School Board Policy states, “Attendance in school is central to educational achievement and school success.”  Every student is encouraged to attend school every day possible. To be counted present, a student shall be in attendance at least one-half of the instructional school day.  Phone calls will be made to the homes of absent students to verify the absence. When a student returns to school after an absence, policy requires a dated note signed by a parent/guardian within two school days stating the reason for the absence. Emails will not be accepted. The student should present this note to the designated staff member in the front office from 7:45 to 8:15 AM and receive an admission slip.  For an absence to be excused, the reason must meet the standards of WCPSS Board Policy for attendance. Please reference the Student/Parent Handbook for details.

When a student has accumulated unlawful or questionable absences, a letter will be mailed to the home of the student.  Students who are absent excessively may risk not being promoted to the next grade. A doctor’s note may be required in cases of repeated or chronic illness.  We encourage families to use the school calendar for planning trips. For all absences, the student shall complete all work in a timely manner in consultation with teachers.  The student is responsible for all missed assignments for every absence.  

Tardy Policy

Punctuality to school and class is essential for a student’s success.  Students who are late miss and interrupt instruction. A student is considered late if he/she is not at his/her assigned area at the designated time.  Students who arrive to school after first period begins should report to the front office with a note to sign in and get an admission slip. The procedure for determining tardy status (excused and unexcused) will be the same as absences.  When a student arrives late for a class, he/she is to be admitted and the tardiness recorded as excused or unexcused. For unexcused tardiness to classes and/or school, students should expect to receive consequences from a teacher or administrator.  

Early Departure

Any student who must leave school before the school day ends is required to sign out at the front office.  Students are asked to bring a note explaining the reason for early departure and give it to the receptionist at the front office upon arrival to school.  If a student returns to school, he/she must sign in at the front office for an admit slip. Due to front office demands at the end of the day and to ensure a smooth dismissal, we will not check students out between 2:45 PM and 3:00 PM.

Book bags
Students are provide lockers; therefore no book bags are allowed in classrooms. Students must realize that permission to carry a book bag may differ for elective classes. Book bags will not be allowed in the cafeteria or the media center.  Exceptions may be made as needed to accommodate student needs.

Lockers
As much as possible, the school provides a lock and locker for every student.  In the gym locker rooms, students may bring a personal lock if choosing to use a locker in this setting. Only school-issued locks may be used on team lockers.  Students are charged $5.00 to replace a lost lock.  Students are expected to secure (lock) their belongings in the school-assigned locker.  Students are not to share lockers unless directed to do so by a staff member. Students should not share their combination with any other students or leave their lockers unlocked.  The school is not responsible for items taken from lockers. Securing items in a locker is an effective deterrent to theft. Students are asked not to bring valuables to school.  Students should notify their locker-assigning teacher immediately if their locker cannot be locked or is unusable.  Lockers are the property of the school and may be opened at any time for inspection and service without the permission of the student.  Students are responsible for any items found in their locker. Investigations for items stolen from unlocked lockers will not be a priority for administration or law enforcement.     

Preventing Theft

Do not bring large amounts of money or items with high monetary value to school. If you wear glasses or jewelry, always keep track of these items. You, not the school, are responsible for your personal property. Please label or place identifying marks on your items. When something appears to be missing, tell a staff member immediately.

Personal Items
Students are not to bring items to school that are unnecessary for schoolwork.  Such items may be confiscated and turned in to administrators. In this case, parents/guardians may claim the item or it will be returned to the student at the end of the year.  Examples of items that students should not bring to school include but are not limited to bandanas, iPods, MP3 Players, radios, cameras, hand-held game systems, walkie-talkies, toys, trading/game cards, fish hooks, roller blades/shoes with wheels, ripsticks and skateboards.  Laser pointers and lighters may be considered dangerous instruments, and are not to be brought to school and students with those items are subject to disciplinary action. Earbuds are to only be out and visible for instructional use only and require teacher permission. DRMS will not assume responsibility for any lost or unclaimed confiscated items.

Durant Road Middle School recognizes that new technologies can complement and improve upon the instructional process. To encourage these benefits, Durant Road Middle School is allowing you to bring your own device (BYOD). Durant Road Middle School believes BYOD should be used to support our school’s vision of producing productive citizens in an evolving global community.

Durant Road Middle School defines “devices” as privately owned wireless and portable electronic devices that can be used for wireless Internet access, word processing, image/video capturing, sound recording, and information transmitting. Students unable to bring their own devices to school will be provided access to technology resources available at Durant Road Middle School. Those that choose to participate will be asked to sign a contract stating that they will follow school rules in exchange for being able to use their device.

See our BYOD webpage for further information.

In order to participate in extra-curricular activities, a student must meet academic and behavioral requirements of the school and school system.  To participate in an extra-curricular activity, a student must have been officially present during the school day. A student assigned an in-school or out-of-school suspension may not attend or participate in extra-curricular activities on the day(s) of the suspension.  Parents are expected to pick up students promptly after the activity has ended. If this becomes an issue the student may lose the privilege of participating in the activity. Remember that all school rules apply during extra- curricular activities.

We offer a variety of activities for students.  Some activities have participation qualifications.  Students who participate in clubs and groups are expected to follow all sponsor, school, and school system expectations.  For detailed information on any club or group, please contact staff advisors.

At DRMS, we believe that grades should accurately reflect a student’s knowledge of the Standard Course of Study and are the primary way for us to communicate that to students and parents.  As such, we use the grading policy outlined below as a way to ensure that every student has a chance to be successful.

