We, the administration and faculty at TMAHS, strongly believe that education is a collaborative venture between school personnel, volunteers and parents/guardians.  There are times when parents/guardians may wish to visit campus or observe a classroom.  In compliance with board policy, all visitors are under the jurisdiction of the building principal.  She/He has the responsibility to develop rules and procedures to maintain a safe learning environment that minimizes disruption to instruction, and complies with:  California State Education Code, the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Contract between SFUSD and United Educators of San Francisco (UESF).

Academy
Thurgood Marshall photographs by Stephen Voss

To assure a safe and orderly campus and a successful school visit or observation, we ask for your cooperation in following these guidelines:

Arranging for a visit in Thurgood School:

  • Request a visit/observation through school administration and share your purpose for the request.
  • Arrange a mutually agreed upon date and time, that allows for a 24 hour notification for the teacher who will be visited/observed.
  • Visits/observations are limited to not more than 30 minutes per visit.
  • The number of visits/observations will be limited to assure the least amount of disruption to instruction.
  • The principal or designee reserves the right at any time to ask the visitor to leave the classroom or the building.
  • The principal or designee, with just cause, reserves the right to refuse, cancel or change the observation time or duration.

Conduct during the visit/observation:

  • As is standard district policy, all visitors are required to check in at the main office, sign in, and obtain a visitor’s sticker before proceeding to contact any school personnel.
  • To minimize disruption to the classroom learning environment, only one visitor is allowed in the classroom during an observation.  Parents/guardians are asked not to bring younger siblings, other children, or pets (except service animals) while visiting/observing a classroom.
  • Observers are asked to sit in the area designated by the classroom teacher.
  • The principal or designee may be present in the observed setting in order to accommodate follow-up discussion or clarify questions that may arise.
  • Photos and video/audio recording devices, including the use of cell phones are prohibited.  Private meetings with teachers and/or administrators may not be recorded or photographed in any way.  No school staff may be photographed or recorded during the course of conducting their responsibilities at the school.
  • The visitor/observer may not engage or interact with the staff or students in the classroom, especially during instruction or when staff has another class immediately following the observation.
  • If the parent/guardian would like to meet with the teacher being visited/observed, a meeting can be scheduled for another time, so as not to disrupt the scheduled lesson.
  • All school volunteers must be cleared through the San Francisco Education Fund and their volunteer assignment and schedule must be provided to the school principal and adhered to unless a change is cleared by site administration.
  • Volunteers and visitors will have an opportunity to hear confidential student and staff interactions and are expected to keep those confidential to respect student privacy. For safety reason, volunteers and visitors must sign out in the main office when departing.
  • For safety reasons, all volunteers and visitors need to sign out before departing from campus.

Students

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