Student Handbook

1. It is unacceptable for a student to bully, harass, violate another’s stated boundaries, physically intimidate, verbally threaten, mock, or deliberately exclude another member of the school community. 

2. It is unacceptable for a student to act in any way that is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, fatphobic, or to discriminate against anyone’s religious or cultural practices. We consider silence from bystanders in circumstances where such things occur to be consent.

3. It is unacceptable for a student to refuse to cooperate with a reasonable request from a faculty member or any instructor for a school program.

4. It is unacceptable for a student to refuse to use academic time productively or to intentionally disturb academic time for others. We understand struggling and frustration; students may take needed breaks, but it is unacceptable to refuse to engage.

Behavior in violation of these above rules will result in a disciplinary notice called a “strike.”

With each of the first two strikes, we will notify the student’s parents/guardians of the student’s probationary status and arrange to meet with the family. The goal of the meeting is to find a solution to avoid any further strikes. A third strike will result in separation from the school. A separated student may apply for readmission. A re-accepted student has no further “strikes,” and behavior resulting in one will mean permanent separation.

Violation of rules 1 and 2 above may be of a nature that a second or third chance is not appropriate. Bullying, hate speech, and intolerance may result in immediate separation of a student at the discretion of the faculty.

The Four Winds faculty tries to give students as much freedom as possible to learn, grow, experiment, have fun, and just be kids. Therefore, we have few other “rules” at school. The expectations that we do have exist solely to ensure the success of everyone’s learning, physical safety of everyone in the community, and the safety of our building. Occasionally, situations arise during the school year that require us to set a new policy. In most of these rare events, the teachers and students meet as a group to decide the new parameters. These rules are usually erased at the end of the school year, allowing us to begin anew in the fall.

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