School Life

Our sliding-scale policy acts as a cultural and economic equalizer by making it possible for families to pay tuition based on their individual means. Revolution School chose to adopt this model because it has been successfully used to promote diversity in schools around the world. With a sliding-scale model, each family contributes according to their means. The goal is to promote fairness and equity by allowing families in all socioeconomic brackets access to a Revolution School education. Tuition typically covers the cost of books, classroom materials, and fieldwork experiences.

Inclement Weather, School Closings, & Emergency Policies

Changes to the regular operating status of Revolution School will be communicated through our Educate Portal. Classes may take place virtually if the school is closed unexpectedly.

Regarding weather-related changes, Revolution School follows the lead of the School District of Philadelphia; it closes, opens late, or dismisses early whenever the School District does so in the event of inclement weather, with the exception of heat-related closings. KYW/CBS-3 is the media outlet for school-closing information. Families are encouraged to register with KYW/CBS3 (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/school-closings/1947460/) to receive text alerts.

Early Closings Early closings will be determined by the administration and communicated via the Educate Portal. Parents must submit an Emergency Dismissal Form before the first day of school.

After-School and Evening Events When school is closed for a weather emergency, after-school and evening events are canceled. Administrative Leadership, however, may make some exceptions to this policy. Information about exceptions will be communicated directly to the participants through the Educate portal.

Area-Wide Emergency In the event of an area-wide crisis, parents will receive communication through the Educate platform, which notifies families through email and text with instructions on next steps. Depending on the situation, a scenario could occur where parents may not be able to pick up their children right away. In such situations, the School follows protocols stated in the School’s Crisis Management Plan.

Principles of Community

At Revolution School, we commit to creating a joyful, empowering, diverse, inclusive, and supportive community. A fundamental principle of Revolution School is individual responsibility. All members of the School community should accept responsibility for their actions, consider and account for the ethical implications of their conduct, and seek the courage to do what’s right.

The Revolution School values respect for one another and respect for the community. Community members should strive to do the following:

● Show integrity by honoring commitments and demonstrating honesty, fairness, respect, and courtesy at all times. ● Strive for inclusiveness by avoiding cliques, elitism, and other forms of exclusivity. Work together to communicate openly and constructively. ● Practice healthy decision-making through personal choices.

● Value and respect independent thinking, appreciate individual and cultural differences, and reject all prejudices.

City as the Classroom

At Revolution School, faculty leverage the city as a classroom space. The academic program links student learning to our local communities. Students spend significant instructional time working outside the school building.

Advisory

The mission of Revolution’s advisory program is to cultivate connections between Advisors and students to guide students in their growth and development. Advisors work closely with students and their parents/guardians to keep them informed of students’ academic standing, health and well-being. Advisors are students’ advocates and the first point of contact for students and parents/guardians with questions or concerns about curricular and/or extracurricular issues that may arise. Advisors meet regularly with their advisees, both individually and in small advisory groups.

Advisory Team Director of Student Life & Academics, Jeanne Mulvanerty ● Patrick Cassidy: Grades 9/10 ● Dirk Parker: Grades 9/10 ● Joel Dankoff: Grades 11/12 ● Jeanne Mulvanerty: Grades 11/12

Partnering with Families

Our students’ success at Revolution School depends on parent/guardian support of the school's philosophy, methods, objectives, and policies. This includes ethical, academic, behavioral, dress, conduct, and disciplinary methods. Parents/guardians are encouraged to monitor student progress and keep in regular contact with students’ teachers, including attending mandatory meetings called by the school.

The following information should support the partnership between home and school. The school relies on contact information provided by parents to communicate important information such as a student’s illness or injury, snow closings, events, and family gatherings.

Urgent Notification System: Revolution School uses Educate as an urgent notification system to notify family members and guardians about emergencies. The contact information used is the primary cell phone and email address provided when families update student records in TADS.

Updating Email, Address, and Phone: To ensure timely receipt of communications, parents are responsible for submitting changes to their contact and emergency information by notifying Jeanne Mulvanerty, Director of Student Life & Academics jeanne@revolutionschool.org. All parent information is confidential and can only be accessed by individuals with authorization from the school.

Social Media: Revolution School administers social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Links to the school’s social media channels can be found on the website.

Directory: The directory enables members of the School community to connect with other students and their parents. The Directory, print and online, may not be used for any kind of solicitation or to

circulate announcements about events except those sponsored by the School. You can access the directory via your Educate dashboard.

Communicating about Student Concerns: Inevitably, questions and issues arise during the school year that parents will need to have answered and resolved. To foster self-advocacy, we recommend students contact their teachers or advisors with questions and concerns. We also invite parents to contact students’ teachers and advisors by email as needed. Messages will be returned within 24 hours.

Attendance Students must attend school in person unless they have a health reason that precludes them from doing so. Virtual instruction must, however, be approved in advance by the Head of School.

Tardiness, convenience, or personal preference are not valid reasons for requesting virtual instruction in lieu of in-person attendance.

Students participating in an after-school activity must have attended a full day of school on the day of the activity. Exceptions for previously scheduled commitments must be approved by the Head of School.

Since student success depends on each individual’s full engagement with classes and activities at Revolution School, parents/guardians should note the school calendar on page 3 and refrain from scheduling family events and travel on school days.

If a student must miss school for any reason, the absence must be reported by email to the student’s advisor by 8:30am. The School may ask for a physician's note in support of prolonged or frequent absences. A student shall deliver a note describing the reason for each such absence signed by his or her parent/guardian. Students are responsible for contacting teachers about missed class time and assignments.

Arriving Late Students are always considered late if they arrive after 8:30am. If a student will be tardy or absent, parents/guardians must email Jeanne Mulvanerty at jeanne@revolutionschool.org. In support of our place-based program, which often takes students outside the school walls, students must arrive on time.

Absences and tardies in excess of three (3) days per quarter may necessitate a parent/student check-in meeting with the Advisor, Director of Student Life & Academics, and/or Head of School.

Leaving Early Revolution School asks that families avoid scheduling medical, dental and/or other personal appointments during school hours whenever possible. In particular, avoid appointments on days that students are scheduled to be outside the school.

On occasions when a student needs to be dismissed early, parents must send an email to the student’s advisor requesting an early dismissal and indicating the time of departure. Whenever possible, please notify the advisor 24 hours in advance.

Medical Leave Policy Parents/guardians should promptly notify the school of a student’s medical leave extending beyond 5 days. Advisors and the Director of Student Life & Academics will work with the