The School encourages close, warm relationships between students and adult members of the school community. At the same time, the School requires employees to follow professional standards of conduct and to maintain appropriate boundaries between themselves and students. To help students and their families understand the School’s expectations for appropriate professional boundaries with students, we are sharing the following guidelines for adult-student interactions.

Unacceptable Behavior:

Below is a list of examples of conduct that may involve inappropriate crossing of the boundaries of the professional relationship:
● Giving gifts to an individual student that are of a personal or intimate nature;
● Unnecessary physical contact with a student in either a public or private situation;
● Intentionally being alone with a student on campus or away from the school without parent or supervisor permission;
● Making, or participating in sexually inappropriate comments;
● Sexual jokes, stories, or jokes/comments with sexual innuendo;
● Seeking emotional involvement with a student for an employee’s benefit;
● Discussing an employee’s own personal troubles or intimate issues with a student;
● Becoming involved with a student so that a reasonable person may suspect inappropriate behavior;
● Inappropriate use of social media with or about students;
● Inappropriate attention toward a particular student;
● Contact with a student away from school for activities not related to school without parent and supervisor knowledge or permission;
● Using personal email, texts or social media to communicate with students rather than using school email and communication systems; (Limited text messaging is permissible for arranging logistics of School activities off campus, but employees should generally use group text functions in such circumstances);
● Driving alone with a student except in emergency situations where the employee informs the student’s parents and the employee’s supervisor within a reasonable time;
● Sending emails, text messages or letters to students of a personal nature if the content is not about school activities; or
● Failing to keep parents informed when a significant issue develops about a student.

Reporting Concerns

The School encourages students, parents or other members of the school community who have concerns about adults crossing appropriate boundaries with students to inform the Pedagogical Director and the Administrative Director.