A Message from the AHS Assistant Head of School

Hello AHS Parents and Guardians,

This is Jake Lauer, Assistant Head School at Animas High School. Most of you know me and for those who don’t I look forward to meeting you soon. I am truly enjoying working with all of your students this year.

We are thrilled to have such an energetic, inquisitive student body this year. And I am happy to report that we are having a great year so far at AHS.

My Role

I am writing today for a few reasons. First, I would like to explain a little about what I do here at AHS. As the Assistant Head of School (AHOS), my role is a combination of what a principal and vice-principal would do at a traditional high school. My responsibilities include:

• The daily administrative duties of a traditional principal
• Planning and oversight of our Advisory Program
• Upholding and furthering our school culture through a
non-traditional approach to discipline
• Staff management

Last year Michael’s role was more like that of a traditional principal. This year I have assumed that role and Michael is essentially our CEO. AHS needs Michael to focus his talents on the high-level tasks that will help our school become a model for charter schools throughout the country. You will certainly continue to see Michael everywhere, which is how we like it.

Communication

It is very important to us that we keep our whole community well-informed about the latest at AHS. We also want to make sure we are able to address any questions, concerns, ideas or comments you have about the school. To clarify communication, when you have a question, comment or concern about AHS contact your student’s advisor.

Since Michael’s and my roles have changed, the next step is to contact me. Please know that, although you may not communicate directly with me, I am in constant contact with the advisors.
In an effort to keep you informed about what is happening at AHS, we do the following:

• Each week Michael sends an email with a weekly update.
• We have programmed Power School to send you an email each Monday
that will give you your student’s current grades in all classes.
• Michael maintains a blog at http://www.animashighschool.blogspot.com/
• The Parent Advisory Committee meets each month at AHS. For more
information you can email pac@animashighschool.com.

School Culture and Expectations

I believe our positive academic and social environment is one of the things that sets us apart from other schools. We are committed to creating a physically and emotionally safe, invigorating space for your sons and daughters to grow and learn. We have very high academic and behavioral expectations for all of our students. At the beginning of this school year, Michael and I reviewed our Student Handbook with each student to make sure they were clear about what we expect.

As the school year progresses and student stress levels rise, we inevitably have students who make mistakes. To ensure that we continue to keep our culture strong, I am going to continue to reinforce our expectations with all students. Last week I visited 10th grade classes and revisited our Student Handbook with them. I will do the same for our 9th grade students next week. Our Student Handbook is available to you in either print or electronic form. If you would like a copy, please contact me by email. I want to take this opportunity to make you all aware of some areas where we often have confusion or problems:

Fashion Guide

At AHS, we don’t have a dress code, we have a fashion guide that helps students understand what dress is appropriate at AHS. Some highlights of the guide include:

• Students must wear closed-toe footwear at all times for safety reasons.
• Young ladies may wear tops with straps, but the straps must be at
least 2 inches wide. We never want to see undergarments. In addition, their

shorts/skirts must be as long as their fingertips when their arms are extended down their

sides.
• Headwear, including hats, hoods, bandanas and beanies, are not
allowed in the building.
• Clothing with inappropriate/offensive messages is not welcome.

Respectful Environment

Students and staff love learning and working in an environment where mutual respect reigns. To that end, we demand that all community members show respect for themselves, for one another and for the facility. AHS expects students to:

• Act with respect for self and others, which includes: using
appropriate language; displaying kindness and empathy for others; honoring others’

personal space and property.
• All students are responsible for AHS equipment and property and may
be expected to pay replacement cost for damaged or lost items.
• Never vandalize school or personal property.
• Not use drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
• Refrain from any bullying or harassment, especially any comments or
actions of a sexual nature. (see Policy Against Harassment in the Student Handbook)
• Pick up their trash and keep all spaces clean to the best of their
ability. Note: students may not chew gum in the building.
• Use technology appropriately and only when given permission. For
example, students may not eat or drink anything while using school computers, cameras,

etc. Students may not listen to their MP3 players in the halls, common spaces or in

classrooms, unless a teacher has given them explicit permission.
• Be honest and truthful socially and academically.

School Technology Use

In order to help our students prepare for 21st century jobs, we have invested a lot of money in technology. We work hard to teach our students the proper way to care for this technology and most of the time they are quite successful. However, we have had a few cases this year where cameras, computers, etc., have been damaged or lost by students. Please be aware that, according to school policy, your student is responsible for repairing or replacing any AHS property they damage or lose.

Consequences for Not Meeting These Expectations

Our returning students often say that AHS “sweats the small stuff.”
And I agree. We have a great opportunity as a small community to address small problems before they get out of hand. To that end, if your student does not meet our expectations we follow this process:

1) Teacher Detention or Service – Each teacher may assign their own
form of detention or service to any student out of compliance. If the teacher has multiple

problems with one student, the teacher may refer them to me.
2) AHOS Intervention – If a student is referred to me or if I find a
student out of compliance, I will work with the parties involved to identify and enforce an

appropriate consequence. This could include:

a. School Wide Work Crew – your student will be asked to stay after
school to complete a service project for us. They are expected to stay until they have

completed the project to our satisfaction. We will assign projects that should be completed by

4 p.m. if the student works diligently.

b. Parent Meeting

c. Behavior Contract

3) HOS Intervention – Michael will intervene in discipline scenarios
that could include suspension or expulsion from AHS.

Closing

Thank you for your time and attention. AHS is a unique and invigorating environment thanks to all of you and your students. I feel honored to be a part of this community and I look forward to working with you all for a long time to come.

Respectfully,

Jake Lauer
Assistant Head of School