ONTOP is an alternative program for students who have exhibited problems in regular school.  The problems may have been in academic work, following school rules, getting along with peers, disrespectful language/actions, poor behavioral self-management or some other difficulty.  Each of the students attending ONTOP have their own  reason for doing so.  However, what all students have in common is they had problems in regular school, and these difficulties were severe enough to warrant transition to an alternative school program.  ONTOP serves students in 6th to 12th grades.

ONTOP classes consist of about six to eight students, with a teacher and a teacher assistant, called a tutor.  ONTOP classes are small and learning can be individualized.

School doors open at 8:45 a.m.  The day begins with a homeroom period and breakfast.  Academic clases begin at 9:00.  If you come to school after 8:50, you are marked as arriving late to school.  ONTOP classes include:  English, Social Studies, Math, Science, Affective Education, Health and electives such as PE, Computer Technology, Art, Life Skills, and Culinary.  The ONTOP school day ends at 1:30 p.m.

The staff includes a Director, a secretary, a counselor, teachers, tutors and student interns.  The time you spend with these different staff will vary, but you will get to know all of them.  One ONTOP staff person will become your advocate.

Students in eighth to twelfth grades earn academic credit.  Middle school students have an opportunity to earn academic credit in two subjects, and get a head start on the path to earning their high school diploma.  A student's credit plan is individualized based upon the credit requirements of the student's home school district.  Credits needed to graduate currently vary from 20 to 24.  They must be earned in specific areas, including:  English, Social Studies, Science, Math, Fine Arts, Health and one or more elective areas.  Your ONTOP case manager will work with you to ensure that your plan matches the requirements and distribution of your school.

A leaving program plan is a written description of what happens if a student makes the choice to leave school.  The student is part of creating the plan and it is individualized for each student based on his or her circumstances.  Your teachers, parents or foster parents and others who work with you also agree to this plan.  Should a student leave school for any reason before 1:30, the people listed in the plan will be called.  The next morning, you and the people with whom you live will meet to discuss what happened and why you left program.  This is called a re-entry meeting and it must occur before you can return to ONTOP, and before 8:30 a.m.

Students have a choice of leaving program on their own or their behavior may make the choice for them.  

Should you leave program often, your schedule may be adjusted or you may go on an individual plan for a few days.  Or, this may suggest that ONTOP is not the best program for you.  If a student refuses to leave program after staff direct him or her to do so, or if he or she creates a disturbance that affects others, this absence of cooperation may be an indication that ONTOP is not the best program for that student.

ONTOP works on quarters, so you will get a report card four times during the year.  At ONTOP, grades are based on effort, task completion and work quality.  Grades are based on the Burlington High School standards and guidelines:

91-100     A- to A+               84-90     B- to B+               77-83     C- to C+

70-76       D- to D+               F  Failing grade                 E   excessive absence              I   incomplete

Teachers use various ways to determine grades.  Some use performance contracts, some use task completions and some use a standard of quality.  Each teacher will explain his or her own grading method.

Your individual educational planning team would need to agree that a GED is best for you.  ONTOP is designed to help students re-connect with school, feel competent in their learning and find better ways to manage their behavior.

Students spend up to two years at ONTOP, after which most return to regular school.  However, for that goal to be realistic, the student must first show that he/she has overcome the problems which existed while attending regular school.  This means consistently completing school work in all of their classes and displaying the new ways they have learned to better handle difficult situations without problem behavior.  It is up to the student to show readiness to return to the regular school environment.  When you are ready, a plan for your return to regular school will be established with your local school.

Each student at ONTOP has a special staff person who is his or her advocate.  Your person will work with you on school goals and will keep in touch with parents (and others) as to how things are going here at school.  Your advocate is the one to talk with about problems you have been encountering in school, and is someone whom you can rely on to help you look at these problems, and explore what you can do about them.

Home conference discussions focus on positive things in school, as well as problems that may have occurred over the past three weeks, whether in school or outside of it.  Home conferences also offer you the chance to raise any issues or concerns that you may have about school.  Your data for the past two weeks will be reviewed so you can see where you stand in attendance, on-time and on-task percentages, your task completion and your positive and negative behaviors.

