Below you will find our student expectations while in the classroom, hallways, bathroom, cafeteria, library, and outside areas. Click the link below to see more details on each.
Alki School Expectations
What students, parents and guardians need to know
At Alki, we want every student to feel safe and welcome so that they can learn and thrive. Along with our school culture, the following guidelines help make this possible.
Be in your seat
when the bell rings.
All electronic devices are turned off and out of sight.
Remain seated until the bell rings and your teacher dismisses you.
No arguing
with adults.
What to do
- Do bring proper supplies to all of your classes. The teacher will tell you what these are on the first day of class.
- Do be on time for all classes and prepared to learn.
- Do be an active, involved and positive member of Alki.
- Do clean up after yourself in the cafeteria by recycling, putting garbage in the proper cans and putting trays in the dishwashing room.
- Do conduct yourself in an orderly, safe manner when passing through or around the building. No running or physical contact. Stay to the right in hallways and doorways; keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself; and use a quiet voice.
- Do participate in all the activities you can while at Alki. Besides being fun, they are an important part of your educational experience.
- Do bring change for the vending machines. Neither the office nor the cafeteria can give change. Also, the office phone is for emergencies only.
- Do get an acceptable pass from your teacher when leaving your classroom for any reason.
- Do keep all medication, even over-the- counter types, in the office with doctors’ and parents’ directions for use. Students may not carry medication of any kind with them at school or share pills with others.
- Do limit displays of affection. Any public display of affection beyond hand-holding is not appropriate to the school setting and is subject to discipline.
- Do lock up all personal items when using the locker room in PE or sports. Locks make lockers secure.
What not to do
- Don’t bring skateboards, Razor-like scooters, rollerblades or roller skates. Skating is not allowed on school grounds at any time, and these items will be confiscated. You will not be allowed to store skateboards in the office.
- Don’t ride bicycles on school grounds or in the parking lots. Riding on public sidewalks is allowed. Bicycles should never be brought inside the school building or gymnasiums. Always remember to wear a helmet when riding.
- Don’t leave school grounds without permission after you arrive. Alki is a closed campus; leaving without permission is considered a truancy.
- Don’t bring valuables to school, including personal electronic devices (cellphones, iPods, MP3 players, laptops, electronic games); large sums of money; trading cards; and valuable jewelry. These are high-theft items, and the school is not responsible if they are lost or stolen. They will be confiscated if they prove to be a problem.*
- Don’t give any medications, vitamins or pills of any type to any student. Don’t take pills from any student.
- Don’t loan textbooks or library books to other students. They are your responsibility, and you will be fined if any of them are lost.
- Don’t share your personal computer password or gym locker combination with anyone.
- Don’t use cellphones at school during school hours. Once school begins, cellphones must be turned off and put away. They may be used at lunch for only games and music. They may not be used at lunch for calling or texting without prior permission from a staff member. They will be confiscated if they are used inappropriately.
*Confiscated items will be held in the office and may have to be picked up by a parent. Continuous violations are subject to discipline.
Serious violations
The following are considered serious disruptive behaviors. Depending upon the severity of offense and/or previous or similar offenses, consequences may include parental and/or law enforcement notification, Saturday School, exclusion from class, suspension or expulsion.
- Student misconduct: drugs, alcohol, causing physical harm, weapons or guns and firearms
- Serious or continued insubordination, non-compliance: defiance, lack of cooperation with an adult, not following adult directives or school rules
- Swearing, inappropriate language, insult or abuse directed toward another student, teacher or adult
- Smoking, use and/or possession of tobacco products, cigarettes, tobacco lookalikes
- Continued classroom disruption
- Bomb threat
- Disturbing school activities: includes in building, on school grounds, during extracurricular activities and at off-campus events
- Harassment, intimidation, sexual harassment: includes inappropriate touching and de-pantsing
- Cumulative violations of school/district rules
- Burglary, robbery, theft, extortion, blackmail
- Bullying, intimidation
- Assault, fighting
- Damage, destruction of school property
Modest dress is an expectation at school, just as it is in a place of business. Inappropriate clothing or appearances that cause the disruption of the educational process or present health or safety problems will not be permitted. Apparel or accessories with the following types of pictures or wording are not allowed:
- Innuendo
- Sexual suggestiveness
- Gang-related
- Drug/alcohol/tobacco-related
- Vulgar or insulting
- Weapons
- Violence
- Ridicule or harassment of particular people or groups
Certain classes, activities or athletics may require prescribed dress and grooming. Shoes, however, are to be worn at all times.
When in doubt whether a clothing item is OK for school, students should check in the office. Students inappropriately dressed will be asked to change or call home for a change of clothes. If a student continues to wear inappropriate clothing, further disciplinary action is warranted.
Below are guidelines that should help if you are unsure whether your clothing is appropriate for school.
- Bandanas and bandana-print clothing: Bandanas are not allowed to be worn in any fashion at Alki or at other VPS schools. Bandana backpacks, clothing and clothing accessories also are not allowed.
