Communication

The Home Center Director/Curriculum Director system is one of the most unique aspects of The Mead School. It is also one of the most effective ways for the School to deliver its mission. The School is interested in and relies on any questions, insights, and concerns parents and guardians may have about their children. All of this information should be shared with your child’s Home Center Director (HCD) because it is the HCD who is responsible for overseeing a child’s program and working with other staff members to best meet a child’s individual needs. The HCD knows the whole child, and it is this perspective which is at the heart of our School’s mission. It is the HCD’s responsibility to observe children, gather information from the Curriculum Directors (CD), and communicate any questions to other staff members. Parents or guardians who need to speak directly to a CD about their child should work through the HCD.  You may wish to request the Head of School’s involvement in a meeting.

Depending on the Center, there are up to three scheduled conferences with the HCD each year. Early in the fall, you will meet with your child’s HCD to discuss perceptions and goals for your child during the year. These Goal Conferences are very important. Curriculum Directors will join the HCD during the November conference in order to provide you with a broad, face-to-face discussion with your child's extended teaching team. Additional conferences with the HCD and/or the Head of School can be arranged if requested, and are highly recommended if the need arises. Parents and guardians of children in the Kindergarten through 8th grade receive written reports from teachers twice a year in the winter and the spring.

Given the need for the HCD to be available to students and CD’s throughout the day, it is difficult for them to respond to a spur of the moment question posed at drop off or pickup. If it is an urgent matter, please advise the Front Desk, and we’ll get the message to the HCD immediately.  Otherwise, HCD’s have times throughout the day where they can make telephone calls and answer emails.  Please don’t hesitate to call or email your child’s HCD with questions, for clarification or to set up additional meeting times.

All families are required to complete the Contact and Emergency Information form each year. The form is included in our summer mailing to new families, and is available to returning families on our website.  This form is to be completed and returned to the business office prior to the first day of school.  Please indicate the primary email address you prefer that we use for communication.  Also, please remember to promptly notify us of any changes to your contact information throughout the school year.

Each Sunday afternoon you will receive "The Pulse" - Mead's electronic Community Bulletin & Newsletter.

In each edition, you can expect to receive a letter from the Head of School or other member of the staff, school and Parent Association announcements, event and calendar reminders, and news stories. It is a must-read for all things Mead.

Keeping all families informed helps to assure student safety.  We utilize an automated system as an essential tool for notification and communication with you.  The Honeywell Instant Alert for Schools allows us to deliver a message to you within minutes of an emergency by the device(s) of your choice: telephone, cell phone, email or pager.  This alert system is initiated for priority situations, i.e., emergency, weather closing/delay, bus transportation notice.  Registration, by you via the Internet, is mandatory.  Please assist us with this safety measure by keeping your contact information current.