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Policies & Procedures

School Policies & Procedures

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Items that are lost are put into the Lost and Found bins, which are outside at the back of the school.  Parents and students are welcome to look through the bins at any time to find their items.  Items in the bins are sorted by the Lost and Found Committee on the last Thursday of each month.  Items that are labeled with a student's name will be returned to that student's classroom for them to take home.  Unlabeled items are taken out of the bins on that last Thursday of the month, laundered, and stored to be sold in the school's annual rummage sale.

If you have a question about a lost item that you have not been able to find in the bins, or which you discover is lost after the bins have been cleaned out for the month, you can email lostandfound@wasatchwaldorf.org  and the committee members may be able to help you find your item.  

  • Free & Reduced Lunch Application
  • Local Wellness Policy Assessment
    Wasatch Waldorf Charter School is committed to the optimal development of every student. We crafted a wellness policy to reflect the school’s values in areas of nutrition, daily rhythms, physical activities, and social well being. We adhere to all applicable federal wellness laws to ensure healthy environments for our students.
  • Score Card
    Our wellness committee regularly monitors the overall effectiveness of our wellness policy, and completes an assessment every three years to more thoroughly evaluate the policy, and recommend modifications that will positively impact student health. This assessment will be posted for the public to review.

In accordance with Utah state law, Wasatch Charter School charges fees for students in grades 6 through 8, our Middle School grades. The fee schedule is approved annually by the school's Governing Board and reflects actual costs of items and services. The fees can be viewed on the PDF below.

The second PDF is the Fee Waiver Application, which can be used by any family that may qualify to have the Middle School Fees waived based on financial qualifications. 

These materials are also made available to every family of a Middle School student upon enrollment to the school, and at Back to School time for continuing students.

In accordance with State requirements, we are providing you with information regarding Wasatch Charter School’s receipt and use of School Land Trust funds. The trust land council members for WCS include the Executive Director, Emily Merchant, and all members of the Governing Board (the majority of whom are parents in the school). A list of Board Members and their contact information can be found at: http://wasatchwaldorf.org/governance/.

Our Trust Land Council meets throughout the year as part of the public Board meetings which are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:15 PM at the school with some exceptions. See school Calendar. Agendas for these meetings are posted in the school and online prior to each meeting, and include notice of when the trust lands council will be meeting. The council follows the same rules of order and procedure as the Governing Board, abiding by a loose for of Robert’s Rules of Order. Agendas for upcoming 

Wasatch Charter School works diligently to protect student privacy and to provide parents with required information regarding any sharing of Personally Identifiable Information. Click each to download the policy.

  • Student Data Disclosure Statement
    As an educational entity in the State of Utah, Wasatch Charter School will collect and maintain student data. This document serves to provide clarity around what information is collected and maintained by the School.
  • Volunteer Expectations Agreement
  • FERPA Notification
  • Directory Information Notice
  • Student Data Collection Notice
  • Data Governance Plan
  • Media Release Form
  • Metadata Directory
    Click the link to view Wasatch Charter School's Metadata Dictionary The Metadata Dictionary provides a comprehensive list of all of the entities with whom Wasatch Charter School shares student data. Wasatch Charter School is committed to sharing student data responsibly, with trusted entities, and only as needed for educational purposes.
  • Non-Discrimination Statement
    Wasatch Charter School does not discriminate in admissions/enrollment, employment, or in any of its educational programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion or religious creed, disability or handicap, sex or gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status,  genetic information or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.


Parent Teacher / Conferences

Student progress is reported through parent/teacher conferences held twice a year for students in Kindergarten - Fifth Grade and Portfolio Reviews for students in Sixth-Eighth Grade, as well as through written reports sent out twice per school year. Parent/Teacher Conferences are held in the fall and in the spring to communicate student progress to parents. Portfolio reviews occur in the middle and at the end of the year. Teachers will contact parents in a timely fashion if concerns arise regarding a student’s progress in school. It is essential for parents to inform teachers of any changes in a child’s life that might affect their performance in school.