You do, or course.  Parents attend, as do others who have a significant role in your life (e.g. your social worker, case manager, people with whom you live if you live somewhere besides home).

We recognize that students who come to ONTOP have not felt much success in their past school experience and may still wonder if school is a place they want to be and a place where they can be successful.  ONTOP uses a variety of incentives to motivate students to learn and recognize efforts in academics and behavior.  Examples include:
                 monetary incentives--students earn up to $1.00 a day based on behavior
                trips--such as snowboarding, canoeing, mountain biking
               group contracts --a group might work toward earning something fun

ONTOP strives to maintain a SAFE, RESPECTFUL, and PRODUCTIVE environment--for students and staff.  Students enter ONTOP because their behavior has been a problem in regular school and has interfered with how well they, and others in their class, are able to learn.  ONTOP offers students an opportunity to learn more positive ways to behave, so students can get their needs met, but not at the expense of others.  For this reason, ONTOP has rules about behavior.  The rules apply to all students equally and any staff member can implement these rules.

Rules at ONTOP are designed to make school SAFE, RESPECTFUL, and PRODUCTIVE.  Every student is encouraged to review the rules in detail with their advocate so there can be no misunderstanding about ONTOP policies and outcomes which will occur if rules are broken. 

Behavior is recorded every ten minutes during the day.  Data recording is designed to help students gain more awareness of their problem behavior so they can learn alternative ways to behave.  Positive behavior is recorded, so that students are equally aware of their positive actions, and also to recognize students when they make good choices and act appropriately.  Two things emphasized at ONTOP are social skills and ways to deal with problems and stressful situations.

Severe misbehavior, including, but not limited to:  fighting; assault; serious harassment; vandalism; use or possession of alcohol or illegal or dangerous drugs; use or possession of tobacco products; threatening staff, other students or property, including bomb threats, bringing to school or possessing at school a weapon or dangerous device; and insubordination will result in serious discipline which may include suspension, expulsion from school or dismissal from this program.

Physical Aggression
Managing anger and relating in positive and respectful ways with staff and peers are things we ask of our students.  Basically, we ask students to behave in ways that do not violate the rights of others or intrude on their physical space, so everyone at ONTOP can feel safe.  Whenever a student decides to behave in an aggressive or unsafe manner, the individual will be asked to process the action with staff or leave school for the rest of the day.  The next day, a meeting will be held and the event will be reviewed by everyone: the student, the parent (or foster parent), social worker and case manager and the ONTOP teachers who were involved or witnessed the episode.  This is called a re-entry meeting and must occur before a student is able to return to school.  Sometimes a brief suspension will follow if a student's behavior was threatening, aggressive or resulted in the destruction of property.  Academic work which was not done due to suspension needs to be made up at a later time.

Verbal Aggression
ONTOP asks students to respond to teacher requests in a positive  manner, without using language that is insulting, rude, disrespectful or harassing.  When a student is verbally aggressive or uses gestures to convey disrespect, it will be necessary to review and process such behavior with a staff person and the choices made by the student to respond in verbally aggressive ways.  How behavior influenced others and how the student can behave appropriately next time will be discussed. Whenever a verbal statement to another is intimidating or disrespectful, restitution and resolution of what occurred will be part of the processing.  Restitution may be in the form of an apology to a person, or could involve repair, replacement or paying for damaged property.

Substances
Possession or use of substances or being under the influence (residual effects of alcohol or drugs) as well as drug paraphernalia, is against school rules and is also a violation of VT state law.  Drug talk, or any activity connected to alcohol/drugs will be recorded and later reviewed at your home conference.  If it is felt necessary, the police may be notified of any illegal activity.  A student who is suspected of being altered in any way will be give a drug interview and based on interview results may remain in program under teacher supervision or may be asked to leave program.  Parents or foster parents, the student's case manager or social worker or other adults will be notified.

Smoking
ONTOP is a smoke free environment.  Smoking is not allowed, either in the building or on school grounds.  The boundary of school property has been outlined as South Williams St and Pearl St.  The gravel parking lot located behind ONTOP is also school grounds, as are the driveway, parking area and sidewalks in front of the school.  It is illegal under state law to use or possess any tobacco items on school property.  The ONTOP policy follows state law.  If a student displays any tobacco product in school the student will be given a choice to give the item to a teacher or to leave program.  Should a student smoke on school property, a one-day suspension will occur and a citation will be issued by the Burlington Police.  This citation comes with a substantial fine.

