Coulee Montessori
Charter School
1611 Kane Street | La Crosse, WI 54603 | Phone: (608)789-7970 | Fax: (608)789-0035

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Northside Elementary and Coulee Montessori

School and Office Hours

School Hours: 8:15am-2:55pm

Office Hours: 7:50am-3:30pm

Drop-off and Pick-up

Northside and Coulee Montessori schools encourage walking and biking to school to promote physical fitness and an active lifestyle.  The policy of the School District of La Crosse is to restrict busing to only those students who live more than two miles from the school.  If you live within two miles of our school, your child will need to either walk or bike to school.

Safety patrols and adult crossing guards will assist students with crossing the streets adjacent to the building during the morning and afternoon commute.

Car drop off zones are as follows:

Northside Kindergarten through 5th Grade: Kane Street
Coulee Montessori: Charles Street
Bus Loading: Rublee Street
 
If your child is not part of the YMCA Early Morning Program, they should NOT arrive any earlier than 7:50am.  At that time, students may enter the building if they eat breakfast.  Student who do not eat breakfast at school will not be allowed in the building as there will not be any staff supervision.  They may play on the playground, which will be supervised by staff.  Students will line up with their classes on the playground at 8:05am and will be brought into the building by their teacher.
 

Lunch and Recess Times

Coming Soon!

Before and After School Options

Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls Club of Greater La Crosse will continue to offer after school activities and programs in Academics, Character & Leadership, and Healthy Life Styles.  This year, the BGC will be house at both Northside/Coulee Montessori and the Erickson BGC site.  Students in grades K-2 will attend the BGC at Northside/Coulee Montessori, and students in grades 3-5 will board a shuttle bus after school to get to the Erickson site.  Parents should contact the Boys and Girls Club for a membership form.  (608)782-3926

YMCA Surround Care

The YMCA of La Crosse will provide affordable, quality childcare and academic programming before and after school at Northside/Coulee Montessori.  All children K-5 will be accepted.  No child will be turned away due to financial need.  This program will take place between 6:30am-7:50am in the mornings, and 2:55pm-6:00pm in the afternoons, Monday through Friday.  Students will participate in a combination of recreational activities, homework help, academic enrichment, academic tutoring, wellness education, and arts and crafts, as appropriate for each child.  Parents can contact the YMCA of La Crosse for more information. (608)782-9622 ext. 275

Northside/Coulee Montessori After School Program

Students are invited to participate in this After School Program based on their academic need determined by their teacher.  This year, we are partnering with the Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA.  You child will need to sign up for one of these programs in order to participate in the Northside/Coulee Montessori After School Program.  Children will check in with either the BGC or the YMCA for snack and play time.  We will check your student out for tutoring 3:35-4:40pm, and then return them to their program.  Please contact Kim Schumacher for more information.  (608)789-6776

Student Appointments

We will no longer be calling students out of class early for appointments to wait for their parents to pick them up in the office. We will call students once parents arrive and sign them out. This will allow students to be present for all the important learning in the classroom. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Early Release Dates

The School District of La Crosse will be releasing students 2 hours early (12:55pm) on the following dates during the 2016/2017 school year:

October 14, 2016
November 11, 2016
December 16, 2016
January 13, 2017
February 10, 2017
March 10, 2017
April 7, 2017
May 12, 2017

 

The purpose of these early release days is to provide our teachers with professional development opportunities.  We believe these experiences will provide for an even richer experience for your child.

A week before each scheduled early release day, your child will be provided with a “Planned Early Release Day Information Card” to take home.  We ask that you please complete and return it to your student’s teacher so appropriate preparations can be made.  If the information card is not returned, your child will follow their regular after school plan. There are a number of community partners organizing opportunities for your child during this time.

The YMCA and BGC will begin their programs early on these days and will continue until their regular end times.

Parent/Teacher Conference Dates

FALL

Monday, October 17th from 12:00pm-8:00pm
Thursday, October 20th from 4:00pm-8:00pm

SPRING

Monday, March 13th from 12:00pm-8:00pm
Thursday, March 16th from 4:00pm-8:00pm

Student Meal Information

Menus:

Click HERE for the latest menu.

 

Costs: 

Elementary Breakfast: $1.50

Reduced Price Breakfast: $0.30

Elementary Lunch: $2.65

Reduced Price Lunch: $0.40

Milk – Ala Carte: $0.50

Adult Breakfast Price: $2.30

Adult Lunch Price: $3.65

 

Free/Reduced Lunch: 

The District encourages all families to fill out an application(even if you think you won’t qualify!) as the more students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the more funding our district receives for our students (smaller classroom size, library books, etc.)

You can pick up an application in the Main Office.  Click HERE for more information.

Medications

Questions about medication procedures and health concerns can be directed to Northside/Coulee Montessori Health Assistant, Carol Francksen  (608)789-6703

 

  • Written, signed permission must be on file at school before any medication can be administered to a child.
  • Prescription drugs require a doctor’s and parent’s signature; non-prescription drugs require a parent’s signature.  Forms are available from Mrs. Francksen, on the School District website, and at most area clinics.
  • All medication must be in its original container with the dosage clearly marked.
  • All medication will be administered and recorded in the Health Office.

 

Our School District nurse is Shelly Johnson  (608)789-5766

Weather Guidelines

Click HERE to view our Weather Guidelines.

Highly Qualified Teachers

The School District of La Crosse takes pride in hiring only highly qualified teachers. This means they all are fully trained, certified, and often experienced in the position they teach. Our faculty consistently has a high percentage of advanced degrees, and we do a good job of retaining some of the top staff in the state and the nation. Life events, such as retirement, childbirth, or illness, sometimes cause a need for a long- term substitute teacher. When this happens we always make every effort to hire a highly qualified substitute. All are certified teachers and most are licensed in the area in which they are substituting. In rare cases it may be impossible to find a teacher with a particular certification, such as special education. This may result in the district asking the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for an emergency license for such a teacher. If you ever have any questions about the certification of any of our staff, please call me, Laura Huber, principal of Northside Elementary and Coulee Montessori.