• We follow a 10-point grade scale. Consult this message from WCPSS for further information.
• Grades shall be either major assessments weighted at 65% or minor assessments weighted at 35%.
• Assessments provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate mastery on the standards and may come in a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, tests, quizzes, essays, performance tasks, projects etc.
• Teachers will provide ample opportunities for each student to reach mastery of the content standards. While other opportunities may be provided to ensure mastery, extra credit will not be given.
• Teachers will allow students to make test corrections in order to demonstrate mastery. Students can receive ½ credit point value back for corrected test items. Students may be provided with other opportunities (such as retakes or alternative assignments) in order to demonstrate mastery.
• Homework may be used for reflection or practice. When assigned, it will be checked and students will be provided feedback so that they can attain mastery on their assessments.
• Behavior and work habits will not be factored into academic grades. Progress in this area will be communicated to students and families in other ways.
• Student grades will not be negatively impacted for non-academic or non-curricular variables, such as no name on the paper, wrong size paper, messiness, lack of parent signature etc.
• When students are absent for 1-3 days, they will be given 1 school day for each school day they were absent to make up their work with no penalty. When students are absent for more than 3 school days, they shall be given 2 school days for each day they were absent to make up their work with no penalty.
• For work given during the first half of the quarter, students may turn in any assignments late, until the interim with no penalty. After the interim, the work will no longer be accepted for credit. For work given during the second half of the quarter, students may turn in any assignment late with no penalty, until the end of the quarter. After the end of the quarter, the work will no longer be accepted for credit.
• Interims will be distributed at the midpoint of each grading period for any student who has below a 70/C in a course, or whose course grade has dropped by a letter grade or more from the previous quarter.
• PowerSchool will be updated at a minimum of once per week. Please contact the school if you or your student are having difficulty accessing PowerSchool.

Teachers reserve the right to set a time period for making up work for unexcused absences to ensure relevance of academic concepts. If students do not turn in work by a set deadline assigned by a teacher, students may lose all credit for the work in question.  Make-up work shall be graded at a standard consistent with the original work.

For the purposes of make-up work absences resulting from out-of-school suspensions are considered excused.

Schoolwork will be made up for excused absences under the following conditions:

A. If the absence is approved in advance and/or if the work is assigned by the teacher in advance, all make-up work, including tests assigned for the day of return, is due upon the student’s return to school. Teachers should use discretion and may make exceptions in the case of students whose excused absences were not planned in advance, were beyond the student’s control, and the nature of which would not support make-up work the day of return (e.g., death in the immediate family, serious illness).

B. If the make-up work has not been assigned in advance, for absences of one (1) to three (3) days, the student will have one day for each day absent. For absences exceeding three (3) days, the student may have two (2) days for each day absent to make up work.  Special consideration should be given in the case of extended absences due to injury or chronic illness.

C. The student is responsible for securing make-up work at the secondary level (middle and high school).

School staff will send work requested for suspension or illness to guidance upon parent/guardian request. This request can be made by contacting the guidance office at (919) 870-4098, ext. 26108.  During any short-term out of school suspension a student SHALL be provided:

1. The opportunity to take textbooks or similar support materials home for the duration of the suspension

2. The right to inquire about homework assignments for the duration of the suspension

3. The opportunity to take any quarterly, semester, or grading period exams missed during the suspension period

Our goal is to educate our students in a climate that is safe and allows all students to achieve and develop to their greatest potential. Durant Road Middle is a Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS) School, which features a systematic process for dealing with challenging behavior that may detract from learning. The district PBIS mission is “to empower teachers and other adults with the skills needed to improve overall classroom and school climate to achieve higher academic performance for all students. This is achieved through development of school-wide positive behavior support initiatives, rewarding students for demonstrating positive behavior, and providing assistance in developing individualized plans for specific students.

Disciplinary Actions
A student who misbehaves or violates classroom, school and/or school system policies will be disciplined.  Teachers and/or teams provide disciplinary interventions for violations of classroom, school or school system policies.  These interventions may include, but are not limited to, student conference, parental contact, parent conference, behavior contract, loss of privileges, in-team suspension, in-school suspension.  Certain behaviors may result in an immediate referral to administration.

The WCPSS Parent & Student Handbook explains the policies, rules, and regulations that govern all students in the Wake County Public School System. This handbook is given to students at the beginning of school. Students and parents should take the time to become familiar with the contents of the WCPSS student parent handbook, and in particular, the following board policies:

Code of Student Conduct Search and Seizure

Inappropriate Student Behavior Discipline

Harassment Misconduct on a School Bus

Sexual Harassment Student Internet Access

Disruption of School Integrity

Gang & Gang Related Activity Trespassing

Fighting/Physical Aggression or Assault Weapons and Dangerous Instruments

Narcotics, Alcoholic Beverages, Controlled Substances, Wireless Communications and Laser Pointers

Chemicals, and Drug Paraphernalia

Violation of the above policies may result in:

A. teacher intervention with parental contact and/or conference

B. referral to administrator

Bus Transportation and Behavior
School transportation service is a privilege, not a right. The same standard of conduct that applies to school and classrooms applies to buses and bus stops. Students are expected to follow all school and school system policies when using our school transportation services.

A. Follow all directions of your driver.

B. Sit in your assigned seat and remain seated while the bus is moving.

C. Keep all body parts inside the windows.

D. Stand a safe distance from the road while waiting for your bus.

E. Be on time for your bus.

F. Wait for the driver’s signal to load/unload and walk in front of the bus.

Students may lose bus privileges for inappropriate behavior on a bus or at a bus stop and may also be disciplined per the school and school system policies. For questions or concerns about transportation, contact Transportation Services at 919-805-3030.  Wake County Public Schools’ website/transportation tab offers additional information, including stop requests and updates of late buses, issues, etc.