West Bridge Academy
Handbook
2015-16
for West Bridge Academy
Parents and Students
Welcome
Welcome to West Bridge Academy! We look forward to working with you and helping you build a bridge towards
a successful future. As a student at West Bridge Academy, you are choosing a different educational path and,
together, we will envision and implement a school experience that is both challenging and meaningful to you. Our
objective is for every student to establish goals that help them find purpose and meaning in their education. The
teachers and staff at West Bridge Academy are committed to giving you the opportunities and experiences you need
to meet your goals and move on from high school with confidence.
At West Bridge Academy you will learn how to unlock and tap into your unique capabilities. Students are given the
tools for not just academic but also emotional and social success. You will be guided and encouraged to use those
tools to build a bridge to a successful and promising future. Student to teacher ratios are small at West Bridge and
enable us to provide each student with complete flexibility and the attention they need.
West Bridge Academy Staff
Christopher Ondrus – Director of Student Services
ondrus_chris@dublinschools.net
Mark Eatherton – Coordinator of WBA/Power Plus/PREP/LIFE
eatherton_mark@dublinschools.net
Jaime Stewart – Assistant Principal/Coffman
stewart_jaime@dublinschools.net
Forrest Trisler – Assistant Principal/Jerome
trisler_forrest@dublinschools.net
Dan Morris – Assistant Principal/Scioto
morris_dan@dublinschools.net
Lenore Cereghini – Student Services Coordinator
cereghini_lenore@dublinschools.net
Kelley Barber – Student Services Coordinator
Michael Risner - Intervention Specialist
risner_michael@dublinschools.net
Ryan Walton – Alternative Education Teacher
walton_ryan@dublinschools.net
Alana Best – Intervention Specialist
best_alana@dublinschools.net
Kim Oppliger – Student Services Support Specialist
oppliger_kim@dublinschools.net
614-764-5913
614-760-4551
614-718-8204
614-718-8293
614-718-8320
614-760-4342
614-764-5913
614-760-4553
614-760-4554
614-760-4552
614-760-4555
West Bridge Mission Statement
Dublin City Schools believes that all students can learn and succeed. We are committed to providing customized
educational programs, which meet the needs of learners who can achieve greater success utilizing a non-traditional
educational experience. Students are provided with a variety of educational options that can lead to graduation and
are supported by services for the student and their immediate family that are essential to success.
Child Find – Help Dublin Schools Identify Children with Disabilities, Including Students
Eligible for Protection Under Section 504
Child Find is the process of locating, evaluating, and identifying children with disabilities who may be in need of
special education and related services and/or may be entitled to protection from discrimination based on his/her
disability. Parents, relatives, public and private agency employees, childcare providers, physicians, and concerned
citizens are encouraged to help the school district find any child, age birth – 21, who may have a disability and is in
need of special education and related services. If you suspect a child may have a disability, help is available.
Contact the Dublin City Schools Department of Academics and Student Learning at 7030 Coffman Road in Dublin,
phone 614-764-5913, or visit www.dublinschools.net.
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Hours of Operation
Session I:
8:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
Session II:
12:15 p.m.–2:20 p.m.
Twilight:
2:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Each student will also be required to have a vocational and/or service-learning component. Student schedules will
be customized according to their educational/support plan.
Explanation of Program
West Bridge Academy is designed to provide unique educational opportunities for Dublin City Schools’ students.
The West Bridge Academy curriculum and structure are designed to create customized learning experiences that
meet the individual needs of learners. Our intervention efforts at West Bridge Academy are deliberate, unified,
consistent, and evidence based. The entire staff facilitates student personal academic growth by supporting students
as they earn credits through a rigorous on-line curriculum (Plato) and by directly teaching students the foundations
of emotional intelligence and resiliency.
An individualized plan will guide each student’s experience. Upon entrance, the student’s Student Success Team
(SST) will develop a customized plan, which will grow and expand as the student advances through the curriculum
and explores post secondary options. In addition to meeting the academic needs of each student, emphasis is placed
on providing career development opportunities, service-learning experiences, and a cognitive behavior therapy
based mental health component.
Students at West Bridge Academy are provided the opportunity to practice and demonstrate their new academic and
social-emotional skills in the classroom, small group settings, and in one-on-one planning. It is our vision that
students leave West Bridge Academy not only meeting their individual academic goals but, also, are better able to
recognize their own strengths, control their own emotions, communicate well with others, and believe in the power
of themselves, persisting even in the face of adversity.
Additional Programming/Opportunities
Service Learning
The purpose of the service-learning program is to provide the opportunity for students to engage in authentic
learning experiences in settings outside of the traditional classroom in order to develop personal interests as well as
nurture and practice individual skills and strengths. Students can then use these unique gifts and talents to make a
positive impact on their own life and the lives of others.
By learning more about their own individual gifts and interests and by then using those skills to have a true impact
on needs of the community around them, students develop necessary skills to be more successful both in school and
in life.
West Bridge Academy Career Class
WBA students will have the opportunity to develop employment skills in a weekly career class. Resume building,
employment trends, mock interviews, and guest speakers will allow students to explore their career interests as well
as strengthen their employability.
