively engage in your child’s education.

We welcome ongoing feedback and partnership in further developing this Parent and Family Engagement Policy. Please reach out to your principal or the main office if you have suggestions. We will also ask for your input at regular parent and family events (e.g. report card nights).

Online Homework Assistance

National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for School Year 2020-2021.

We are pleased to inform you that Collegiate Baton Rouge, G.W. Carver Collegiate Academy, Livingston Collegiate, Opportunities Academy, Rosenwald Collegiate Academy, and Sci Academy will be implementing a new option available to schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for School Year 2019-2020.

Great news for you and your students! All enrolled students of the school sites named above are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge to your household each day of the 2019-2020 school year. No further action is required of you. Your child(ren) will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application.

If we can be of any further assistance, please contact us at Collegiate Academies Attention: Justin Pickel, Managing Director of Operations, 504-352-6438.

Sincerely,
Justin Pickel, Managing Director of Operations

2020-2021 CEP Media Release

2020-2021 CEP Letter to Households

Collegiate_Academies 2019-20 CEP Letter to Households

Collegiate Academies 2019-20 CEP Media Release

Non-Discrimination Policy

Parent Bill of Rights and Parental Access to Instructional Materials

Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools

A. The legislature finds all of the following:

(1) That parental involvement is a significant factor in increasing student achievement.

(2) That access to student information encourages greater parental involvement.

B. Parents of public school children who have not reached the age of majority shall have all of the following rights:

(1) To examine the textbooks, curriculum, and supplemental material used in their child's classroom.

(2) To inspect their child's school records, and to receive a copy of their child's records within ten business days of submitting a written request, either electronically or on paper. Parents shall not be required to appear in person for the purposes of requesting or validating a request for their child's school records. There shall be no charge for a parent to receive such records electronically. Any charges for a paper copy of such records shall be reasonable and set forth in the official rules and regulations of the school governing authority. School records shall include all of the following:

(a) Academic records, including but not limited to results of interim or benchmark assessments.

(b) Medical or health records.

(c) Records of any mental health counseling.

(d) Records of any vocational counseling.

(e) Records of discipline.

(f) Records of attendance.

(g) Records associated with a child's screening for learning challenges, exceptionalities, plans for an Individualized Education Program, or Individual Accommodation Plan.

(h) Any other student-specific file, document, or other materials that are maintained by the school.

(3) To be notified when medical services are being offered to their child, except where emergency medical treatment is required. In cases where emergency medical treatment is required, the parent shall be notified as soon as practicable after the treatment is rendered.

(4) To be notified if a criminal action is deemed to have been committed against their child or by their child.

(5) To be notified if law enforcement personnel question their child, except in cases where the parent has been accused of abusing or neglecting the child.

(6) To be notified if their child is taken or removed from the school campus without parental permission.

(7) That the school shall not discriminate against their child based upon the sincerely held religious beliefs of the child's family.

(8) To receive written notice and the option to opt their child out of any surveys that include questions about any of the following:

(a) The student's sexual experiences or attractions.

(b) The student's family beliefs, morality, religion, or political affiliations.

(c) Any mental health or psychological problems of the student or a family member.

(9) To receive written notice and have the option to opt their child out of instruction on topics associated with sexual activity.

(10) To receive from the school the annual school calendar, no later than thirty days prior to the beginning of the school year, and to be notified in writing as soon as feasible of any revisions to such calendar. Such calendar shall be posted to the school's website and shall include, at a minimum, student attendance days and any event that requires parent or student attendance outside of normal school days or hours.

(11) To receive in writing each year or to view on the school's website a comprehensive listing of any required fee and its purpose and use and a description of how economic hardships may be addressed.

(12) To receive in writing each year or to view on the school's website a description of the school's required uniform for students.

(13) To be informed if their child's academic performance is such that it could threaten the child's ability to be promoted to the next grade level and to be offered an in-person meeting with the child's classroom teacher and school leader to discuss any resources or strategies available to support and encourage the child's academic improvement.

C. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, a public school shall not be required to release any records or information regarding a student's medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an investigation of child abuse or neglect conducted by any law enforcement agency or the Department of Children and Family Services where the parent is the target of the investigation, unless the parent has obtained a court order.

Parental Access to Instructional Materials

A. A parent of a child attending a public elementary or secondary school shall be entitled to access to instructional materials as provided in this Section.

B. A parent is entitled to:

(1) Review instructional materials used by or administered to the parent's child.

(2) Review any survey before the survey is administered or distributed by a school to a student.

C. Each local school board shall adopt rules and policies for each school to make instructional materials readily available for review as provided in this Section. The rules may specify reasonable hours for review. The rules shall provide that the school shall provide access to instructional materials to a parent upon request. If a parent requests a paper copy of material that can be readily copied using school equipment, such copy shall be provided. The rules shall establish reasonable and customary fees to be collected by the school to cover the cost of providing such copies. No provision of law or school board policy shall prohibit or interfere with a parent's ability to make his own copies on school premises via mobile or other device. The principal of each school shall ensure that the school complies with such rules.

D. For purposes of this Section:

(1) "Instructional materials" means content that conveys the knowledge or skills of a subject in the school curriculum through a medium or a combination of media for conveying information to a student. It also includes any nonsecure test, nonsecure assessment, or survey administered to a student. The term also includes books, supplementary materials, teaching aids, computer software, magnetic media, DVD, CD-ROM, computer courseware, online material, information, or services, or an electronic medium or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process.

(2) "Parent" means the parent or legal guardian of a child.

(3) "Survey" means any evaluative instrument or questionnaire that is not an assessment of academic knowledge, skills, or abilities, administered as part of a state, national, or international assessment or by itself.

Parent Notice re: Storage and Administration of Epinephrine

As required by state law, Collegiate Academies shall maintain a supply of auto-injectable epinephrine in a secure location in each classroom assigned to a student who is deemed by their physician to be at high risk for anaphylactic reaction and incapable of self-administration of auto-injectable epinephrine.

If your child is at high risk for anaphylactic reaction and incapable of self-administration of auto-injectable epinephrine, please contact our front office to schedule a meeting with our school nurse and a member of our school operations team. In that meeting, you will be asked to provide the appropriate medical documentation, give written authorization for the student to be administered the medication, and provide a supply of auto-injectable epinephrine to be kept in each classroom.

The teacher in each classroom where auto-injectable epinephrine is stored shall be provided information regarding accessing and administering auto-injectable epinephrine, the signs and symptoms of anaphylactic reactions, and specific information regarding condition, care, and treatment of the student assigned to the classroom who is at high risk of anaphylactic reaction. The school and its employees shall incur no liability as a result of any injury sustained by the student from the good faith administration of auto-injectable epinephrine.

Public Records Request

Pupil Progression Plans

Restraint and Seclusion Policy

Report Fraud

Special Education FAQ

Special Education Advisory Council Annual Reports

Special Education Program Descriptions

Summer Feeding Media Release

Student Data Policy

Pursuant to ACT 677 of the 2014 Louisiana Legislative Session, Collegiate Academies is posting information regarding the transfer of students’ personally identifiable information (PII) to private entities that provide services to our schools. The links below identify the entities with whom we have contracts or relationships, pursuant to which, PII is transferred.

By clicking on the name of each entity, you will find contract information for Collegiate Academies and the entity pursuant to the requirements of ACT 837 of the 2014 Legislative session. Additionally, you will also find a cover sheet providing high level information regarding Collegiate Academies’ relationship with the particular entity.

The goal of sharing this information is to give parents and guardians confidence in the proper handling of their child’s personally identifiable information. If you have any questions, please contact Justin Pickel, CA’s Managing Director of Operations, at jpickel@collegiateacademies.org.

CA PII Contract Profiles