- Shirts and tops: No skin showing on the back, belly or midriff areas. Sleeveless shirts and tank tops should cover most of the shoulder area. No undergarments should be visible. No spaghetti straps.
- Pants, shorts and skirts: A general guideline for shorts and/or skirts is that the hemline should be no shorter than the fingertips when arms are extended downward. Ideally, pants should be worn at the waistline. No sagging. No undergarments should be visible.
- Shoes: Only hard-soled foot apparel that is not distracting may be worn. No slippers or house shoes.
- Accessories: Chains and long belts are prohibited. Hats are not allowed at Alki in the building except on Fridays and special Hat Days. Sunglasses are not allowed in school.
Objects that are not conducive to the learning environment or cause distraction to the school setting (e.g., toys, aerosol sprays, balloon bouquets, etc.) are inappropriate. These may be taken from students and placed in the office until the end of the day. Please do not have them delivered to the school.
- Drugs, alcohol and tobacco
- Weapons: Weapons, toy guns or any kind of knife—even lookalikes—should never be brought to school because of their potential use to harm or intimidate. If a student does bring them to school, it could result in suspension, emergency expulsion, expulsion from school, expulsion from the district and/or arrest.
- Personal safety devices: Personal safety devices such as mace, pepper spray and stun guns are not allowed in school or on school buses due to the potential for injury through misuse or accidental discharge. These items will be considered dangerous weapons and will be handled accordingly.
- Skateboards: Because of Vancouver Public Schools’ insurance and liability policies, students may not ride a skateboard or scooter or use rollerblades on school district grounds at any time. They cannot be stored in the office.
- Deliveries: From time to time, a student may need to have a particular item dropped off for them at school. However, because of the disruption to a student’s academic day, commercial deliveries of items such as flowers, balloon bouquets and food are not allowed.
- Perfume, scents and spray deodorants: Some members of the Alki community are very sensitive to strong odors. Therefore, it is important to use very little or no scent in school. Aerosol deodorants and other body sprays are not to be brought to school. Roll-ons and stick deodorants are preferable.
Bicycles
Helmets should always be worn when riding. Students are welcome to ride their bicycle on the public sidewalks, but may not ride them on school grounds or in the parking lots. Bicycles should never be brought inside the school building or gymnasiums. Students should understand that riding a bicycle to school is a privilege and take full responsibility for securing their bicycles in the proper area.
As you log on and use Alki’s computer system, you are agreeing to abide by the following rules.
School-issued Laptops
All Alki students are issued a Laptop. Students are responsible for the safe return of the device at the end of the school year. They must store it safely at all times, including lunch.
- Do use it responsibly. Nothing is private on the Laptop. Emails, search history, etc. all are subject to review and monitoring.
- Do not do anything on the Laptop that you would not want your parents to know about.
- Do not use it for social media, online games, etc.
- Do not leave your Laptop unattended anywhere.
- Do not use it at a table where food or drinks can damage it.
All technology
Conserving school resources: Do your part to conserve paper, printer supplies and network file space. Print only one page at a time. Do not print directly from the internet; copy and paste the selection. Delete all files from your student folder that you no longer need.
No games at school: Never use the school’s internet connections to download any games from the internet.
Copyright law: Under no circumstances are you to install, store or email executable programs using Alki computers without authorization from the system manager. This restriction extends to all executable files, including those with .exe, .zip, .scr, .com, .bat or .pdf extensions.
Plagiarism: Via technology, students have access to a large variety of written work. Under no circumstance should a student copy this work to submit it as their own. Students will be taught the proper ways to quote and cite other people’s work.
Vandalism: Attempts to modify or crash the school network or any workstation will be treated as acts of vandalism. Damaging any school property is a crime and may involve prosecution. Deliberately and maliciously deleting the files of any other user will be grounds for disciplinary action.
Respecting others: Never use district-issued technology to convey profanity, abusive language, derision, threats, or racial or sexual innuendoes. Don’t use someone else’s school account, and never allow others to use yours. Keep all passwords private and do not attempt to gain access to others’ passwords. Students who share their folders and passwords with others will lose their own accounts.
Inappropriate websites: Despite school district attempts to block these websites, new sites show up from time to time. If you ever encounter an inappropriate site, report it to a teacher immediately. Under no circumstances are you to seek out these sites on the internet.
Email/messaging: Do not use your school email account on your Laptop to email other students about non-school topics. Do not spam groups of Alki students with emails that are not approved by the school. You are not to use your email as a way to message other students.
Getting permission: Students must have a teacher’s permission before using a computer. To use the computers during, before or after school, a student must have a pass from a teacher. Before and after school use also requires staff supervision.
Any violations of the above rules will result in the loss of computer privileges and may lead to other disciplinary actions as well. All students will have access to use technology available on the school district’s computers unless his or her parent fills out and sends in an internet restriction form.