HORACE MANN SCHOOL FAMILY HANDBOOK

Middle DivisionAfter the first trimester, the Middle Division schedules parent-advisor conferences anddrop-in conferences with subject area teachers. Students may attend the conference with theirparents. The student’s homeroom teacher serves as the student’s faculty advisor. There areoptional parent conferences in early March.Upper DivisionUpper Division teachers provide written comments to advisors at least one week inadvance of the scheduled Advisor/Parent Conferences. Teachers write Academic ProgressReports six times a year—at the middle and end of each trimester—for students receiving gradesof C+ or lower and for students receiving an Incomplete for the previous or current markingperiod. Teachers also write reports on students whose performance has changed significantly,those whose work deserves commendation, and students who need some encouragement. A copyof each Academic Progress Report written is given to the student’s advisor and to the student’sgrade dean, who mails the report to parents. Students new to the Upper Division will receiveletter grades on the first academic report date, normally the middle of the first trimester.The Role of SpecialistsSpecialists play a vital role in the enrichment and integration of the curriculum in theNursery and Lower Divisions. Students in the Nursery Division have increasing contact withspecialists as they move from one age group to the next. Nursery Division specialists includespecialists in Music, Physical Education, Literacy, Chess and Science.The Lower Division’s specialist teachers include specialists in the following areas:Library, Music, Art, Modern Languages, Reading, Mathematics, Science, Technology andPhysical Education.The Middle Division has two Learning Specialists who administer the Academic Center.They are available to all Middle Division students. In the middle years, students sometimediscover that they do not know how to study. One or several visits to the Academic Center mayhelp them solve this problem. The Learning Specialists also meet with students who havediagnosed learning differences.In the Upper Division, the Department of Counseling and Guidance provides guidance tostudents on study skill as well as help for student who may be struggling with the challenges oftime and task management.Private teachers of instrumental and vocal music are non-faculty specialists who aregiven teaching space in Fisher Hall. The Upper Division schedule provides opportunities forstudents to meet with them for private lessons during the school day. Arrangements forscheduling and paying for lessons are made through the Performing Arts Department.26