Assessment

Teaching in all schools, including a Waldorf school, involves the presentation of subjects and content and the development of skills and competencies. Conceptually, the skills and competencies are built as subjects and content are taught in a creative and imaginative way that engages the students in meaningful activity. The Waldorf approach to education seeks to develop the whole human being and values a wide array of capacities equally, not preferencing traditional “academic” content over practical and artistic skills, physical abilities and social and emotional development. However, in Waldorf teaching it is still essential to know both the content and the skills being worked on and to track and measure student progress, particularly given the integrated approach to teaching. At Wasatch Charter School, student progress is regularly assessed and tracked in a meaningful way in order to demonstrate growth and to provide supports and interventions, as needed.


Comprehensive Approaches to Assessment

Scope and Sequence of Content

Wasatch presents information in alignment with a traditional scope and sequence used in Waldorf schools.  This sequencing is at times ahead of and at times behind the state core standards for grade; however, all core standards are taught over the progression from Kindergarten to the Eighth Grade.  This information is reported to parents during the middle and end of the school year and through class newsletters and emails during the school year.

Completion of Assigned Work

Completion of main lesson and practice work is another aspect of student assessment and content work. This is a way of learning the content areas more deeply and demonstrating understanding. All main lesson work is assessed and teachers look for quality of work, mastery of content, demonstration of standards-based skills, behavior and effort. This work is reported on report cards on a semester basis.

Formative Assessments

  1. Standardized Tests
  • Accadience (Reading and Math in Grades 1-3, given 3 times annually, can be used for progress monitoring with smaller assessments in between.  Required by the State of Utah.) 
  • NWEA Maps (Used for English Language Arts and Mathematics formative assessments in Grades 4-8.  Should be given 3 times annually to check progress.)
  • RISE (Administered in Grades 3-8 at the end of the year, as required.)

      2. Class Assessments and Tests

  • Dictations (spelling, grammar, handwriting)
  • Reading Groups
  • End of Block Tests (in upper grades)
  • Reports
  • Math Quizzes
  • Spelling Tests
  • Main Lesson Block Assessments (as described above)

Paying Attention with Intention (teachers notice particular students in particular areas on particular days and take brief notes on skills and abilities demonstrated)

Grades Readiness Assessment (kindergarten students)

Reports

Teachers report to administration on the progress of their students throughout the year and work with our reading, math, and student support teams to identify students in need of additional support.  Reports to parents occur at least quarterly through conferences or report cards, providing a time to assemble data and observations collected through various formative assessments.

Testing Approach

As a public school, WCS will administer all state required assessments. WCS believes that assessment can provide valuable information on student progress, but is also limited in its scope. Our school seeks to recognize and promote the development of children as full human beings, placing in equal importance with academic growth social and emotional, artistic and musical, and physical and kinesthetic development. Testing is approached as one of many sources of information on student development within the school year, and administered in an environment of genuine concern and caring. 

Testing can be a time of great anxiety for students. Teachers are encouraged to consider strategies that will lessen anxiety, such as: discussing tests as one measure of student progress, encouraging students to take time and stick with tests, providing adequate exposure and preparation related to the method of administration and language of testing, going over practice questions in class, providing breaks for students within the testing period, working with parents to provide breakfast at school on testing days, etc.

Accadience Details

Wasatch Charter School (WCS) participates in a nation-wide and State-mandated assessment called Acadience Reading and Acadience Math three times a year. The Acadience assessments include measures that help teachers and schools determine how students are performing on foundational reading and mathematics skills. Acadience assessments provide “indicators” of the student’s overall reading and mathematics proficiency. The indicators help guide teachers and our interventionists towards instructional needs to better serve your child. 

As a Waldorf school, we are aware of many dimensions of your child’s development; we contextualize any standardized testing data within the fuller picture of who your child is and how they are growing, particularly in determining whether additional support or interventions are needed.  We also augment the data collected through Acadience Reading and Acadience Math with our observations and other assessments of each child. 

In addition, WCS’s scope and sequence for the introduction of certain concepts may vary from that of other schools, particularly as we teach language and math from the whole to the parts. Consequently, in all grades we pay particular attention to student growth in Acadience Reading and Acadience Math to ensure that students are developing skills over time, more than worrying about reaching an arbitrary pre-designated proficiency level.  Acadience Reading and Acadience Math should never be used to grade your child or for decisions about grade retention. It is important to note that the difficulty and content of Acadience Reading and Acadience Math increases over the course of the year, so progress is important to notice, even if a child’s proficiency level does not change. 

