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Student Life » Community and Culture

Community and Culture

At the Bronx Academy for Software Engineering, we aim to create an environment that is safe, positive, and respectful for all students. With the support of students, family members, and staff, BASE believes that all of our students can display a level of integrity not only in school but also within the community.
 
The standards in this section of the BASE Handbook outline the kind of community engagement we aspire to have at BASE with family, friends, and colleagues.
 
See the section on Student Conduct for outlined descriptions of misconduct and the Restorative approaches taken within the community.
BASE was founded on the idea that the highest level of achievement in life is the ability to take meaningful actions that make the world a better, more just and more peaceful place. This kind of empowerment is at the heart of our understanding of true college and career readiness, and all our beliefs about curriculum and community development stem from this understanding of the purpose of education.
 
We have four core values that together work toward this ideal: 
  • Understanding self
  • Valuing diversity
  • Creating dialogue
  • Taking action
 
No one of these values is more important than the others, and in fact we see each as a necessary step toward accomplishing the final value. 
BASE students are expected to treat staff respectfully; to use the pillars of Transformative Justice, community building, trust building and cultivating safety in order to foster a respectful relationship. If a student has an issue with a BASE staff member, they are encouraged to use Restorative practices, i.e. mediation, circle, in order to clear up the miscommunication. 
BASE students are expected to treat building staff respectfully; to use the pillars of Transformative Justice, community building, trust building and cultivating safety in order to foster a respectful relationship. If a student has an issue with a building staff member, they are encouraged to use Restorative practices, i.e. mediation, circle, in order to clear up the miscommunication. Inter-school relations can still result in disciplinary actions, if it is deemed necessary by the other stakeholders
Being in a community means respecting community space. This is true whether or not space is shared with the rest of your Seminar, all of BASE, or other schools in the building. We expect BASE students to be respectful of the space we use.  Every day we have the opportunity to choose how others in the world see us, and right now our reputation across the building is excellent. If we want students and staff across the school to continue to think of BASE as, “Those respectful and professional students on the fifth floor”, we have to earn that by acting respectfully and professionally. 
 
At the Grace Dodge Campus where BASE is located, students interact with other schools on a daily basis. There are areas which are common space for all four schools (listed below) which include the Gym, Cafeteria, and Library. As students of BASE it’s our responsibility to respect other schools’ property in addition to respecting the students’ of the other schools in the building. 
 
 
Schools in this campus
  • Bronx Academy for Software Engineering - Fourth and Fifth Floor
  • Crotona International High School - Third Floor
  • High School for Energy and Technology - First, Second, and Fourth Floor
 
The general office is a professional office; it is the first point of contact between BASE and the outside world. The office is kept clean and professional by the people who work there; if you have any business in the office (see below), we expect you to maintain respect for those people and for the space. That means keeping your voice down, saying hello, please and thank you to the office staff who are helping you. 

Good reasons to visit the office:
During the school day you must have written permission to be in the office. After school you may come into the office respectfully to ask a question.
  • You are brought there for some reason by a staff member
  • You have written permission from a staff member to go to the office for a pass to the clinic 
  • You have written permission to make a phone call
  • You have written permission to speak with someone in the office
  • A parent comes to pick you up
 
Unacceptable reasons to visit the office:
  • You need a break from class
  • Your friend is in there
  • You want a drink of water and don’t want to use the fountain
 
Hallway time does not need to be silent, but it does need to be respectful of others in the hallway and others who are still in class. That means you are expected to:  
  • Keep your hands and feet to yourselves and respect the general space of other students. 
  • No “dunking” on other students. This is taken very seriously. 
  • Be active and attentive listeners, using both eyes and ears when a staff member of BASE or any school is talking.
  • Enjoy your transition to your next class but keep it moving  
 
 
  • Students must be in class the first and final ten minutes of class. No bathroom passes will be given by teachers in that time. 
  • Before going out into the hallway during class time, students must ask permission to be excused, following each teacher’s protocol. 
  • Students must have a hallway pass when exiting during instruction time. One pass per student.
  • No bathroom trip should take longer than three minutes. 
PE class will meet on a rotating A, B, day schedule and will use three different locations for PE: The north half of the gym, the south half of the gym (both on the first floor on the south side of the building), and the dance studio/fitness center on the fourth floor (rooms 407 and 408, right underneath BASE’s general office). Your PE location will be consistent throughout the year. It is your responsibility to know ahead of time if your PE class is meeting that day. Make sure you get there on time and ready to go. We will be posting A-day / B-day daily on the TV monitor outside of 508.
 
Traveling to PE off the floor, BASE students will cross through the space of other schools in the building. To get to the first floor gym space, students will walk down the BASE hall to the stairs past the elevator, outside of room 513,  and walk down to the first floor. Go left outside the stairwell and walk all the way down the hall to the gym. 
To get to the new dance studio and fitness room, students will use the stairwell by the general office, room 507, and go down one flight. When you come out the rooms will be on your right. 
 
