Communication Policy

Flex Academy will make every effort to meet the following protocols in their communication to parents and students as well as between other Flex Academy teachers, staff and administration:

Communicate in a positive, polite and supportive manner, always considering the Christian nature of our school, its teachers, staff and families.

1. In cases where the communication may reflect frustration or conflict, the Flex Academy teacher or staff are advised to include their administration.
2. This does not preclude communication that may be corrective in nature as a teacher often needs to correct a student. It means such communication will be done respectfully and with positive reinforcement.

The school’s preference for communication is first email, then phone.

3. It should be noted that this is a preference only. If a parent or student cannot make contact via email for technological reasons, or for the necessity of clarity that comes with direct voice-to-voice communication, the Flex Academy teacher or staff will indicate an appropriate time to speak on the telephone or via Zoom. If the teacher or staff cannot be reached directly, then contact will be arranged through the Flex Academy office.
4. All Flex Academy teachers and staff are responsible for managing their email in an organized fashion within their email program.
5. All Flex Academy teachers and staff will confine their email communication to their @flex.academy email address and not use private email addresses for school business. If confidentiality is an issue, the preferred communication mode should be face-to-face or phone contact, not email.

A one to two-day turnaround in all communication is expected, except for weekends and holidays.

6. All teachers, staff and administration must check their email daily with the exception of weekends and holidays.
7. All teachers, staff and administration are expected to make timely responses during standard business hours.
8. FA teachers, staff, parents and students should avoid the use of urgent markers in email (Importance: High!) unless the issue is truly urgent or time-sensitive.
9. A returned message does not mean that the issue is necessarily resolved within the timeline; it only means that communication has been returned. In the cases of marking papers, sending materials, and resolving tech support, the communication will try to specify projected timelines for resolution. In the case of extended time away from school responsibilities for travel, conferences, or health issues the teacher or staff person will communicate to both the Flex Academy administration first for authorization and then their families and students.
10. It is understood that in the case of emergencies, grace will be extended to teachers and staff and administration will notify families of a plan for communication.

If communication is not being followed through in a timely manner, as outlined in the previous points, the parent or student should notify the Flex Academy office that they have not had timely communication from their teacher.

11. Initially, this contact should be for the purposes of re-establishing communication and resolving the particular communication need.
12. If the communication issue is not resolved satisfactorily, then school leadership should be contacted.

Online courses, including some Flex Academy hybrid courses, have forums associated with each class. The teacher monitors these, and the same rules apply to these forums as per an email.

13. Teachers and staff should set up each forum so that they receive email notifications when a student makes a post.
14. Teachers are responsible for checking student contributions to the forum and ensuring that they meet the appropriate communication standards as outlined at the beginning of this document.

Chat-room/forum protocols should also fit within the guidelines stated at the beginning of this document. The teacher is responsible for monitoring communication within their group discussion.

15. Online class teachers will communicate via Zoom/Skype with their students during posted office hours to answer questions and give instruction or special help.
16. If the teacher can’t make the posted office hours, they will tell the class when the rescheduled time will be. They will also post any news items within their course menu.