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Policies and Procedures

 

Sutton Middle School

2025-2026

Policies and Procedures

 

  1. Arrival
    1. Students are not allowed on campus before 8:50 a.m. each day.
    2. Please click here for carpool maps for both campuses. 
      1. For the Northside Campus, please note there is no carpool pick-up or drop-off in the main/front parking lot.
      2. For the Northside Campus, pick up and drop off is not allowed at Northside United Methodist Church, on Kingswood Lane, or in the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. 
    3. If your child is arriving to school via Uber, Lyft, or taxi service, you must call the main office at the relevant campus or email suttonattend@apsk12.org to report this type of arrival prior to your student arriving at school.
    4. Your child must arrive to school by 11:45 a.m. in order to not be considered absent for the entire school day. 
    5. Bus riders are encouraged to download the Here Comes the Bus app to track arrival times and delays. Please call APS Transportation at 404-802-5500 for bus concerns. 
    6. Late Arrival
      1. Students arriving after 9:10 a.m. must be escorted into building and signed in by a parent or guardian. Please park in a marked parking space in the main/front lot at each campus.
    7. All students and visitors are screened via metal detector and bags are subject to search upon arrival.

 

  1. Dismissal
  1. Dismissal begins at 4:15 p.m. each day.
  2. Please click here for carpool maps for each campus. 
    1. For the Northside Campus, please note there is no carpool pick-up or drop-off in the main/front parking lot.
    2. For the Northside Campus, pick up and drop off is not allowed at Northside United Methodist Church, on Kingswood Lane, or in the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. 
  3. Please make sure your child knows how he or she is getting home each day. If you need to change a student’s dismissal plan for a day, please email Ali Rodriguez (Northside Campus) or Burgandy Robinson (Powers Ferry Campus). Please keep in mind that changes are for emergencies only and should not occur daily. 
  4. When waiting in line for carpool, please do not block our neighbors’ driveways. Use caution when moving through the carpool area and heed staff members’ instructions and all posted signs.
  5. Students who live within a 1.5 miles radius of their respective campus can be issued a walker pass. Please click here to request the pass. 
  6. Early dismissal
    1. The early dismissal window ends at 3:15 p.m. each day. Please do not arrive to check out your child early after 3:15 p.m. 
    2. At Sutton Middle School, we prioritize student attendance in order to maximize instructional time. However, we do understand the need for occasional early check-outs. When planning appointments, etc., please keep in mind our bell schedule and understand that check outs during class transitions and lunch periods may be delayed. 
  7. Late Pick Ups
    1. After school child care is not available for students. Students who are not picked up by 4:30 p.m. will wait for their rides in the front office lobby. If you are unable to pick up your child by 4:30 p.m. daily, your child must ride his or her assigned bus.
    2. Students enrolled at Sutton under school choice or administrative transfer must be picked up on time or risk enrollment revocation. 
    3. Excessive late pick ups will result in a social worker referral and/or referral to the Atlanta Public Schools Office of Student Assignment for residency verification.. 
    4. Students who are participating in extracurricular activities must be picked up at the designated end time for the activity in which they are participating. Failure to abide by pick up times for clubs, arts, or athletics may result in the removal of your child from participating at the discretion of the coach/teacher.

 

  1. The School Day
    1. Our school administration makes every effort to avoid disrupting the learning environment. Please limit late drop-offs and early check outs. 
    2. Students will not be called to the main office to pick up items unless the items are for a documented medical reason. 
    3. We do not accept any deliveries for students, including lunches. If a student forgets to bring lunch from home, he or she will be provided with a lunch from our school cafeteria. 
    4. Please discuss and clarify dismissal arrangements with students each morning before leaving home. We cannot guarantee last minute transportation change messages will be conveyed to your child. 
    5. We do not allow parents or guardians to eat lunch with students or shadow students during the school day. If a situation arises that warrants parent observation, school administration will plan a visit in conjunction with the classroom teacher on a case-by-case basis. 
    6. At no time will school staff communicate with or release a student to a person not listed as a contact in Infinite Campus. It is the parents’ responsibility to update Infinite Campus Parent Portal with the appropriate information. If you need assistance with Parent Portal, please contact Gladys Rodriguez.  

