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7. All reports of suspected child abuse will be confidential; to be shared only with appropriate
DCF and law enforcement personnel and appropriate school personnel as determined under
Connecticut law.
COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
1. Messages:
• It is the school's policy that during classroom hours faculty are not to be interrupted except in an
emergency. Telephone messages and interoffice communications will be left in mailboxes and
should be picked up during break, free periods, lunch period, and After-School on a daily basis.
2. Telephone Calls:
• If more than one person regularly uses an extension, anyone answering at that number should
answer with his/her name.
• Faculty should never make or receive telephone calls during class, either on the school's phones or
on a cell phone.
• Directory assistance services must not be used for local or long-distance telephone calls. Please
utilize on-line directories to research telephone numbers.
3. Text Messages:
• Timely and accurate communications among faculty and between faculty and parents are important
to the proper functioning of Renbrook. Modern communications devices have provided multiple
platforms through which such communications may occur. Faculty and staff at Renbrook should be
judicious in the use of text messaging in particular with parents of students.
• Text messages are subject to misinterpretation (even when not mangled through "auto-correct").
In addition, while text messages can be retrieved from data storage, they are more difficult to
archive and retrieve than emails or more formal written communications.
• For these and other reasons, faculty should generally limit text message communications with
parents of students to those times when a parent has specifically requested that form of
communication and the message is short and not subject to misinterpretation.
4. myRenbrook:
• Every employee at school as access to myRenbrook and the Faculty/Staff Resource Board. It is
recommended that faculty and staff check myRenbrook regularly for important information.
5. Email:
• Renbrook provides technology to its faculty, staff and students. The campus is fully networked, has
an Intranet and Internet email system in place, a fully automated library system, and Internet
access in all classrooms, labs and offices. The technology is present to support Renbrook's
educational mission and to facilitate resource sharing and communication. Use of this technology is
a privilege and thus places a responsibility on all users of the system.
• Every employee at the school has an email address and it is recommended employees read
and respond to messages within 24 hours. Many important messages and memos will be
communicated through email.
• Electronic communication is a quick and efficient way for faculty to communicate with one another,
and with advisors, about how a student is faring. It is entirely appropriate for Upper School faculty,
for instance, to send information regarding a student to his/her advisor. However, all such
communications are retrievable in case of legal action; whether or not there is legal action, the
content of electronic communications occasionally gets to parents and can be both embarrassing
for the school and counter-productive for the student and family. Therefore, the following must be
followed in order to protect the school and the faculty:
a. Any email about a student should be "sterile;" that is, it should stick to the facts, with no
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