Expectations for physical education class:
  • Students must have proper dress to participate in PE activities. The PE teacher will go over this at the beginning of the semester. 
  • Proper dress includes gym sneakers or tennis shoes: any student who comes to the gym without proper shoes will have to sit out of activities. 
  • Students will treat each other with respect and participate in all activities with good sportsmanship while in the gym or fitness center. 
  • Students will use equipment properly. We don't have a lot of equipment, so what we do have must be taken care of.
  • Both for safety and security, if you choose to wear loose jewelry to school (earrings that dangle, etc.) you should leave it in your classroom or put it away in a bag before class so that nothing is lost or broken as they play. BE sure to leave your bag in a safe place. All of your personal belongings are your responsibility, make sure they are safe and taken care of. 
  • Before leaving the gym, students must ask permission to be excused.
We are very lucky to have this center in the school. The equipment is expensive, and potentially dangerous, so the following rules apply:
  • All posted signs and directions given by supervisors in the fitness room must be followed. 
  • No student may be in the fitness center without supervision of a BASE staff member
  • Any student who is unable to use the equipment properly or safely will lose the privilege of using the space at all. 
The Dance Studio is a shared space amongst all three schools. Students must be in the Dance Studio supervised by a BASE staff member. Oftentimes, clubs will meet in this space. Please follow all posted safety measures for the Dance Studio space. 
  • Students may go down to lunch only when excused from class by their teacher. 
  • BASE students use stairway 4 to go down to the cafeteria; that’s the stairway at the end of the hall facing the general office, near rooms 501 and 401. 
  • During lunch time there will always be multiple BASE staff and School Safety Agents in the cafeteria. If there is any issue please find one of us right away and let us know. 
  • Lunch is a time to relax, eat and be with friends; do not mistake the cafeteria for the street or your home. Students, who are unable to maintain respect for each other, staff or the space will lose the privilege of eating lunch in the cafeteria. 
  • Students who throw food or garbage will stay down after everyone goes up and help clean up. If this happens multiple times students may lose the privilege of eating in the cafeteria for some time. 
  • If you need to leave the cafeteria during lunch time for some reason (to go to the bathroom or the library), you must get permission and a pass from school staff. 
  • Unfortunately this year there is no librarian in the building, and the library will not be open for use during lunch time. 
  • Room 510 is available for use by students who do not feel comfortable eating lunch in the cafeteria. The use of this space is by invitation only. Please see your guidance counselor if you would like to eat here. 
We all have friends and family at BASE, and many of us have friends and family at other schools in the building. When you are in school you must always be supervised by BASE staff. Students are not allowed off the floor or in parts of the building where the other schools occupy. This is a safety concern and considered trespassing if you are found on a floor or in a space that you are not accompanied by BASE staff or have a signed pass from a BASE administrator. 
We take this very seriously, because if we don’t know where you are there is no way for us to know if you are safe. Students who do not respect this will have phone calls home, may lose privileges, including lunch in the cafeteria, or be required to do community service.
School Safety Agents (SSAs) are NYPD officers that work with BASE and the other schools in the building. The School Safety team in our building responds to incidents or altercations. School Safety Agents are not trained in our Transformative or Restorative practices. School Safety agents are members of our community and should be treated as a member of the BASE community. If you ever have an issue with an SSA, come tell a BASE staff member immediately. Do not attempt to handle it yourself. 
As you know we are a scanning school. This year all schools in the building begin at approximately the same time. That means right at 8am there will be a long line for scanning. We will be bringing BASE students up from the cafeteria at about 8:20 each morning. 
  • To be on time for class, you must get to school by 7:45am. Getting stuck in line for scanning is not a legitimate excuse for being late. 
  • If you want to have a  hot breakfast, plan to arrive no later than 7:30am. 
  • In order to make scanning go faster, take off your belt while you are waiting in line and put it (and any metal objects, including change) in your bag or backpack. 
Chancellor’s Regulations provides each school with the ability to implement their own policy when dealing with mobile phones and other electronic communication devices. Here at BASE we prohibit students from having mobile phones or any other electronic communication devices  in the building. To help our students manage this policy we do the service of holding phones and other electronic communication devices  for all students during the day. This is a privilege, not a right. We are happy to do it as long as you are respectful of us and the system. If at any time you are not, we will stop holding your phone for you and you will have to make alternate arrangements. Please know:
  • If students are late they must report to BASE staff to have their electronics stored. Students who are late and submit late electronics, families will be notified. 
  • Students will not have access to phones from the time they walk through security scanning through to the end of the day. If you need to contact your son/daughter you may call the main office to have a message relayed to them. 
  • Any phone or electronics not administered by BASE staff found in student possession during designated learning times will be confiscated and can be picked up by TJ or administration.