On Wednesday, September 9, students reviewed the 2026–27 Garfield Student & Family Handbook throughout the school day. Each student was given a copy of the handbook to keep and use as a reference throughout the year. Rather than trying to cover the entire handbook in one class, each period focused on a different section and on the procedures students are most likely to use every day.
The purpose was not to have students memorize the handbook. Students should understand the expectations, know what those expectations look like during the school day, and know where to find information when questions come up.
Attendance, Hall Passes, and Being in Class
Attendance is taken every period. Students are expected to be in the class on their schedule when the bell rings. Being somewhere in the building is not the same as being present for class.
One expectation was emphasized throughout the day: No student should ever be in the hallway during class without a current, valid hall pass.
A valid pass is for one approved destination and a direct return to class. It is not permission to walk around the building, visit friends, stop in another classroom, or remain out of class longer than necessary. Students should be prepared to show their pass when asked by a staff member.
Garfield also uses the 10–10 rule. Passes are generally not issued during the first or last ten minutes of class except for an urgent need or an approved accommodation.
Students may leave campus during lunch, but they must be back in their next class before the bell rings. Returning late from lunch is still a tardy.
Students should also use the main entrance during the school day. Side doors should not be used to enter or exit the building, opened for someone else, held open, or propped open.
Cell Phones and Electronic Devices
At the beginning of class, phones should be placed in the cell phone hotel or other classroom storage designated by the teacher and remain there unless the teacher gives permission for their use.
Phones should not remain in a pocket, backpack, lap, desk, or under papers during instruction. Earbuds, headphones, and smartwatches should also remain put away unless a teacher authorizes their use for the lesson.
The expectation is intended to protect instructional time and make the procedure consistent and clear for students.
Grading, Late Work, and Retakes
Students spent significant time reviewing Garfield’s grading policy, particularly the rules for late work and retakes.
Late work is generally due within 10 school days of the original due date or by the end of the unit, whichever comes first. Late work may receive no more than 75 percent of the available points unless the absence was excused or an accommodation applies.
Students should not wait until the end of the quarter or semester to try to make up weeks of missing work.
The 50 percent minimum grade was also clarified. A 50 percent grade does not mean the assignment is complete. Work may still be marked missing, and students may still be expected to complete and submit it.
Retakes also have specific timelines. For an eligible summative assessment, students must request a retake within five school days of receiving the grade and complete the retake within 10 school days of the request.
Students should check The Source regularly to monitor grades and attendance. Questions about a specific assignment or grade should begin with the classroom teacher.
Academic Integrity and AI
Academic integrity applies to all student work. Copying another student’s work, sharing answers, plagiarism, using unauthorized resources during an assessment, and photographing or sharing test questions are violations.
AI may be used only when the teacher or the assignment allows it. Students should follow the directions for each assignment, disclose AI use when required, and ask the teacher before submitting work if they are unsure whether AI is permitted. Students should also be able to explain the work they submit.
The Bulldog Way
The Bulldog Way is Garfield’s schoolwide system for expectations, accountability, support, and student behavior. It is not simply a list of consequences.
Routine classroom concerns generally begin with the teacher. This may include redirection, reteaching the expectation, documenting the concern, and contacting family. If the concern continues, it may move to an administrator.
Some behaviors are serious enough to go directly to an administrator. These include fighting, threats, weapons or immediate safety concerns, vaping and substance-related concerns, targeted harassment or discrimination, serious bullying, sexual harassment or misconduct, serious privacy violations, theft, serious vandalism, and other behavior that significantly affects safety or the learning environment.
Skipping, leaving class or campus without permission, unauthorized movement, and hall-pass misuse also fall under The Bulldog Way. Being in the hallway without a valid pass is not a minor expectation. Staff need to know where students are during the school day.
A referral begins an administrator review. The administrator reviews what happened, hears the student’s perspective, considers the seriousness and impact of the behavior, reviews applicable student protections, contacts family as appropriate, and determines the response.
Depending on the situation, the response may include a conference and reset, school-based accountability, family involvement, additional support, loss of privileges when appropriate, or a more serious response when warranted.
The purpose is to hold students accountable while also providing the support needed to return successfully to learning.
Safety and Shared Spaces
If something unsafe is happening, students should move away, tell an adult, and follow staff directions.
Students should not step into a fight, gather around an incident, record or livestream it, or spread rumors. If a student knows that a fight, threat, weapon concern, harassment, or another unsafe situation may happen, that information should be shared with an adult before it happens.
Hallways, stairwells, restrooms, and other shared spaces should remain safe and usable for everyone. During class, students need a valid pass to be in these areas. Restrooms are for restroom use, not for gathering, and phones and cameras should remain put away in restrooms and locker rooms.
Students are also expected to take care of shared spaces. Wherever students eat, they are responsible for cleaning up after themselves, returning trays, throwing away trash, and leaving the area ready for others.
Vaping and Substances
Vaping and other substance-related concerns are not treated as minor classroom issues.
Using, possessing, sharing, passing, or helping conceal a vape or other prohibited substance can result in a direct administrator referral, even when the item does not belong to the student.
Support is available for students who want help stopping nicotine or substance use through school counselors, the nurse, social workers, and the Teen Health Center.
Knowing Where to Go for Help
The handbook also identifies where students should start when they need help with attendance, grades, counseling, graduation planning, technology, clubs and activities, athletics, health services, or a safety concern.
Students should ask for help early, before a small concern becomes a larger one.
Keep the Handbook as a Resource
The handbook will be used throughout the school year, and families are encouraged to review it as well. The sections on attendance, hall passes, cell phones, grading and late work, The Bulldog Way, safety, and student supports are especially important.
Students and families do not need to memorize every page. What matters is understanding the expectations and knowing where to find the information when it is needed.
