School Policy Guide

If your child will be absent from school due to illness or is arriving late, please be sure to call our school’s safe arrival phone line to inform us. You can leave a message with your child’s name, grade, homeroom teacher, and reason for the absence or tardiness. The safe arrival phone number is 608-204-4042.

Attendance at school is important and a key contribution to students’ success as a learner. When a student is absent frequently, they miss out on important learning happening. The maximum number of school days a student can miss is only ten days in a semester. Tardies also add up to absences.

If you need assistance in getting your child to school, please reach out to us. Our school social worker is here to assist you.

Lapham uses a Positive Behavior Support model that emphasizes expectations through our Five Finger Promise. This includes: I am safe, I am a learner, I am a good friend, I am respectful and I have fun. We consistently support social emotional learning through relationship building and emphasis themes of learning each month that focus on social emotional learning standards connected to the Second Step curriculum.

In the 2019-20 school year, we incorporated the Standard Response Protocol into our emergency procedures in line with guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of School Safety and national recommendations on school safety. It incorporates many of the concepts we already use but offers more clarity and consistency in terminology among schools and first responders across the country. Each school year, students will receive age-appropriate instruction on what to do in each of these scenarios through lesson plans, slide presentations, class discussions, videos, and more.

We strive for our school community to be one where families feel welcomed, valued, and connected in meaningful ways that positively impact the education of our students. Throughout the school year we plan a variety of family friendly activities and encourage you to be an active member in our school community!

Field trips are scheduled by individual grade levels/classrooms with notices and details sent in advance of any upcoming trip.

To ensure the safety of your child, please send a note in advance to your child’s teacher or the office. We require parents to come into our office and sign out the student. We will call the classroom to have the student sent down to the office to meet the parents. Please remember anyone picking up a student must be authorized and listed in Infinite Campus. Once school is in session, no non-school staff (including parents) will be allowed to go to a classroom unaccompanied and pick up a child.

Families play a key role in school safety. We believe that it is beneficial for families and the community to engage in our students’ education. We also want to provide a safe and comfortable environment for our students to learn. If you plan to visit, please pre-arrange your visit with the classroom teacher. The teacher will communicate with the office about your visit. You’ll find more information on district safety and security, including how we communicate with you in an emergency, at madison.k12.wi.us/safety. Thank you for your partnership in creating a safe and positive school environment. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any reason.

Students are encouraged to leave personal property such as toys and especially electronic devices (iPod, cell phone, etc.) at home. Having non-essential items at school interferes with learning and are at risk to be lost/misplaced.

There is no playground supervision before school. Please do not drop off your child prior to 7:30 a.m. as there is no supervision. All students can enter the building beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Parking is a challenge around Lapham, and student safety is our number one concern. To assist us with maintaining safety, please follow these guidelines:

• The main entrance to the building is Door 2, on Dayton Street. Door 2 is the entrance closest to the playground.

• The parking lot on Mifflin Street is for buses only, there is no parking or drop off in the lot. 

• Ingersoll is for DROP OFF ONLY and no parking is allowed in the circle drive.

• If you need to park, please do so on Dayton Street, Ingersoll Street or Mifflin Street.