Title IX Policy & Student Complaint Form

Excel Academy’s Title IX Policy can be found here.

Students may use this form to report instances of bullying or harassment.

Public Notification

Excel Academy Charter Schools participates in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP). We are considered a School Food Authority (SFA) and participate in the Child Nutrition Program (CNP) by offering free meals to our students regardless of the eligibility status through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

This notification, in order to be compliant with federal and local regulations, is required by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to notify the community (public) about the availability of Excel Academy Charter Schools.

Please contact info@excelacademy.org with any questions.

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the State or local Agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Excel Academy Family Engagement / Parent and Guardian Involvement Policy

Objective

With the interest of student achievement in mind, we have developed the following Family Engagement Policy. The goal of this policy is to provide parents and guardians with the information, resources, and opportunities necessary to support their students and to monitor their progress.

Development and Review

As a matter of policy, we will review this Family Engagement Policy each year. We will also request recommendations for revisions from parents and guardians annually.

School Policy: Parent and Guardian Input

At the beginning of each school year, the school will oversee the organization of parent councils or groups for input. The councils or groups will be open to participation from all parents and guardians of children attending the school and will meet regularly. The councils will provide parents with the opportunity to plan and participate in school-wide events as well as provide parents with the opportunity to provide input and feedback on important school policies.

Keeping Parents Informed and Involved

In order to ensure that parents have the information necessary to monitor the performance of their students, the school will take the following measures each year:

  • Distribute a Student and Family Handbook to each newly enrolled family describing school policies and procedures in organized and detailed fashion, and annually providing an “Acknowledgement of Access to Handbook” form to all families to verify the availability and location of the Student and Family Handbook
  • Conduct mandatory orientation sessions prior to the start of each school year for new students and their families. During these orientation sessions, a representative of the school will review the most important elements of the Student and Family Handbook with new families;
  • Provide a regularly distributed progress report;
  • Provide parents and guardians the opportunity to meet and confer with each of their child’s teachers during parent conference sessions scheduled following the issuance of each of the report cards; and
  • Provide parents and guardians with the telephone extensions and email addresses of each of their child’s teachers and pledge that all telephone calls received by the school by the close of the school day will be returned within 24 hours.

School-Parent Compact

All parents and guardians acknowledge receipt of the School-Student-Family Accountability Contract in conjunction with their acknowledgement of the Student & Family Handbook each year.

Parents Right To Know

Parents and Guardians are informed that they have the right to know:

  • Whether the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;
  • Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;
  • The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, including the field of discipline of the certification or degree; and
  • Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

Notice of Filing

Excel is posting notice of filings of a labor condition application for two H-1B employees as a High School Multi-language Learner Specialist and a High School Spanish Teacher.

Public records requests

Public records may be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA), or the Massachusetts Public Records Law by contacting Excel Academy’s Public Records Access Officer: Arthur Kaynor, Excel Academy’s Director of Development and Governance, info@excelacademy.org.

DESE Tiered Focused Monitoring

Excel is participating in DESE Focused Tier Monitoring in January 2020. Press releases can be viewed here in Spanish & English.