Visitors Policy

Ben W. Murch Elementary School
Visitors Policy

School is one of the safest places for students; a place where they are surrounded by caring and capable adults and are engaged in established routines.  As members of the Murch school community, parents, teachers, staff and students must all work together to ensure that our school remains a safe place.  To that end, please become familiar with the following Visitors Policy.  Much of what is outlined below is existing policy already in the Parent Handbook, but has not been previously enforced.  Please remember to comply with this policy when visiting the school and to keep in mind that this policy has two purposes: (1) to ensure safety; and (2) to minimize disruption for students and teachers. Thank you for your support in this important matter.

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Ben W. Murch Elementary School encourages parents and other interested parties to visit the school and classrooms, as long as these visits do not disrupt operations or interfere with the educational process.  To that end, upon entering the building all visitors must report to the security desk (or in the absence of a guard, to the school office), where they will be required to sign the visitors’ log.  All visitors will be issued a temporary visitors badge which must be displayed prominently while in the building, and returned upon signing out and leaving the building. 

Visitors’ requirements: Visitors may go to the HSA table or to the Nurse’s office upon receiving a badge, but may not otherwise walk unescorted through the building.  Parents wishing to visit classrooms must arrange to do so in advance, so that teachers and staff can notify the guard in writing of planned arrivals and the guard can issue the necessary visitors badge. In the absence of such written notification, visitors will be directed to the office.  Forgotten items will be delivered to students by Office staff or students will be paged to retrieve them from the office.  Unannounced classroom visits will not be permitted.

Exceptions: These requirements do not apply when visitors are attending a school program in areas typically used for large group assemblies such as the gymnasium, or when parents are attending activities specifically for the purpose of parent involvement such as an open house or parent-teacher conferences.

Entry and exit: Everyone entering the building, including visitors, are asked to use the main entrances (adjacent to the parking lot for the main building; and opening onto the main playground for the Kaufman wing) and to secure the doors firmly upon entering or exiting.  Any doors found open, unlocked, or ajar should be reported to the office staff immediately.

Non-school Hours: Unaccompanied students will not be allowed in the building during non-school hours. 

The Kaufman wing: will be locked at 3:30 p.m. daily, after which students may use bathrooms in the main building if necessary.  The building is officially closed at 4:30pm.

Restrooms: During school hours, adult visitors may not use student bathrooms, only the staff bathrooms,. 

Detailed roles and responsibilities of all Murch community members are provided in the attached chart; the chart and this notice comprise the Murch visitors’ policy in its entirety.