Absences and Attendance

To report an absence, email and the student’s classroom teacher with the child’s first and last name, date of absence(s), and reason.

As a DCPS school, Lafayette follows the district’s attendance policy without exception and will record each absence as excused or unexcused. For details regarding the DCPS Attendance Policy, please click here.

Meals

For lunch, students may bring their own, they may buy lunch from the cafeteria, or they may just buy milk from the cafeteria. Menus are issued by DCPS shortly before the first of the month. You can view them here.

Payments for the cafeteria are made by check (payable to the DC Treasurer at: DCPS Food and Nutrition Services, 1200 First Street, NE, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20002) or through myschoolbucks.com

Open an Account

Note that you will need the student’s ID number to open an account online or by check.

School breakfast is offered at every school and free for ALL DCPS students.

Transportation

All DCPS students are entitled to the Kids Ride Free program, which allows students to ride for free on Metrobus, the DC Circulator, and Metrorail within the District to get to school and school-related activities. The program uses an electronic Kids Ride Free pass that must be loaded onto students’ DC One Cards. Click here to sign up for a DC One Card or call the DC One Card Helpline at (202) 727-6030.

Morning Procedure and Line-Up

Doors to the school open at 8:25 a.m. and close at 8:40 a.m.

Students should proceed to their line-up area between 8:25 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. Line up areas for 2019-20 can be found here. Teachers will lead their class to the classroom at 8:40 a.m.

When it is below 32 degrees or in otherwise inclement weather, the students will have indoor line-up and will be allowed to head to their classrooms starting at 8:30 a.m. Students may go directly into school and to their classrooms instead of lining up outside. They may enter through the front door, the doors on Northampton, or the doors facing the basketball court. Those doors will be open until 8:40 am, after which students will have to enter through the front doors.

Morning Car Drop-Off Line

Lafayette parent volunteers and teachers run a car drop-off line in the morning from 8:20-8:40 a.m. Help make Lafayette’s drop-off lane run as smoothly and safely as possible.

Pull as far forward as possible before stopping
Put the car in park
Unlock all doors
Child should exit the curbside door with or without the help of the drop-off parent volunteer
Driver should remain in line and wait until the car in front drives away

Notes:

There is NO PARKING OR STANDING on Northampton (even past the drop off lane) or on Broad Branch Road. Please do not get out of your car at any point on Northampton Street.
ADULTS SHOULD NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR. If you need to exit get out of the car, please park legally and walk your child to school.
Make sure your child are sitting on the curbside of the car if possible.
Backpacks should be within reach of the child or volunteer helper when the car door opens.
Children should only begin to unbuckle their seatbelts once the car has stopped and is in park.
After dropping off your child, DO NOT PASS THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU. Wait for the line of cars to move.

The drop-off line closes at 8:40 a.m. After that please park in a legal spot and walk your children in.

Parent volunteers are always welcome on the drop-off lane. We need your help!

Afternoon Pick-Up

Pre-K is dismissed at 3:05 p.m. through the Northampton Street entrance.
K – 5^th is dismisses at 3:15 p.m. through the main entrance.
Early Pickup: if you need to pick up your child early from school, please make sure you arrive to the office no later than 2:45 pm to avoid end-of-day congestion.
There is no car pick-up line. Please park your car legally and walk to collect your children at dismissal.

Dogs

We have many children who are afraid of or allergic to dogs. Dogs are not allowed at drop off or pick up on school grounds, including playgrounds, and the asphalt walkway. Please do not bring your dogs to the sidewalks during drop off and pick up. Also, please do not allow dogs to be “off leash” on the baseball field. Our students and neighbors are regularly using this space and we need to be sure that we can all be safe (and avoid any landmines).

School Closings

If school must delay opening, dismiss early, or close for the day due to inclement weather, power outages, or other unforeseen circumstances, Lafayette and DCPS will make every effort to communicate the situation with families using one or more of the following means:

Robo-calls from Dr. Broquard
DCPS Twitter: @dcpublicschools
The DCPS website
DC government text alerts
Local radio and TV news announcements

For information on how DCPS decides to close schools, see the DCPS’s inclement weather guidance page.

Safety and Emergency Procedures

In case of a threat in or around school, Lafayette has shelter-in-place/ lock-down procedures. This includes students and teachers sheltering in place in the classroom in a place that is out of the line of site. Should evacuation be required, students would go to Blessed Sacrament to reunify with caregivers.

A few reminders in the event of an evacuation:

Emergency information will be made available to families as quickly as possible.
Our evacuation site is Blessed Sacrament, 3630 Quesada St NW, Washington, DC 20015.
Students will ONLY be released to parents or caregivers. Students will not be released to friends, neighbors, or others not listed on enrollment paperwork, etc.
Reunification is not a fast process. Please plan to be as patient and calm as possible.

