Here at Skinner, the expectations are high! Below are several ways that we keep our students accountable for learning. Please view the Skinner Family Contract. The Family Contract contains a thorough explanation of Skinner’s expectations around dress code, attendance, daily routines, electronics rules, and much more. Learn more about Denver Public School’s policies around student conduct and protocols regarding student discipline.
Every student meets daily with their “Learning Family” of approximately fifteen students in the same grade and is mentored by a staff member. The mentor monitors progress, helps develop supportive learning relationships and teaches organizational skills.
Skinner Dress Code *updated for 22-23 school year
The Skinner Dress Code has been updated for the 22-23 school year. Please review the Dress Code slide-deck for more information.
*If you are dropping your child off late or need to pick them early, come to Main Entrance and ring the buzzer.
All students who are in the building after 2:40 p.m. MUST be in an after school program or activity. You need to pick up your child up by 2:45pm. Students may attend attend Office Hours with a teacher 2:30 – 3:00pm (except Wednesday), and/or be involved with Athletics. We don’t have supervision after 3pm unless students are in tutoring, clubs, Affinity groups or Athletics.
All Skinner students and staff adhere to the 5 B’s as they are the foundation of a healthy school community. The 5 B’s represent our core values. All Skinner Scholars are expected to follow the 5 B’s to ensure our learning environment is a place where everyone feels safe, welcome, and happy. The 5 B’s also help us make choices that lead to personal and academic success. In order to reach our goals as a school and as individual scholars, we live and love the 5 B’s each and every day!
Teachers will present formal awards at monthly Grade-Level Family Meetings in several categories, including:
Enjoy this video created for our November, 2020 Family Meeting.
Office Hours are designed to assist students who have not completed their homework, have failed to participate in class work/activities, or have not made up work after an absence. The purpose of the program is to provide students the time and teacher resources to complete their work and move toward proficiency and/or academic accountability in the given subject area. If a student is assigned an Office Hours session, he/she is not in trouble; Office Hours sessions are designed to help students improve their academic standing.
Please click here to see the 2021-2022 Office Hours Schedule.
In addition to these formal Office Hours sessions, teachers may schedule individual or small group Office Hours sessions with students after school. If a teacher assigns a student Office Hours, he or she is required to attend. Failure to attend a required Office Hours session will result in further action in accordance with Skinner Middle School’s Prevention & Intervention Manual. Students are encouraged to attend Office Hours sessions on a voluntary basis to get extra help and practice.
School starts at 7:30 AM. Students should be in their seats, in their first period class, and ready for instruction at this time. Students who arrive late to school must report to the main office to obtain a pass. Students must go directly to their Learning Family and present the tardy pass to their Learning Family Mentor.
If a student is late arriving to school, he/she may be assigned to attend a TAP session that same afternoon. TAP takes place from 2:35 – 3:15 PM. Students who demonstrate a pattern of arriving to school late will be referred to a counselor to address the issue.
Students who are late to any other class will be marked tardy in the electronic attendance system. Repeated tardies are treated as a disciplinary infraction and may result in further action in accordance with Skinner Middle School’s Prevention & Intervention Manual.
From time to time, parents may request work for extended absence of 4 or more days (vacation, funeral, etc) but should be aware that the teacher may not be able to meet the immediate demand. At least 3-5 school days prior to the beginning of the student’s absence, contact Main Office Attendance Registrar Jessica Sandoval Jessica_Sandoval2@dspk12.org, 720-424-1421 to inform the school of the absences and reason. Vacations during the school year will not be excused. Students will need to check Schoology for missing assignments.
All 8th grade students, along with a parent/guardian, are required to attend a pre-registration conference with an administrator. Expectations for attendance, behavior, and academics are established during this meeting.
In preparation for a solid academic foundation for high school, college and career, all 8th grade students have required summer homework, and all students performing below level in reading or math have mandatory tutoring requirements until achievement levels demonstrate grade level expectations.
All 8th graders have a mid-year, one-on-one conference with an administrator to check on progress toward Continuation. Parents are mailed home the documents from this meeting. A Continuation Meeting also takes place the first week of May to inform families what to expect from the students and school during the month of May to support the students’ transition to high school.
Eighth graders who do not meet the requirements for advancement to ninth grade shall not participate in Continuation.
Eighth graders who do not clear fee requirements will not receive report cards or transcripts needed for enrollment at the ninth grade level.