LACES Parent Teacher Protocol
In an effort to improve how parents/guardians, administrators, counselors, and teachers work together to maintain a high level of both scholarship and citizenship within our student body, the following protocol has been developed.  The purpose of this protocol is to facilitate an environment where questions or concerns regarding our students can be addressed in a timely, efficient, and respectful manner.  By following these steps, we can ensure that all issues receive the proper level of attention that they deserve in a way that is most effective.  Skipping a step will just slow down the process of addressing your child’s issue since the people involved will have to back-track for information-gathering purposes.  
The steps to resolution are as follows: 
1.	If there is a concern or question about homework, classroom policies, events that happened in class, or anything pertaining to the teacher or classroom in general, parents/guardians must first communicate with the teacher to find a solution.  These communications should be in the form of an e-mail, phone message, or letter.  Refer to the teacher’s syllabus to find out the best means of communication.
a)	Teachers should respond back to parents within 48 hours.
b)	If a parent does not get a response within 48 hours, the parent should contact the counselor for assistance.
c)	If the counselor does not respond within 24 hours, the parent must contact an administrator immediately.

2.	All parties involved will ALWAYS assume positive intentions first while demonstrating mutual respect until both sides are heard.  By asking questions and investigating, we can limit miscommunications, overreactions, and misunderstandings. After this initial attempt at resolution, parent conferences can be scheduled.

3.	If AFTER meeting with the teacher the issue remains unresolved, an administrator can be contacted to further address the issue.  If an administrator is contacted before the issue has been discussed with the teacher, the parent or guardian will be directed back to the teacher to address the issue.

We hope that these guidelines will help in creating and maintaining a higher level of collaboration between all parties involved ensuring that the highest level of student achievement is realized.