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Grades 4-12 Student-Parent Handbook

School Contact Information

405 South Street East
Athens, AL 35611
(256) 771-0752
 

PRINCIPAL

Dr. Nelson Brown
 

DEAN OF STUDENTS

Tiffany Burns
 

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Mrs. Summer Neely
 

COUNSELOR

Ms. Lorri Haynes
 

REGISTRAR

Mrs. Danyelle Lyons

District Leadership

ATHENS CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION

  • Beth Patton, Superintendent 

  • Mrs. Beverly Malone, President

  • Mrs. Shannon Hutton, Vice President 

  • Mrs. Karen Clem

  • Mr. Toby Harrison

  • Mr. Anthony Townsend

SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE
455 US Hwy 31 North
Athens, Alabama 35611
(256) 233-6600

EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

It is the policy of the Athens City Board of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, or marital status in the education programs, activities or employment, and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following person has been appointed to coordinate compliance efforts: Title IX/ Section 504/ADA –Mrs. Dimika Cummings (256) 233-6600.

General Information

STANDARDIZED TESTING 

All students are required to attend all standardized testing in person.  Students will be made aware of their testing dates and locations as soon as they are set. This is a requirement to remain enrolled and in good standing with Renaissance V. 
 
Grades 4-8 - ACAP State Testing (April)
Grade 10 - PreACT Secure Test (fall semester - around October)
Grade 11 - ACT with Writing Test (spring semester - around March/April)
Grade 12 - WorkKeys Test (fall semester - around October)
 

SCHOOL COMMUNICATION TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS 

The main form of weekly communication is through our school-issued newsletter. It is important that you pay close attention to the newsletter each week in regard to important announcements, critical information, and upcoming events. The weekly newsletter is sent out through email, text message, social media, and our school website. 
   

AUTOMATED SCHOOL MESSAGING SERVICES 

Athens City Schools provides an automated emergency messaging system that notifies students, parents, and employees via telephone, text, and email of possible school closings, early dismissals and other emergency schedule changes. 
 
Please ensure you have registered through the following link: https://acsk12.parentlink.net/main/login/new-account-sign-up 
 

PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION

As a virtual school with optional satellite locations across Alabama, RenV is unable to provide an on-site nurse at satellite locations. If a student has a health condition requiring medication administration during a satellite meeting or state testing, parents should contact school administrators in advance to make appropriate arrangements.
 
Before a student is permitted to carry and self-administer medication, a physician’s orders must be verified by the nurse or designated staff member. All medications turned in to the school must be hand-delivered by a parent or guardian to the office staff or designated school personnel. This applies to all students, including those approved to self-administer or self-carry medications.  Proper paperwork to carry and self-administer can be accessed here and must be signed by a physician.
 


COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE PROGRAM 

Information regarding intervention programs for mental health concerns and/or substance abuse in the North Alabama area may be obtained from the school counselor: lorri.haynes@acs-k12.org 
 

ACS ATHLETICS PROGRAM

RenV students in grades 7-12 are eligible to try out and participate in Athens City Schools Athletics programs. Information about participating in athletics with Athens City Schools can be obtained from the district athletic director: linda.moore@acs-k12.org
 

GRADE REPORTS

RenV grades are available electronically at the end of each 9 week period.  Parents will receive communication when grades are available to be viewed.  RenV does not send paper grade reports home.  

 

RENV GRADING EXPLAINED

Final grades are solely determined by the grade earned at the end of a course. RenV believes that students can achieve mastery at various times throughout the duration of a course. Therefore, quarterly grades are viewed as a snapshot of students’ progress at that given time. Grades from each quarter are not “averaged” together at the end of the course.  Instead, students maintain a running and ongoing “progress grade.”  
 

