Flex Academy Community Code of Conduct

Purpose & Rationale

This Code of Conduct has been developed to provide parameters around our expectations of students as learners and Community members. The Flex Academy learner Profile and Core Values provide a foundation for this code of conduct.

This code of conduct also includes ways in which Flex Academy may address situations where a student is acting out of synch with the learner profile or our core values.

The details in this code of conduct are not exhaustive but provide a view of how we approach our core values in managing student behaviour.

Flex Academy Learner Profile

A Flex Academy learner is a reflective and adaptable thinker who is inquisitive, discerning, and full of wonder at God's world, courageous and sustained by hope with a merciful, humble, and empathetic heart, and an advocate who is responsive to the needs of others, serving to have an impact on a world in need of redemption.

Flex Academy Core Values

Academic Success - Engaged Lifelong Learners

We aim to inspire every student to become a passionate learner who reaches towards their personal best while continually seeking out opportunities to grow. Our goal is that students leave Flex Academy having developed the skills and tools to remain discerning lifelong learners.

Integrity - Authentic Christ Followers

One of the definitions of integrity is the quality or state of being complete or undivided. We believe this wholeness can only be found in Christ. Our desire for our students and, by extension their families, is to walk in the fullness of an authentic relationship with Christ within a supportive community that prays together, challenges each other and shares life together.

Relationship - Intentional Supportive Community

Responding to the needs of our families, we develop a variety of opportunities for students to connect, to learn together and to build supportive community. Our teachers and staff pray for, encourage and come alongside our students and families as we partner with them in their academic journey.

Flexibility - Personalized Learning Choices

Just as every student is unique, their learning should be as well. We value creating individualized learning plans for every student that are designed to provide a flexible and tailored education, empowering and supporting parents as we partner with them. We strive to create innovative opportunities, including individualized home education, any-pace online courses, community-building face-to-face learning groups, cross-enrolled options and much more.

Conduct Expectations

At Flex Academy, our entire community – including staff, students, volunteers, and parents – is responsible for ensuring Flex Academy is a safe, supportive, and inclusive school. Behaviour that falls within our core values and learner and teacher profiles looks like the following:

At Flex Academy, we commit to being respectful, loving, gentle, humble, kind, patient, and self-controlled as we partner with God's work in our lives

The following are examples of behaviours that are in sync with our core values:

Demonstrating respect for ourselves, others, and our school
Apologizing and working toward change when there is a problem
Forgiving one another and working together
Owning our mistakes and taking steps to correct them
Treating all individuals, regardless of race, ability, sexual orientation, self-expression, or religious beliefs with kindness, inclusion, and respect.
Treating school property and the property of others with a reasonable standard of care
Expressing ourselves with socially acceptable language and gestures
Exhibiting behaviour that is free of all forms of intimidation, harassment, racism, exclusion, and discrimination
Dressing in accordance with the school's dress code standards
Informing a school official of any unsafe situation
Make every effort to attend scheduled classes and arrive on time
Respecting the rights of others to learn in an environment free of unnecessary distractions
Assisting in making the school a safe, caring, and orderly place
Modelling respectful and responsible behaviour, not only at school, but within the community and whenever acting as a school ambassador or representative

Problematic Behaviour

Some behaviours demonstrate a lack of willingness or ability to synch up with our core values and learner profile.

The following kinds of behaviours are out of syc with our core values. They will result in consequential responses from Flex Academy in the form of detentions, parental involvement, restorative meetings, academic probation, or loss of priveledges.

Distracting others from focusing on classroom instruction or prescribed tasks (including distracting others during Flex blocks or Flex days when on campus)
Creating unsafe situations for school members
Improper use of Flex spaces (the Village or Mez) - includes habitually not signing in or out or a chronic lack of communication with the school if not staying the full day on a Flex day.
Swearing at a Flex Academy community member
Habitual absenteeism
Habitually poor work habits or lack of effort in completing schoolwork
Habitual unkindness toward others (excluding, gossiping, using unkind words

When problematic behaviour is the result of something that is clearly outside of a student's control, Flex Academy teachers and administration will take an educational, skills-based, supportive and partnering approach to help students reach toward their full potential.

Serious or Dangerous Behaviours

Some behaviours demand serious responses from the Flex Academy Administrative team, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the behaviour.

In all cases, a restorative approach to discipline is preferred whenever possible.

Serious responses include removal from class, suspension, restorative justice, and in some cases, expulsion from Flex Academy.

Behaviours that will bring about a serious response from Administration include, but are not limited to:

Retaliatory behaviour toward others
Possessing any form of a weapon while on school property
Possessing or using intoxicants, illegal, or restricted substances. See the Flex Academy Substance Abuse Policy for more on this.
Willfully and continually interfering with the rights of others to learn
Acts of bullying, violence, targeted exclusion, harassment, or intimidation
Threatening others – in person or online/digitally
Possession or use of weapons
Theft or damage to property

Family Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the entire Flex Academy community to ensure our school is a safe, caring, inclusive and orderly school. For families, it is of the utmost importance that teachers and staff and Flex Administration are treated with dignity and respect. We expect our Staff to do the same toward both students and families.

There is no room for bullying and harassment within the Flex Academy community.

Any parent or guardian who berates, swears at, yells at, intimidates, threatens, bullies or harasses a Flex Academy staff member will be at risk for withdrawal of their student(s) from the school.

A parent or guardian who disrespectfully treats a staff member may also be prevented from entering the school premises until reconciliation takes place between the parent and staff member.

Definitions and Terms

Discipline is intended to promote positive and healthy social and group behaviour development. As a school, part of our role is to actively teach these attitudes and skills and help students correct unhelpful behaviours. At times, this involves the use of consequences and, if necessary, rising expectations that coincide with students' age and maturity.

Some examples of possible consequences that may be considered are:

Informal meeting between teacher and student or admin and student to address the situation or behavior
Having students fill out an Incident and Reflection Form where they consider their choices and their impact
Phone call or email to parent to discuss or inform of the situation
Formal meeting involving staff, student, and parent/guardian
Detention or “Make Up” of missed time
Removal of an assumed school privilege (off-campus permission, Flex room priveledges, involvement in extracurricular activities, etc.)
Referral to school administration (Assistant Director or Director, then possibly Principal/Head of School)
Restitution, either monetarily or through school-based community service
Involvement of RCMP liaison officer
Definite in-school or out-of-school suspension
Indefinite suspension
Expulsion

Suspension is a removal of a student’s right to attend regular class instructional sessions.

Suspensions may be:

Directed Suspension – supervised suspension up to 10 days in length served at our school
Definite Suspension – up to 10 school days spent at home
Indefinite Suspension – in excess of 10 school days

Administrators of schools may suspend a student when:

A student is wilfully disobedient to a teacher or any other employee of the school
the behaviour of the student has a harmful effect on the character or persons of others students
A student fails, after due warning and support, to make reasonable efforts to reconcile or effect change in behaviour

Expulsion

An expulsion is the removal of a student’s right to attend a given school.

Administrators of schools may expel a student when:

The student has continually refused to comply with the Code of Conduct or other rules or policies of the school either verbally or through their actions or both
Has committed a one-time serious infraction or breach of the school Code of Conduct and must be removed from the school for the safety, benefit, and stability of other school community members
Has failed to apply himself or herself to his or her studies

An expulsion can be appealed to the school’s Board of Directors