Grievance Procedures
The administrative staff of the Academy encourages communication with parents and staff members through its open door policy. Parents have access to the staff through personal visits, telephone and e-mail contact. We believe that parent concerns should be addressed immediately and have made every effort to provide Academy families with a variety of other methods of communication including our monthly school-wide and classroom newsletters, monthly parent meetings, and classroom visitations and parent conferences. The monthly school newsletter includes a form for communicating directly with the principal about any issue of concern.
In the event that a parental concern or issue cannot be addressed through any of these methods, the founders of the Robert Treat Academy included the following procedure for handling of grievances in its charter application.
Three parents (and one alternate) and three teachers (and one alternate) serve as a grievance committee. Forms for the submission of a grievance are available in the school office and may be mailed or turned in to the school secretary. Grievances will be submitted first to the Academy principal. If a grievance cannot be settled at this level (by the principal), the Grievance Committee will be convened within 15 days of the date of the submission of the grievance. The committee must prepare its recommendation (which may include testimony from the complainant as well as from the person about whom the grievance has been made) and submit it to the Board of Trustees within 15 days. At the next meeting of the Board of Trustees, the grievance will be placed on the agenda by the Board Secretary for disposition by the Members of the Board. The person filing the grievance will be notified of the meeting date and time and, if they do not attend the meeting, of the disposition of the grievance.
Discrimination Complaint Procedures
Individuals, agencies, organizations, students, and interested third parties have the right to file a complaint regarding a public education agency's alleged violation of federal and state law including allegations of unlawful discrimination in specified programs and activities that receive state or federal funding. Such complaints include allegations that the local educational agency has failed to implement a student's individual education program (IEP). Complaints must be filed in writing with the appropriate compliance officer identified below. Complaints alleging discrimination must be filed not later than six months from the date the alleged discrimination occurred or the date the complainant first obtained knowledge of the facts of the alleged discrimination, unless the time for filing is extended by the Commissioner of Education.
In accordance with adopted procedures, complaints will be investigated and a written decision sent to the complainant within sixty (60) days. If the complainant is not satisfied with the local educational agency's decision, the complainant may file within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the decision a written appeal with the New Jersey Department of Education. A copy of the local educational agency's policy and complaint procedures may be obtained through the superintendent's office.
Complainants also may pursue available civil law remedies, including, but not limited to, injunctions, restraining orders, or other orders in federal or state courts. Further information about such remedies may be available through public or private interest attorneys, the Essex County Lawyer Referral Service at http://www.lawyerreferralservices.org/essex-county-nj/, Legal Aide Society, a mediator, or dispute resolution service.
Contact Information for Complaints
Affirmative Action Officer: Marcelino Trillo
Robert Treat Academy Charter School Inc.
443 Clifton Avenue
Newark, NJ 07104-1339
Telephone: 973-482-8811