NWEA Maps Details

Wasatch Charter School (WCS) administers NWEA MAPS assessment three times a year. NWEA MAP is Wasatch’s own internal measurement of student’s growth in English Language Arts and in Math. NWEA MAP is a computer-adaptive test and highly respected national assessment platform.

As a Waldorf school, we are aware of many dimensions of your child’s development; we contextualize any standardized testing data within the fuller picture of who your child is and how they are growing, particularly in determining whether additional support or interventions are needed.  We also augment the data collected through NWEA with our observations and other assessments of each child.  In addition, WCS’s scope and sequence for the introduction of certain concepts may vary from that of other schools. Consequently, in all grades we pay particular attention to student growth in NWEA to ensure that students are developing skills over time, more than worrying about reaching an arbitrary pre-designated proficiency level. Please note that MAP Growth scores are just one data point that we use at WCS to determine how a student is performing. NWEA MAP scores should never be used to grade your child or for decisions about grade retention. 

At WCS, teachers, interventionists, SPED teachers and staff use the data to inform their instruction, differentiate student learning and monitor growth of individual students.  MAP Growth produces a RIT scale instead of a score. The RIT scale accurately measures what students know, regardless of their grade level. It also measures growth over time, allowing you to track your child’s progress throughout the school year and across multiple years. In addition to RIT scores, MAP Growth provides specific learning statements showing what each student is ready to learn.  The learning statements are directly aligned to Utah Common Core State Standards.  These specific learning statements and RIT scores are also interwoven into programs that we use for students to practice identified skills, including Newsela and Map Accelerator Khan Math which automatically differentiate instruction for your student to work on their needed skill level.

Rise Details

Wasatch Charter School (WCS) participates in State-mandated assessment called RISE at the end of each year. RISE assessments include English language arts (3-8), mathematics (3-8), science (4-8), and writing (5-8). Because this is a summative assessment at the end of the school year, RISE data is not used to track progress or support curriculum or instructional design.

School Assessment Data

Historic data on school assessments is available in our school's annual reports.  

UTAH SCHOOL REPORT CARD 

https://reportcard.schools.utah.gov/District/OverallPerformance?


Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 USC §1681)

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The Public Education Hotline is maintained by the Internal Audit Department of the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and it is a venue for citizens, educators, employees, and other stakeholders to report concerns related to any of the agencies governed by or provided resources by the USBE. You can expect a response within 72 business hours.

Reporting a Concern

If you would like to report a concern (e.g., misuse of assets, funds, or resources; non-compliance with regulations, policies or rules; fraud, waste, abuse or unethical behavior) please contact the Internal Audit Department in one of the following ways:

  1. Fill out the Report a Concern Form.
  2. E-mail us at audit@schools.utah.gov
  3. Call the dedicated phone number (801) 538-7813 (if we do not answer, please leave a message and we will return your call within 72 hours)
  4. Mail a concern to:
  5. Utah State Board of Education
    Internal Audit Department
    Attention: Debbie Davis
    PO Box 144200
    Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200
  6. Schedule an appointment to share your concern in person by emailing audit@schools.utah.gov.

To expedite a preliminary analysis of reported items, when you report a concern please provide as much information and documentation as possible. This could include:

  • Your name, e-mail, and phone number (reports of concerns may be anonymous to the extent allowed by law)
  • A detailed description of the concern, including any relevant laws, regulations, policies, programs, etc., and if applicable, the source of the funds involved (e.g. federal, state, other)
  • The names and titles of the individuals involved with the concern
  • The location and date where the concern occurred
  • Additional information such as: other witnesses, supporting documents, evidence, etc.

For each concern received the Internal Audit Department will conduct a preliminary analysis as directed by R277-123. The analysis includes consideration of relevant laws and rules, and entities with authority to review the concern and take necessary action. This means a concern may be referred to one or more entity; if referred, consideration of the concern will be according to the policies and procedures of that entity.

Language Assistance

You may, free of charge, request language assistance services for the Public Education Hotline by e-mailing audit@schools.utah.gov.

Watch our Video Drop Off/Pick-up Procedure

Drop Off/Pick-up Procedure Slides

If you have a concern or complaint, please reference our Healthy Communications Guidelines and Concerns Policy. 

Unresolved concerns may be addressed to the USBE Hotline; or call them at (801) 538-7813.

Report Concern