 

  1. School Supplies
    1. Students are expected to come to school prepared for learning. Students must bring, at minimum, writing utensils (pencils or blue or black pens), a notebook or binder with looseleaf lined paper (college or wide ruled), and a folder for handouts. Teachers will distribute course-specific supply lists in August and possibly throughout the year as special needs arise. 

 

  1. Student Absences
    1. Please report absences using suttonattend@apsk12.org . 
    2. Please consult board policy regarding the classification of excused/unexcused absences.
    3. Students should always consult their teachers upon returning to school for missed assignments.

 

  1. Forgotten Items
    1. With the exception of necessary medications, please do not bring forgotten items and/or lunches to the main office during the school day. We encourage families to treat these situations as low stakes opportunities to reinforce responsibility and effective habits in our middle schoolers. 

 

  1. Food Deliveries
    1. In the event of a forgotten lunch, all Sutton students can receive breakfast and lunch from the cafeteria unless a student has a documented medical condition that includes special dietary requirements. 
    2. Deliveries from Uber Eats, Grubhub, or any other service are not allowed and will not be accepted. 
    3. Other food items (birthday cupcakes, etc.) are not allowed and will not be accepted. 

 

  1. Other Deliveries
    1. Flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, or any other deliveries for students will not be accepted. 

 

  1. Meeting Requests
    1. All requests to meet with teachers and administrators can be completed by emailing the relevant individual(s). Our communication guide is linked here. 
    2. Due to the nature of the school day and our work, we cannot guarantee our ability to accommodate administrative “drop in” meetings. Please contact the appropriate administrator via email if you would like to schedule a meeting. 
    3. If you would like to schedule a meeting with a teacher, please contact him or her via email. Unscheduled teacher conferences will not be accommodated. 

 

  1. Student Cell Phone Use
    1. Students may not use cell phones during the school day. 
    2. Cell phones must be turned off and stored in lockers. 
    3. If a student is using a cell phone during the school day, the phone will be confiscated and returned only to a parent or guardian.
    4. Confiscated cell phones will only be returned to parents/guardians between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  daily. 
    5. For school purposes, gaming devices are treated the same as cell phones.
    6. Click here for the policy. 

 

  1. Other Electronic Devices
    1. Air Pods, ear buds, and other types of headphones are only allowed within the classroom for instructional purposes and at the discretion of individual teachers. If students are wearing these items at any other time, they will be confiscated and returned to a parent or guardian as described in Part X above. 

 

  1. Student Devices
    1. All students are allowed to use an APS-owned Chrome Book. Students and parents must electronically sign the device user agreement located in Infinite Campus Parent Portal. 
    2. If you have a question about student devices, please contact Meredith Smith (Powers Ferry Campus) or Laila Morgan (Northside Campus).

 

  1. Dress Code
    1. Click here.

 

  1. Lockers
    1. Student lockers are the property of Atlanta Public Schools and Sutton Middle School.
    2. Lockers may only be accessed during prescribed locker breaks. 
    3. Damage to lockers (tampering with the locking mechanism, graffiti, or other permanent alterations) will be considered vandalism. Please consult the student code of conduct for further information. 

 

  1. APS Student Handbook
    1. Rules, regulations, and policies related to student conduct are not limited to those listed in this document. For the complete APS Student Handbook, please click here. 

 

  1. Grading
    1. For Atlanta Public Schools Grading Policy, please see APS Board Policy IHA-R(1)
    2. The first contact for student grading questions is the classroom teacher. 

 

  1. Medications
    1. Students are never allowed to possess prescription or non-prescripton medication while at school unless there is a documented need (such as an asthma inhaler) on file. Please contact the appropriate school nurse for guidance if your child needs medication at school. 

    2.  

  2. Communication
    1. Please click here for the 25-26 Communication Guide. 
    2. All academic concerns should first be addressed with classroom teachers. If further assistance or support is needed, please then contact the grade level assistant principal. 
    3. All discipline concerns should first be addressed to the grade level assistant principal. 
    4. Please consult the Communication Guide for other “first responders.”

    3.  

  3. Statement
    1. All policies listed above are subject to change per school and/or district administration. 
    2. This list is not intended to be exhaustive.
    3. Sutton Middle School abides by all Atlanta Public Schools and Atlanta Board of Education Policies and procedures. For more information, please visit www.atlantapublicschools.us.