Sexual Harassment
The ONTOP policy on harassment is firm.  A behavior that is offensive or unwelcome to a person, whether peer or staff member, is interpreted as harassment.  Harassment could be based on race, ethnicity, disability, religion, gender, sexuality, or other personal characteristic.  Harassing action or language can create what is called a "hostile environment" which means an atmosphere in which someone feels uncomfortable.

Theft
Trust is important at ONTOP.  When something is stolen from program, a staff member or peer, the person taking the item is held responsible to make restitution by replacing the item or by paying for it.  If the item taken belongs to the school, and no one person is identified, the student body is then held responsible.  Students are encouraged to lock up valuable items to guarantee they are safe.  Personal property is your own responsibility.

Respect for Property
ONTOP asks that students respect school property as well as the personal property of others.  Should damage occur, some form of restitution or payment will need to be arranged.  This is part of ONTOP's belief in personal responsibility, whether or not damage was intentional or accidental.

Leaving Program
ONTOP can best help and support students when they choose to attend regularly, work on their individual goals and stay in school for a full day.  However, there will be some times when a student either decides to leave school or is asked to leave by staff, before normal dismissal time.  We call this leaving program.  When a student decides to leave, or behaves in such a way that leaving is the only remaining choice, it hinders academic progress and gets in the way of a student meeting behavior or other self-management goals.  Sometimes it is a disruption for others.  When a student leaves, we expect the student not to remain on school grounds, but rather follow the leaving program plan that was developed.  A leaving program results in a half-day attendance for that day.  Incentive money is lost for the day and missed work has to be made up in order to earn academic credit.

What About Homework?
Homework is part of the academic program for students who spend part of their day in regular school, or who are planning a transition back to regular school.  Homework completion is a major issue in evaluating readiness to return to regular school and manage the academic demands which regular school places on students.  All students are required to complete and return social skills homework to show how they are applying social skills at home.  This work is given out at home conferences, discussed in class and expected to be returned as part of a student's affective grade.

What if I am Absent From School?
If you do not come to school, we will call home to find out why.  The ONTOP year is divided into quarters.  A student may miss up to four school days each quarter and still be able to earn credit.  When a student misses a school day, it is necessary to make up missed work.  If more than four school days are missed in any quarter and academic  make-up work was not completed, a student will not earn credit for that quarter.

What if I Come to School Late?
A student who comes to school after homeroom earns 1/2 day attendance.  A student who chooses to leave prior to the end of normal day also earns only 1/2 day attendance.  Arriving late, or leaving school early affects your attendance and means you will have to make-up work you missed in order to earn full credit for the marking term.  Students must arrive to school by 9:35 in order to attend school for the day.

What Can I Wear to School?
Students are expected to wear proper attire.  ONTOP follows and enforces the dress code of the Burlington School District.  This means clothing with logos or names that have to do with alcohol, drugs or obscene language is not allowed.  Bandanas and "Do-rags"  are not allowed  Clothing such as halter tops or similar attire which shows underwear or the chest or abdomen is deemed distracting and is not permitted.  If you wear such clothing to school, you will be asked to return home and change.  If you have any question about whether a clothing item is appropriate it would be wise to ask your advocate if it is acceptable to wear to school.

Is There a Day of the Week That is Different?
Fridays are different at ONTOP.  There are two different types of Friday activities which will rotate (see the school calendar for the dates of the rotating Fridays).  One type of Friday is your home conference.  The other type of Friday is an academic day where you will have a regular school day.  You are required to attend school every Friday, no matter the type of Friday it is.

End of the Year Exploration
ONTOP's second semester ends in April.  May and early June are devoted to what we call EYE Plan.  Students choose between a number of academic or career related activities and spend four or five weeks exploring that area in depth.  Past EYE Plan offerings have included:  Computer Graphics, Culinary Arts, Career Exploration, Personal Development/Challenges, Woodworking, Photography, Cultural Exploration, History of Burlington, and Vermont Outdoor Life.  EYE Plan is an enjoyable way to end the school year.