It is important for every parent to have a conversation with their child about what to do in case something unexpected happens. Discuss how they can contact their parent or other caretaker. Talk about neighbors’ or friends’ houses where they could go if they need to. Determine how the family as a whole will deal with school closings and other emergencies. These conversations can help your child feel calm and confident when facing an unexpected situation. Please make sure the school office, your child’s teacher, and your class room parents have your most up-to-date home, cell, and office phone numbers so you can be contacted quickly in an emergency.

Health

A registered nurse is available during the school day to help with medical needs and to promote the general health and safety of the school community. Confidentiality on all health matters is respected. To reach her directly call 202-724-8961 or call the front office at 202-282-0116.

Occasional illness

Children with fever, sore throat or nausea or vomiting should not come to school. Parents are requested to report immediately any child’s communicable illness (e.g. strep throat, chicken pox, flu, lice, etc.) to the school nurse. Students with contagious eye infections, undiagnosed skin eruptions, or illness that interferes with classroom performance will be excluded from class. Parents will be notified to pick up their child.

Children should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school. Children being treated for communicable illnesses should not return unless their healthcare provider has given medical clearance to return. Parents are asked to send a note with their child upon their return that explains their absence.

If your child is sick and staying home from school, please email your teacher and cc Mr. Hover. Please include the child’s first and last name, date of absence(s) and reason.

Chronic Illness

Parents of children with a history of chronic illness (food allergies, asthma, etc.) that may affect school life should meet with the school nurse to develop an individual health plan (IHP).

Allergies

If your child has allergies, especially to food, medicine, or bee stings, let the school nurse know immediately in writing so it can be noted on the student’s health record and the teacher can be notified. If the allergy is life threatening, please see the nurse regarding the physician’s orders for medication at school.

Head lice

If lice are identified at school, the school nurse will notify the student’s family of the presence of lice and provide instructions for treatment. Families should begin treatment after school on the day lice are identified. Students should return to school the next day after treatment has started, with a note from their parent/guardian saying treatment has started. If lice are identified at home, please let your classroom teacher and the school nurse know. While students are not excluded from school due to lice, notification is usually sent to the families of other students in the classroom, and parents are encouraged to do a regular head check on their students for the next two weeks. When many students in different grades are presenting with lice, a school-wide message may go out.

Medication

DCPS policy requires that parents and physicians complete appropriate health forms before any prescription or over-the-counter medication can be administered. These forms are available from the school nurse. Please do not send any medications to school with your child. All medications should be taken to the health suite by a parent where they are checked in.

Accident or Illness at School

The school nurse will contact parents to advise them in case of illness or accident. Please keep work numbers current. The school must have the number of a relative, friend, or neighbor in case parents cannot be reached. If emergency transportation is required, a staff member will accompany the student if the parent is not present.

Six-Day Schedule

Lafayette operates on a six-day schedule. This allows our students to access all of our many special subjects and prevents students from missing out on classes that would fall on common holidays or non-school days.

Instead of defining a week as Monday through Friday, it takes six days labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and uses them as a cycle throughout the school year. So, day 1 may fall on a Monday one week and it may be a Tuesday the next. The important piece is to know which day in the cycle we are on. This information can be found at the security desk in the front office and on the website’s six-day calendar.

Before & After Care

See the Before and After School page.

Recess

We are fortunate to have great outdoor play spaces at Lafayette and we take advantage of them!

Pre-K and K students each have their own dedicated playgrounds, appropriate for young children and located just outside their classrooms. These students get two 20-minute recess periods each day.

1^st through 5^th graders use the two playgrounds on the school’s north side and the baseball field. These students have one 30-minute recess each day. Additionally, Lafayette also has recess coaches who facilitates sports and games as well as Peace Club, an alternate indoor recess time, where students play games and have fun in a peaceful and kind way.

Lafayette holds recess outdoors unless the temperature drops below 32 degrees, is dangerously icy or when it rains or snows. Additionally, Lafayette will hold recess indoors when DCPS issues heat advisory warnings based on a temperature or heat index could impact student health.

Class Assignments

Classroom assignments are made in a collaborative way between a student’s current teachers, the school’s instructional coaches, counselors and administration. We strive to create classes balanced by gender, learning style, academic strengths and personality. Families are notified of classroom assignments in August.

SAMM

SAMM is Lafayette’s school-wide, positive behavior support structure. It stands for: Speak Mindfully, Act Mindfully, and Move Mindfully. Leveraging the Peace curriculum, we actively teach the children positive expectations and then celebrate when they achieve those expectations. Teachers use SAMM tickets to reinforce positive behaviors throughout the day. If you hear your students talking about SAMM tickets – ask what positive thing they did to earn a ticket!

Lost & Found

If your child has lost an item, check the lost & found bin and rack on the north wall of the cafeteria outside of the music room.

Dress Code

Lafayette does not have a formal dress code, but we hope that students come to school in weather-appropriate clothing, suitable for kids who paint, jump, run and play!

Important: Please remember to send your child to school wearing or carrying sneakers on days when they have PE class.

Handbook