School Incentives and Blackout Days Policy

Study Notes

Staff members with 4 or more Personal Days remaining at the end of the school year will receive a $1,500 incentive payment.
Staff members with Perfect Attendance (zero PTO hours used) will receive a $3,000 incentive payment.

Blackout Days are periods of critical school operations where all staff must be present.
Examples of Blackout Days include days before and after school breaks, PD days, Report Card Conference days, first and last days of school, state testing days, and other critical days determined by school leaders.
Requests for PTO will not be approved on Blackout Days, and absences on these days will not be paid.
Specific Blackout Days include the dates listed:
7/24, 7/25, 7/26, 7/27, 7/28, 7/31, 8/1, 8/2, 8/3, 8/4, 8/7, 8/31, 9/5, 9/13, 10/6, 10/16, 10/17, 10/25, 10/27, 11/17, 11/27, 12/21
1/8, 1/9, 1/12, 1/16, 1/17, 2/8, 2/19, 3/28, 4/3, 4/4, 5/1, 5/2, 5/3, 5/6, 5/7, 5/8, 5/16, 5/17

All teachers must have work prepared for students in their absence.
There are 2 types of Substitute Lesson Plans: Sub Plans for Planned Absences and Sub Plan for Emergencies.

Staff members must comply with the Professional Dress Code.
On Fridays, staff may dress down in jeans or other appropriate casual attire.
Examples of appropriate and inappropriate attire are listed:
Appropriate: Dress slacks, khakis, capris/cropped pants, Polo shirts, Collared shirts, dress shirts/blouses, sweaters/vests, Dresses and skirts that fit at the knee or below, Suit jackets
Inappropriate: Blue denim (jeans, skirts), Shorts, cargo pants, sweatpants/joggers, Yoga pants, spandex, leggings, exercise clothing/mesh, Tank tops, Excessively tight clothing, Clothing with rips/tears/holes above the knee, Rubber Flip-flops or Slippers

Full-time regular ReNEW Schools staff members qualify for 64 hours (8 days) of sick leave per year.
PTO can be used for sick leave, traveling out of town, caring for a sick child, etc.
PTO taken that exceeds one hour will be deducted from the annual allotment of 64 hours.
PTO taken for less than one hour will be tracked but not deducted from the PTO balance, except in cases of excessive use.
Staff members who started after the beginning of the school year will receive sick leave prorated based on their employment date.
Sick leave is a gratuity and does not accrue.
Staff members will not be paid for unused sick leave upon separation of employment.

The ReNEW Attendance Incentive becomes effective starting on the first day of work for the school year.
Two additional days off are scheduled for all ReNEW staff members: Friday, August 30th, and Thursday, April 17th.

For planned absences, an email must be sent to the Leadership Team at least five school days in advance to get approval from the coach and principal.
Examples of the email format: "I would like to request a Personal day for Monday, September 28th. I want to use this day to travel back from visiting Chicago that weekend. Please let me know if this is okay."
For day-of absences, staff must contact the coach and principal via text message no later than 6:30 am.