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Grievance Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this process is to provide students and parents of students enrolled in St. Catherine’s Montessori with an orderly procedure for the equitable and prompt resolution of complaints. This process is intended to resolve disputes at the lowest possible level in a cooperative, conciliatory Christian atmosphere and not intended to be adversarial in nature. No person shall be discriminated against because of filing or participating in this complaint process; and no reprisals of any kind shall be taken against any person because of participation in this complaint process.

General Principles

  • Complaints must be fully described by the person with the grievance.
  • Each person involved should be heard.
  • The person(s) against whom the grievance/complaint is made should have the opportunity and be given a reasonable time to provide their side of the story before resolution is attempted.
 

Procedures

Level One

A student or their parent shall meet with the person with whom they are having a dispute. If the matter is not then settled satisfactorily, the complainant shall follow the guidelines outlined in Level Two.

Level Two

The parent shall state their complaint in writing, setting forth the nature of the complaint, all relevant details, and the remedy sought. The following procedure shall then be utilized:

  • The written grievance shall be submitted to the Head of School within five (5) working days following the informal resolution/conciliation.
  • The Head of School will meet with the grieving party within five (5) working days following receipt of the written grievance to hear such grievance and any other information that the Head of School deems relevant.
  • Following the meeting, the Head of School should conduct a meeting between the grieving party and the individual against whom the grievance is filed to resolve the issues.
  • The Head of School shall issue a written decision within five (5) working days of the meeting or within a reasonable amount of time. The Head of School’s decision is final.
 

Reporting Procedure

Any member of the school community, including Board members, employees, students, volunteers, and parents, who has a concern regarding violations of the school’s policies, suspected violations of law or regulations that govern the school’s operations, financial improprieties, or fraud (including accounting and auditing matters), or the failure of any Board member, employee, student or volunteer of the school to perform their duties honestly and with integrity should follow one of the following procedures:

  1. Head of School: A person wishing to raise a concern that does not involve the Head of School or a Board member should contact the Head of School.
  2. Board Representative: If the concern involves the Head of School or a Board member, the concern should be submitted to the Board President or the Vice President of the Board of Directors.
 

Review of Concerns

How concerns are reviewed depends on the subject of the concern:

  1. For concerns involving personnel or student/parent matters not involving the Head of School or a Board member, the Head of School will review the concern, conduct an investigation as appropriate, and respond to the person reporting the concern if that person has identified themselves.
  2. For concerns involving the Head of School or a Board member, the Board President or the Vice President of the Board will review the concern and conduct an investigation as appropriate.
  3. For concerns involving financial improprieties or fraud, the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors will review the concern and conduct an investigation as appropriate. If a member of the Finance Committee is implicated in the concern in any way, that member will recuse themself from consideration of the concern.
 

Confidentiality

Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation, comply with applicable law, and for the school to make a determination with regard to the reported violation.