ATTENDANCE POLICY 

Renaissance V monitors student attendance in accordance with all applicable statutes set by the state of Alabama, as well as reports all truant students to the appropriate legal authorities. Parent(s)/guardian(s) with legal responsibility for a child are responsible for the student’s attendance in a public school unless otherwise exempt by law.  In the event that a RenV student is truant, the parent(s)/guardian(s) are subject to all penalties provided for under Alabama’s Compulsory School Attendance Law. Excessive unexcused absences will result in truancy and the loss of a student's seat in the class.
 

PACING GUIDE ATTENDANCE

Non-traditional attendance is measured through the completion of lessons/assignments to be considered present and attending, as well as to progress in the course. Students considered off-pace may be required to attend live, virtual sessions with instructors each week until they have regained “good standing” status.  Simply logging into the learning management system (LMS) or course is not considered attending for purposes of Alabama’s Compulsory School Attendance Law.
 

NON-TRADITIONAL TRUANCY

For purposes of compulsory attendance, a student is considered truant when the student is off-pace in one (1) or more course(s). Please note that missed, incomplete, and failing assignments may be used in the calculation to determine whether or not a student is on pace in the course as outlined via the pacing guide. Once a student is truant, the student will continue to be considered truant until such time that all assignments have been completed and the student is back on-pace.  Parents of students found to be truant may be required to attend a truancy meeting or truancy court. 
 

SUSPENSION OF CURRENT DRIVER'S LICENSES/LEARNER'S PERMITS 

Students 16 years and older who have a driver's license/learner's permit who withdraw or who are absent from school or are not on pace with their online learning platform for 10 consecutive days or 15 days total for unexcused reasons during a semester shall be reported by the school authorities to the Department of Public Safety. The Department of Public Safety shall notify such persons that their driver's licenses/learner's permits will be suspended on the 30th day following notification unless re-enrollment occurs or one of the other conditions is documented. 
 

BEHAVIOR EXPECTED OF STUDENTS

Students are expected to treat other students with courtesy, respect, and dignity and comply with the Athens City Schools Code of Student Conduct. Students are expected and required (1) to comply with the requirements of law, policy, regulation and rules prohibiting harassment, violence, or intimidation; (2) to refrain from inflicting or threatening to inflict violence, injury, or damage to the person or property of another student; and (3) to refrain from placing another student in fear of being subjected to violence, injury, or damage when such actions or threats are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any personal characteristic of the student that is identified in this policy.
 

DRESS CODE 

All students are required to comply with the following guidelines: 
  • Shoes must be worn and properly laced or fastened. Shoes determined to be dangerous or a safety hazard will not be worn.
  • Clothing will be worn as the manufacturers designed them.
  • Students will not wear clothing that reveals the body in an inappropriate manner. 
  • Any clothing, ornaments, or accessories that distract from the educational process will not be worn.
  • With the approval of the principal or designee, student participants of school-sponsored activities, e.g. dress up day, may dress in a manner that does not conform to the dress code.
  • The principal or designee is authorized to determine inappropriate dress and to declare violations of these requirements.

HONOR CODE

Renaissance V holds all students to a high standard and believes in academic honesty in all courses.  Using outside resources is allowed when completing tasks in each course.  However, the act of plagiarizing work or using an AI generator in place of doing the work is unacceptable. RenV students are expected to recognize, understand and practice ethical behavior and academic integrity.  
 

WEB PUBLISHING

The Athens City Schools' websites are limited to usage associated with activities of the school district. The website(s) cannot be used for profit, for commercial purposes, to express personal opinions, or to editorialize.
  • Student pictures or other personally identifiable information can be used in accordance with FERPA guidelines. 
  • Individual students may be identified by full name unless permission to do so is denied by the parent or guardian in writing to the school administration.  Full names may only be used in reporting student participation in school sponsored extracurricular activities, achievements, and other positive recognitions.
  • Infringement of copyright laws, obscene, harassing or threatening materials on websites are against the law and are subject to prosecution.

 
 
ADDITIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN THE 2025-2026 ACS STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOKS APPLY .