Program Expectations and Policies

Attendance, Illness, Home Visits, Meet the teacher, Open house, Family Engagement Activities, and Parent Teacher Conferences.

Attendance

Albuquerque Public Schools wants your preschool child to be at school all day, every day. Children develop and grow so rapidly that missed time in school affects both their academic and social development.

All registered preschool students are required to attend 85% of the time. If your child is not attending 85% of the time you will be requested to attend a student success meeting with the parent, teacher, and school administrator to discuss and create an attendance support plan to help get your child to school.

Each family will participate in at least 3 NM Pre-K Family Engagement Meeting/Events

Illness

We do understand children become ill and may need to stay at home to recover. As parents or guardians, please keep your child home if he/she becomes ill & does not feel well enough to take part in school activities. This helps to prevent the spread of the illness to others at school.

These are some of the examples of when your child should be kept home:

Fever-A temperature above 100.4°F (38°C) is a fever.

Your child may return to school if they have had no fever for 24 hours without fever reducing medication (acetaminophen, Tylenol®, ibuprofen, etc.) and if they feel well/are improving.

Vomiting and/or diarrhea with or without a fever; three or more times in six hours. Your child may return to school if 24 or more hours have passed from the last episode of vomiting/diarrhea, and/or at least 24 hours fever free as above, and symptoms are improving.
Respiratory Tract Illnesses: cough/runny nose/other severe cold symptoms. Your child has symptoms that keep them from participating in school, such as:

Fatigue, extreme tiredness
Persistent cough, sneezing
Headache, body aches, earache and/or chills (especially if accompanied by fever)
Severe sore throat, especially if accompanied by headache/upset stomach
Unknown/undiagnosed rash or other untreated skin conditions Eye irritation:
Eye drainage, crusting, pain, and/or redness may be a sign of infection and may need to be checked by a provider.

Your child may be at school as long as there are no other symptoms that prevent them from participating (fever, pain, etc).

If your child has been seen by a provider for illness and started on antibiotic treatment, they should remain at home for the first full 24 hours of medication. Remember to report your child's absence per school reporting process each day he/she is out of school.

Remember to report your child's absence per school reporting process each day your child is out of school.

Home Visits

Home visit is part of the Pre-K enrollment process. Once accepted into a school’s Pre-K program, the families are scheduled for a Home Visit at the family’s residence or a location of their choice, but not on school property unless requested by the parent. During this Home Visit, the teacher answers questions and asks a series of questions to gather information that will guide the instructional practices for the child to achieve full participation in accessing the Early Learning Guidelines (ELG). This meeting helps to set the stage for a positive relationship between family and Pre-K staff with the child at the center. Home visits are a requirement of the NM PreK Program Standards. Families will fill out the ASQ-3 and ASQ; SE-2 screenings discussed at the home visit and return questionnaires to school within a week. See screenings section.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent teacher conferences occur twice a year. During each gathering of family and school staff the conversations begin to transition the child to Kindergarten. Each conversation is guided by the Early Learning Guidelines that move the child towards meeting age-appropriate standards for entry into Kindergarten.

Immunizations

New Mexico state statute requires all students be currently immunized before entrance into public school. The school or licensed school nurse shall instruct appropriate personnel in the procedure of recording immunizations in the student’s Cumulative Health Record.

Student Privacy Rights

Albuquerque Public Schools adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding confidentiality of student information. All of our student records are maintained in locked fireproof cabinets. Contact the administrator at your PreK school if you have additional questions.

Administration of Medicine at School

If possible, all medications should be given at home. If medications must be given during school hours or during athletic team practices/events, they shall be administered in compliance with the New Mexico Administrative Code, New Mexico Nursing Practice Act, New Mexico School Health Manual Standards, New Mexico Athletic Trainers Practice Act, and APS Procedural Directive. All medication administration at school requires the parent to provide the appropriate medication authorization form to be completed and signed by the student's parent and/or medical provider.

All APS medication authorization forms are posted on this web page, https://www.aps.edu/nursing/nursing-forms, and can be downloaded by families and or providers for completion. APS school staff will no longer be able to facilitate completion of these forms by the student's provider. Providers may require the parent or guardian to sign a Release of Information due to HIPAA regulations before completing the Medical Authorization Form for administration of medication at school. Please contact your provider to determine their requirements for completing this school form. Contact your school nurse for additional explanation of these requirements.

Picking up a Pre-K Student Prior to the End of the Day

All contacts, regardless of the reason why a child is being picked up, will be asked to show a picture ID to school personnel. The person picking up the child must be "okay to release" on file in student's profile. The safety of your children is always our top priority.

Other Program Expectation and Policies

Each day upon arriving in the classroom you will need to have an adult (18 and older) sign your child in and out of the classroom.
Please indicate on the sign in sheet if your child will be having home or school lunch.
Please pick up your child on time. Children that have not been picked up after five minutes will be taken to the school office to wait for their parents.
Please inform the teachers if you need to bring your child to school late or pick them up early.
Children can bring a light blanket and pillow for rest time. On Fridays, schools will send home these items to be washed. Children can bring a special stuffed animal or toy to rest with at rest time. All other toys should remain at home. All school supplies will be provided by the Early childhood department.
In the event of snow, all families will be notified via Albuquerque Public Schools’ School Messenger phone messenger in the event of a two-hour delay or school closure. You can also check the APS website for information about delays and cancellations.
Unless it is below freezing children will be going outside to play on a daily basis please dress your child accordingly with appropriate attire.
Once you have an approved Volunteer background check through APS, sign in at the office and obtain a Visitor’s Badge each time you want to volunteer.