Greenhouse/Grow2Serve
Students will have the opportunity to participate in the Grow2Serve Greenhouse or gardens located on the grounds
of West Bridge Academy. In this class, students will spend their time working in groups as part of our
horticulturally-based service learning program. Students can expect to participate in a wide variety of activities
including: greenhouse maintenance, plant care, seed propagation, harvesting, food panty donations, young plant
donations, community service, gardening, cooking with fresh produce, rain barrel construction, and so on. Students
will be participating in hands-on, collaborative learning with the constantly evolving problem solving challenges
that arise as a part of plant care. Local community organizations that benefit from our service include:
The Dublin Food Pantry, Section 8 Housing, Assisted Living homes, district elementary schools, and community
gardens.
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Guiding Principles
In order to ensure that all students can take advantage of the opportunities offered at West Bridge Academy, there
are three guiding principles by which West Bridge students are expected to abide. They are:
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Respect of self and others – All students are expected to respect not just themselves, but all aspects of
the West Bridge Academy as well as the students, staff, and teachers here. Decisions students make
should never detract from anyone else reaching their goals or accomplishing what they need to do.
Responsibility of working towards a purpose or meaning – Each day, all student actions should move
them towards reaching their established purpose for being at West Bridge Academy. Students must
accept responsibility and be accountable for the choices they make. We want the experience at West
Bridge Academy to lead to the establishment of positive routines that eventually become a way of living.
Finding oneself through service to others – We feel very strongly that by learning to help and meet the
needs of others, one feels a sense of purpose and better discovers how they fit into their community.
West Bridge Academy graduates will feel a sense of belonging and a greater confidence in themselves as
they leave high school and transition into the work force or further their education.
Rules / Procedures
Each student at West Bridge Academy, will play an important role in not just determining their path towards future
success, but also in how each will pursue their goals on a day-to-day basis. Every action and choice made
throughout the course of the day should be a step towards the purpose and goals that were established upon entering
West Bridge Academy. It is for this reason that students play such an important part in the scheduling process and
in designing an educational/support plan geared specifically towards their needs.
It is the expectation that each student follow through with the agreed upon plan, as well as all West Bridge Academy
rules. Classroom rules and expectations will be reviewed with each student upon beginning their program.
Attendance
West Bridge Academy students must maintain a 90% attendance rate. Each student is expected to call West Bridge
Academy each day that they will not be in attendance. Absences are defined as follows:
Excused absences: absences resulting from personal illness, illness in the family, quarantine of the home,
death of a relative, work at home due to the absence of parents or guardians, observance of religious holidays,
family emergency, professional appointments, prearranged family vacations, or a special reason for which
approval is given by an administrator or the coordinator
Unexcused Absences: absences by consent of the parent or with the parent’s knowledge for a reason not
acceptable to the school or absences that are not followed by written documentation from the parent or doctor.
Examples include: music lessons, hair appointments, car trouble, oversleeping, and truancy.
Truancy: a deliberate unauthorized absence from school
Tardy: students arriving to school less than 30 minutes after their scheduled starting time will be considered
tardy. Students that arrive more than 30 minutes after their scheduled starting time will be considered a partial
or full day unexcused absence.
Administrative Procedures
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2.
3.
4.
A student who accumulates two (2) unexcused absences or truancies will be required to meet with the
West Bridge Academy coordinator.
Any student who accumulates three (3) unexcused absences or truancies will receive a letter from the
West Bridge Academy coordinator requesting an attendance conference with the student and his/her
parents.
Any student who accumulates four (4) unexcused absences or truancies will receive a letter from the
West Bridge Academy coordinator requesting an attendance conference with the student and his/her
parents. The purpose of this conference will be to create an intervention plan to address the attendance
problem.
Any student who accumulates five (5) unexcused absences or truancies may be removed from West
Bridge Academy and returned to their home high school. Students under the age of eighteen (18) may be
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5.
referred to the Franklin County Educational Service Juvenile Court Liaison for excessive
absence/truancy by the West Bridge Academy coordinator.
Any student who accumulates ten (10) total days of absence in a semester will be required to attend an
attendance conference with a parent/guardian. This conference will determine the student’s eligibility to
remain at West Bridge Academy or whether they must return to their home high school.
Professional Development/Planning Days
In order to provide time for programming and staff development, the West Bridge Academy program will not be in
session on the following dates for the 2015-2016 school year.
September 18, 2015
October 9, 2015
November 6, 2015
January 29, 2016
February 19, 2016
March 4, 2016
April 8, 2016
May 13, 2016
Student Code of Conduct, Expectations, and Procedures
West Bridge Academy students are held accountable for the responsibilities and expectations outlined in detail in the
2015-2016 High School Handbook. Particular attention should be paid to the following sections as listed in the high
school handbook table of contents.
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Bullying and Other Forms of Aggressive Behavior Policy
Bus Rules
Co-Curricular Activity Code
Conduct at Extracurricular Activities
District Calendar
Dress Code
Driving to School
Electronic Devices/Cell Phones
Enforcement of Code of Conduct
Graduation Requirements
Harassment Regulations
Health Care
School Closing
Search and Seizure
Student Code of Conduct
Student Network and Internet Acceptable Safety Use and Policy
Student Responsibilities
Substance Abuse Policy
Tolles Technical Center
Weapons in Schools
Health Care/Clinic
A school nurse is available by phone or in person as requested to address health care concerns, emergency care, or
screenings.
Forms
Many forms routinely completed by parents prior to the start of school, especially medication forms for school and
emergency medical authorization information are on the Dashboard (dashboard.dublinschools.net) or the district
website (www.dublinschools.net). Emergency medical authorization and other district forms can be completed
online. Please contact your student’s school of attendance if you have any questions.
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