CUSA Communications

Chester Upland School of the Arts is dedicated to fostering an equitable environment where every student feels cared for, valued, and supported. We achieve this by building collaborative partnerships with all stakeholders, ensuring diverse perspectives are honored in our school's mission and goals. Using a team approach, we educate the whole child by providing a high-quality education and through a wide range of artistic traditions that helps every student reach their full potential and develop a passion for lifelong learning.

Website: https://www.chesteruplandsd.org/Domain/10
Location: 501 W.9th Street Chester, PA 19013

Email: mailto:cusaoffice@chesteruplandsd.org
Phone: (610) 447-3777
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cusa2017?mibextid=ZbWKwL

8:30 - 9:00 AM Fulton Street: Breakfast for K - 5th students

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM Courtyard, Main Entrance: Doors open for Pre-K students

8:45 - 9:00 AM Parker Street Door-to-Door Students (support services)

Fulton and Parker Street doors will be locked at 9:00 AM

All visitors and late students will enter through the main entrance 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

The playground gates are locked between 4:30 PM - 8:15 AM

Two Hour Delay: 10:45 AM K-5th (Fulton), Pre-K (Parker)

Two Hour Delay: Fulton and Parker Street doors will be locked promptly at 11 AM.

Families, it's imperative that students come to school daily, on time, and stay the duration of the school day. Valuable instructional time is lost when students arrive late. Teachers begin lessons at 8:45 AM daily. Thank you for your help in getting all students to the building on time!

• K-5th grade breakfast starts at 8:30 AM, FULTON STREET entrance
• Door-to-Door Students (support services), 8:45 AM Parker Street
• 9:01 AM - Students are late and must report directly to the front office to receive a late pass.

Chronic lateness results in absenteeism which may require legal court intervention.

Lateness will be excused only for an illness, medical appointment, or family emergency; a signed parent note, or appointment slip must be presented or scanned to verify excused late arrivals. Other late arrivals are unexcused.

Dismissal is 3:45PM

All students MUST be signed out - No one will be brought to a car unless there is a pre-arranged reason that includes a health accommodation.

Please demonstrate patience when picking up your scholars. Aggressive and/or abusive behavior is NOT in the best interest of the children and will NOT be tolerated.

1st - 5th Grades: Fulton Street

Pre-K and Kindergarten: In class pick up. Enter through Parker Street & EXIT through the main entrance.

Support Classes: Exit through Parker Street

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Parents, it's imperative that your child is picked up on time daily. We DO NOT have staffing for proper supervision after 4:00PM. Please make arrangements to have your child picked up on time daily.

Early Dismissal ENDS at 2:45PM

Medical or other planned appointments should be scheduled around the dismissal window. Please don't reduce instruction time for our scholars by scheduling or planning routine early dismissals.

Cold/Inclement Weather Dismissal

• Pre-K & Kindergarten parents will enter through the Parker Street entrance.
• Students that ride the bus or a van will continue to leave through the Parker Street exit,
• Siblings of Pre-K & K students will be picked up from the conference room (Room 105).
• Walkers and pick-up (1st - 5th grade) will dismiss from the cafeteria (Fulton Street exit).

Let us know if we can assist with any attendance/tardiness issue.

Please make sure that your children are in school EVERY DAY. It Matters.

All parents and visitors are required to stop at the main office. Since we are still under construction, please go to the PARKER STREET entrance and ring the bell 📳 . Someone will guide you to the main office to sign-in.

No one is permitted to go beyond the front office without authorization. If the secretary is not available, kindly be seated in the waiting area across the hall from the office and we will assist you as soon as possible.

PLEASE remember that we are a NUT🥜, SEAFOOD🍤🐟, LATEX🎈, and CITRUS FREE🍊🍋 School! For the safety of our students and staff, peanut butter products, tuna fish, orange slices, etc., are NOT allowed!

Please take time to review safety protocols that you have in place for your children. In lieu of recent events, we want to ensure that our children are safe coming and leaving school. As such, remind students to be aware of their surroundings and possible traffic. Although we can't control how other people drive or behave, we must stay vigilant at all times to ensure the safety of the children. Also, staff is not on site to receive children until 8:30 AM(Fulton) on regular days, and 10:45 AM on delayed opening days. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for children to not arrive early unattended. It is a matter of their safety.

A big thank you to Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Gamma Delta Gamma Chapter for reading to our students!

CUSA Families!

Please send your children to school with a reusable water bottle.

Parents,

We would love to have you here assisting us and your children!

If you would like to volunteer at CUSA or be a chaperone, please make sure the you have completed the requirements and submit your clearances to the main office.

Also, if you need assistance, contact the main office and we will schedule a time for a teacher or other staff member to assist you.

As of July 1, 2023, Chester Upland School District initiated a new process for all volunteers.

1. All potential district volunteers are required to submit a volunteer application on the district’s website. Volunteers must submit the necessary clearances with the application. The application is titled 2023-2024 Volunteer Application. Human Resources / Human Resources (chesteruplandsd.org)
2. Once the completed application is submitted, Human Resources will review.
3. Approved volunteers will be placed on the board agenda for Receiver approval.

Please note that individuals who are not listed on a board agenda and approved by the Receiver, will not be permitted to volunteer at a school or event/program.

When calling the school, please be patient as Ms. Summers is fielding phone calls from parents, staff, and district administrators. Since she does so much multi-tasking, Ms. Summers also assists many stakeholders in person. This means that your call may go to voicemail. Please LEAVE A MESSAGE. Messages are consistently checked and followed up.

Also, please remember to speak clearly and calmly so you can be assisted in the most productive manner possible.

• Breakfast starts at 8:30AM
• Students must eat breakfast in the cafeteria (except Pre-K)
• Students enter through Fulton Street entrance
• Breakfast ends at 9:00 AM

Updated phone numbers are so important to us. We need to be able to reach you in the event of sickness or injury. Only parents or guardians will be called (except in emergencies) unless you specify something different in writing.

An updated Emergency Information form is important for the safety and well being of your child.

Please contact Ms. Summers, at HSummers@Chesteruplandsd.org or at cusaoffice@chesteruplandsd.organd your child's teacher with any and all updated contact information as soon as possible.

The parent/guardian of any student that comes to school sick with a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or pink eye will be contacted to pick your child up immediately; this is a district wide policy. Update your child's emergency contact list at CUSA to include trusted adults that can pick your child up if they become sick during school hours. Failure to pick your child up when called by the nurse is a form of neglect.

Please note that being in uniform is not only expected, but is part of attendance and our reward system, including field experiences, trips, and other prizes.

Polo, button down, or plain t-shirt:

white

black

blue

orange

red

Chino or dress pants/skirts:

black

navy blue

tan

Crocs can only be worn with the strap around the back of the ankle (sports mode)

**🚫No open-toed shoes/sandals, flip-flops, slides, slippers

**🚫 No jeans

**🚫 No sweatpants or joggers

General guidelines listed below.

The details of each reward expectation are communicated with staff and students.

Families, your voice is important and we want to hear from you. Your ideas, opinions, questions, concerns, and contributions to CUSA are welcome! Please join us for our PTO meetings. Meetings are announced through this newsletter and through direct contact the PTO leadership.