Parents

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Classes for students in grades 7 – 12 start on Monday, August 26. Here is the Calendar for the School year. 2024 25 DMPS Calendar

An Orientation Open House is scheduled for Thursday, August 22 from 4 – 6 PM. Drop by and meet your teachers and find your classrooms. If you are not able to attend during the event, the building is open from 8 – 4, M – F; just stop by the main office and request to look around. Teachers will be in meetings and may not be able to meet with you outside of the Orientation Open House event. You can always email teachers to share information about yourself or your child. Email addresses are found on our website.

The Academy building is easy to navigate, and I am confident that we can help you find your way on the first day of classes. Use this map to help you orient. FY2025 Academy Floor Map

The Academy teachers will be making welcome videos next week. As they complete their videos, I will be posting them on our webpage from the Academy YouTube Channel. Last year’s videos will remain up until the new ones are produced.

FIRST DAY

Remember, Academy classes begin on the first day of school, Monday, August 26.

CLASS TIMES HAVE CHANGED

High Schools begin and end their day 10 minutes earlier this year. Correspondingly, Central bus and bell times have also moved up 10 minutes for this school year. Shuttle buses to Central High School students will be following the 8-period schedule for bell times and shuttle buses. We highly recommend using the shuttle buses to get to Central to avoid the traffic and parking headaches. And now all yellow buses have free WiFi! FY2025 Central Bus and Bell Time Poster

Middle schools start at the same time as they did last year, but Central Academy must follow the High School Schedule. So, Eighth Grade Academy classes at Academy begin at 8:35. Shuttle buses to Central are scheduled to load passengers at your middle school at 8:10. The transportation department has arranged their schedule so that students who ride a yellow bus to their middle school will arrive on time to catch the Central Shuttle. Academy doors open at 8:00 AM. FY2025 Middle School Bus and Bell Time Poster

BREAKFAST & LUNCH

Middle school students eat lunch at their middle schools. If they start their day at Academy, middle school students may eat breakfast at Central. Get a disposable tray and bring your breakfast to class if it is close to class time.

High school students eat lunch at Central if they take Central classes in periods 3 and/or 5. See the schedule for when your catch your bus to and from Central.

Every student served by DMPS will be able to eat school meals for free. Scan your DMPS school ID or enter your 6-digit DMPS school ID number at the cashier’s station. Sometimes students lose their ID or do not want to dig it out at lunch time. TIP: if you take a photo of your ID on your phone, you can scan the photo.

In order for meals to be free, students must choose meals that meet these requirements. Some foods, like chips, rice crispy treats, and sugared drinks, cost extra. Student may purchase a slice of pizza for $1 with any free lunch (daily limit: 1 slice per person).

If you are getting a lunch at the Campus Cafeteria, you may request a disposable tray to bring your meal over to Academy to eat. We have increased our hallway and student lounge seating this year. Academy also has a microwave station for student use on the second floor. Or you may use a red tray and eat in the Campus Cafeteria, also with expanded seating.

The CAMPUS CAFETERIA has been remodeled to include 4 lunch lines and additional seating. Campus Lunch Map

Lines 1 and 2 have all of the menu choices. Form one line and split when you get to the door. Over the door is a screen that displays the menu options in each line.
Line 3 is the Quick Hot Lunch Line. This line has only one of the hot lunch items plus pizza, so it should be quicker. The screen over the corner cashier will list what item is being offered.
Line 4 is the Cold Lunch Line. Salads, and other cold lunch items and pizza will be available in this line.

Coming Soon: Breakfast and lunch vending machines! Stocked with healthy food choices by our own cafeteria, use your school ID to get your nutritious breakfast and lunch without going through the line!

STUDENT COMPUTERS

Students who attend a DMPS school will be issued a student laptop by their home schools. They should bring their laptops fully charged to Academy every day. They will be used in their Academy classes. We know that some schools are not able to distribute computers on the first day. We are planning our lessons in the first couple of weeks to be accomplished with or without a computer.

Out of district students who attend Academy will be checked out a student laptop by Academy. See Mr. Jacobson in room 3021 to pick up your DMPS computer. He will be available during the Orientation Open House Thursday night, or you can stop by and see him when school is in session.

FINDING YOUR SHUTTLE BUS WHEN YOU LEAVE CENTRAL

With our high school 8-period schedule, we have economized our bus routing so that we do not need as many buses at the same time. This should make finding your bus when you leave Central easier. Check out this map to see where to catch your bus. Bus Map FY2025

PARKING

Central Academy and Central Campus are fortunate to have some space available for qualifying students to park their vehicles. The following information will provide answers on how student parking works at Central Academy and Central Campus. Parking FY2025 rules will be strictly enforced to ensure the safety of our qualifying students and staff. Here is a Central Student Parking Map. Parking in a Central parking lot requires the use of a parking tag. There is no cost for a parking tag. And having a parking tag does not guarantee a parking space will be available.

Remember, parking lot space is limited. But nothing prevents you from parking on the street a block or two away on Ingersoll or just north of there.

CLASS SUPPLIES

Academy generally does not require any special supplies. You’ll need your DMPS computer, paper, pens, pencils, and a way to stay organized. Most other supplies are provided in your classes. If your class requires special supplies, teachers will share that information at the Orientation Open House event or the first day of school.

English novels will be automatically charged to your Infinite Campus account. Students who receive a textbook fee waiver will also have the fee for their English novels waived. Those who qualify for a reduction of their textbook fees will be charged half price for their English novels. Those who want to provide their own copies of the English Novels should notify Office Manager, Herkisha Burkett, to get their fees removed. Herkisha.burkett@dmschools.org. More information can be found HERE.

DONATE FOR ENGLISH STUDENTS

Central Academy pays for all or part of the novels for students who receive free or reduced textbook fees. The cost of the books listed above is what we pay our vendor– we do not mark up the cost of the books for students. Most classes require an average of about $30 in books per student.

If you would like to sponsor a student, please use the link below to donate. All donations to this fundraiser will go to offset the cost of books. Thank you for supporting our advanced learners!

https://dmps.revtrak.net/os/ca/#/v/novels-for-academy

STUDENT IDs

We are improving our safety and security measures. Once Student IDs have been distributed, please show your ID when you enter the Academy building. We will distribute Academy stickers for your school ID in the first couple of weeks of the school year.

NICKNAMES AND PRONOUNS

The Governor’s Education Omnibus Law, SF496, requires school staff to use the student’s name and pronouns listed in Infinite Campus. If students request that we use pronouns that do not match the gender listed in IC, an administrator must notify their primary parent or guardian.

To avoid calls home, have your child’s nickname and pronouns listed in Infinite Campus. If you need to update or change your child’s nicknames or pronouns, please contact Suleyma.Reyes@dmschools.org.

SCHOOL NURSE

Our School Nurse is Jasmine Lester, 515-242-7779, jasmine.lester@dmschools.org. You can find her office behind the Campus main office. Map to Nurses Office