Hope Hall believes all teachers and students should be treated with dignity and respect. It is the policy of the school to stop any behavior that harasses others and discipline any person found guilty of such behavior. Discipline may include in-school suspension, out of school suspension, or expulsion from the school. Further discipline may involve outside government agencies if needed.
The Board of Trustees, the principal, teachers and students work together to create a safe supportive environment. The teachers and students strive to respect the rights of all members of the school.
Definition of harassment in school:
Harassment is words or actions, which hurt, or embarrass another person.
Harassment is discrimination, treating people differently.
At Hope Hall we believe in fairness and respect for all.
Harassment includes:
Touching or talking to someone in an unwanted way.
Causing someone to feel hurt or offended.
Making it difficult for someone to do their work.
Repeatedly teasing or “kidding around” that is hurtful to one’s feelings
Speaking or behaving violently.
Harassment may include:
Verbal abuse. Demands or Threats. Repeatedly spreading rumors
Interference with another person’s learning.
Offensive pictures, photos, illustrations, messages or notes.
Cornering a person, pulling clothes
No part of one person’s body may touch another person’s body in any way that is hurtful.
Teaching and Training:
We will be giving ongoing training to students and faculty about the meaning of this policy. The school community will understand how to show respect and dignity to one another every day. We need your help and support to carry out this policy.
Guidelines for Visiting:
Parents, Guardians, Grandparents are always welcome. There are some important things to remember when coming to our school.
Sign In: Always come to the Main Office and sign in
Pick Up: If you are coming to pick up a child, please sign in and wait by the table in the front hall. We will page the child to come to the front office. This helps us to follow New York State Guidelines.
End of Day: Please remember that the time between 3:05 and 3:20pm is the most unsettled time of the day for our students. Do not go to their classrooms, as this disrupts the students. They are busy packing book bags and cleaning the room. Each teacher needs to give the students undivided attention and cannot take focus off the students to speak to you.
Speak to Teacher: If you need to speak to a teacher about a problem or concern, make an appointment. You both deserve the undivided attention that can appointment would allow.
Plan Ahead: You are welcome to visit a classroom. Please let the teacher know you are coming. The teacher can:
Prepare the students; many students have attention difficulty and any change becomes a distracter unless they have preparation.
Be sure there is a chair for you.
Copy materials for you so you can enter into the work.
Homework Policy
The successful learner needs to do homework. Homework is a follow-up and reinforcement of classroom learning. Homework also teaches students the importance of independent work and aids in the development of responsibility.
All written homework should be done by the student independently. If new material is presented and students are not yet independent with it, written assignments, which practice concepts previously mastered, will be given.
Parents should be involved in homework in the following ways:
Provide a quiet space and regular time for homework to be done.
Ask to see your child’s assignment pad. Don’t ask if s/he has homework; look at what’s written in the assignment pad. All assignments will be initialed by teachers.
Do not fight with your child to do homework. Home should not be a “battleground”. If your child doesn’t do his/her homework, simply call school and leave a message for the teacher, or send in a note.
Do not try to teach your child how to do his/her homework. If your child doesn’t understand an assignment, go over the directions. If your child still doesn’t know how to do the assignment, write a note to the teacher. This will alert your child’s teacher to the fact that there is a problem with content mastery.
If your child cannot complete homework for a legitimate reason, send a note to his/her teacher.
Homework in grades 2-5 should never take more than 40 minutes.
Homework in grades 6 and 7 should never take more than 60 minutes.
Homework in grades 8 and 9 should take 1½ hours. This homework should be a combination of study and written homework. The emphasis is placed on preparing the students to transition into other schools where homework demands will increase and require more student responsibility.
Attendance policy
New York State Law requires all schools to keep attendance records of all students who are registered. Those records validate our educational roll with your child as well as your supervision of your child. In order to work together and for you child's safety, we must record, consistently, whether students are in the building and whether they came on time.
All students must be in school at 8:45 AM each day the school is in session.
Sickness/Late:
Call the school before 8:45 AM and leave a message that your child will not be in that day or that your child will be late.
When your child returns after an illness or arrives late at school, a written excuse from the parent or legal guardian must be given to the teacher. Forms for you to use are found in the Parent Handbook, and additional forms will be sent home each month.
New York State regulations now require schools to record any absence that does not have a written excuse (signed by a parent or legal guardian) as an illegal absence.
If you are bringing your child to school late, or picking them up early, you MUST sign them in or out in the MAIN OFFICE.
Frequent Absence:
If 15 days of absence occur, Hope Hall must report this to the student's School District of origin and at their discretion the School District will take whatever action they normally take.
After 20 days of absence the School District may take the parents/guardians to court to investigate the reason for the child not attending school regularly.
If there is a major medical health problem, Hope Hall must be advised and will work with your physician to determine if we can provide educational services under those circumstances.
Hope Hall
1612 Buffalo Rd.
Rochester, NY 14624
(585) 426-0210
Our Mission
Hope Hall is a private, non-denominational, not-for-profit school
designed for students with special learning needs who consistently
experience frustration in the traditional classroom setting. Hope Hall
is committed to the belief that when students are given respect and
enough time in a supportive, multi-sensory learning environment, they
can become successful learners.
