Please read through the following school procedures and review them with your student. All of our policies are designed for the SAFETY and SECURITY of students while at Dubois Elementary. 

The school day begins at 8:10 a.m. Please do not send your student to school before 8:10, there will be no staff on duty to supervise children. All students enter the building through the new Illinois Street entrance.

Illinois Street is the bus dropoff lane. No cars should be parked on Illinois Street at any time for the safety of all students. Illinois Street is not a car rider dropoff zone. 

Anyone walking to school MUST use the crosswalks at the corners of Lincoln & Monroe and Lincoln & Washington. Crossing guards will be stationed at both of these corners. 

Car riders enter the car line off of Lincoln Street and proceed through the car line on the South side of the building. A staff member will be present to receive your student, please remain in your vehicle. Proceed with extreme caution when entering and exiting the car line. 

Anyone who is picking up your student from school must be on the student’s cumulative record in order to be released. Make sure photo ID is available upon request for anyone picking up a student. Help us keep your student safe by notifying the office of any changes to phone numbers on the student’s contact list. Please visit the office if you need to add anyone to the cumulative record. 

Any transportation changes must be called into the school office. Telling/messaging the teacher or telling your student is not sufficient. 

2:00 p.m. is the daily cutoff time for making changes to end-of-day student transportation. After 2:00 our staff will follow the student’s regular dismissal plan as indicated on the student’s registration record. (1:00 on Wednesdays)

At 2:30 p.m. entry to the building will be prohibited and office phones will be unanswered so that our staff can coordinate our dismissal procedures. We will not answer the door or the phone after this time and there will be no early parent pickup. During that time we will be busy ensuring that all students get to their appropriate ride or after school program safely. Thank you for your understanding. (1:20 on Wednesdays) 

At 2:50 p.m. dismissal begins for all students. Students will be called from their classrooms by group and bus number. Walkers will be dismissed first and are dismissed from the historical entrance on Lincoln Avenue. Anyone picking up a walker can meet their student on the lawn in front of the historical entrance.

Car riders dismiss out of the new Illinois Street entrance. Please remain in your car the entire time through the car lane, your student will be dismissed to you by school staff. No students are allowed to re-enter the building after they leave. Parents and family members will not be allowed onto the blacktop on Illinois Street after school. This is to ensure that our car riders are kept safe and are dismissed to the correct adult each afternoon. If you are picking up a student, please walk around the building and meet your student at the historical entrance on Lincoln with the other walkers.

* Kindergarten bus riders must be received by an adult at their bus stop. If an adult is not present, the student may be returned to school and will need to be picked up. The same is true for all students in Ms. Barrow’s, Ms. Bunch’s, and Ms. Mann’s classes. 

The office will reopen at the end of the day after our dismissal procedures have been fully completed. 

To better prepare and focus our students, and to ensure the safety and emotional well-being of both students and staff, District 186 has proudly made the decision to operate under a "restrictive cell phone policy."

We kindly request your support as parents and guardians in reviewing the cell phone policy with your students. Together, we can ensure a learning environment with minimal distractions.

The goal is to limit the distractions and disruptions that cell phones can cause while at school and allow students to focus on their school work.

Elementary School

During school hours, all cell phones and personal electronic devices including airpods will be turned off and stored in their book bag - off and away for the day. Smart watches may be worn, but must follow the policy and not be used as a cell phone (calling, texting etc.) during school hours. Use of cell phones and smart watches are a privilege not a right and will be confiscated if students are not following the policy. Parents will have to pick up confiscated technology based on the steps of the policy and before the office closes for the day.

All District 186 students dismiss one hour early every Wednesday. Please be sure to make after school arrangements for your student on Wednesdays.

The following items are highlighted from this year’s handbook, please discuss these items with your student: 

• School appropriate clothing is to be worn. Oversized, extremely baggy clothing or improperly-fitted clothing is not allowed. Pants, shorts or skirts must be worn at the waist — sagging is prohibited. 

• Clothing with holes above mid-thigh, or made of transparent or fishnet fabric, or clothing that exposes the chest, abdomen, genital area or buttocks, undergarments or the legs above mid-thigh, shall not be worn in the buildings. This includes crop tops. 

• Hats, caps, bandanas, hoods of any type, shall not be worn in the buildings in order to assist with student identification and providing a safe and secure learning environment. All hoods must be off the head before students enter the building. 

• Dress and grooming shall not advertise, promote or picture alcoholic beverages, tobacco, illegal drugs or illegal or violent behavior. 

• Dress and grooming, including accessories, shall not display lewd, vulgar, obscene or plainly-offensive language or symbols, including gang symbols. 

For District 186’s complete dress code, please refer to the Student and Family Handbook.

The ROOMS app is the official communications tool for District 186 staff and families. Download the ROOMS app to communicate with your student's teacher.

For more information, please visit Rooms-Central.

For further questions or if you have trouble logging in, please email website@sps186.org.

Please consult with your student’s classroom teacher before sending birthday treats to school. Families will not be permitted to interrupt instruction for pop-in birthday visits. If possible, please drop off birthday treats before the school day begins - the office will deliver the treats to the classroom when the teacher has scheduled for them to be distributed.

Classroom treats must be store-bought and individually portioned. Please do not send large cakes or tubs of ice cream as they will not be shared with the class.

While recognizing your child’s special day is important, do not have balloons, flowers, etc. brought or delivered to the school. Classrooms and school buses are not conducive to housing these items.

Party invitations should not be distributed at school unless your child’s entire class is being invited. Again, let your child’s classroom teacher know in advance if that is the case so that instructional time is not interrupted. Invitations not intended for the entire class will be sent back home with the student. Please handle any gift exchanges outside of school hours.

Please help us avoid disappointments or hard feelings by notifying your student’s classroom teacher in advance of celebrations and following these guidelines.