Employment Contract
The employment contract is the document evidencing the official legal agreement between Darlington and each employee with respect to the terms of employment. Unless otherwise expressly provided for in the employment contract, all employment of any Darlington employee may be terminated by Darlington at any time and without cause. All information in the employment contract is considered to be confidential, between the employee and Darlington School.
Salary Payment
Salaries are paid on the 10th and 25th day of each month. Direct bank deposit of payroll checks is recommended for all employees.
Payroll deductions may include Social Security, Federal Income Tax withholdings, State Income Tax withholdings, TIAA retirement contributions, group insurance premiums, house or apartment rents, etc. Information on deductions may be obtained from the Human Resource Office.
Attendance/Tardiness
The efficient operation of Darlington depends upon the regular attendance and punctuality of its employees. While Darlington recognizes that circumstances beyond an employee’s control may sometimes cause the employee to be absent from work, excessive, unscheduled absenteeism may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Employees using excessive amounts of unscheduled time off may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Employees are expected to report to work at the time they are scheduled to begin work and at the prescribed time after lunch or other breaks. To the greatest extent possible, permission for absences should be obtained from the department head and the administrative director under whom the employee works. An employee who is unexpectedly absent from work or delayed in reporting for work is required to contact his or her immediate supervisor as soon as possible to explain the reason for the absence or delay and the expected duration of the absence or delay. Failure to notify their supervisor of any anticipated absence or delay in reporting for work may be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination. Absences must be documented so that accurate vacation and sick leave records can be maintained.
Personal Appearance
A Darlington employee’s dress and personal appearance should always be professional, neat and appropriate, whether in the classroom, dining room, or elsewhere on campus. Besides supporting a professional environment for each other and visitors, faculty appearance should also model for students how to be both well dressed and comfortable.
During the academic and work day, all faculty and staff should dress in Business Casual as defined for Darlington below. At the discretion of each Division Director, teachers may participate in casual dress days in line with the spirit of each division’s particular dress code. Exceptions for special work days or other circumstances can be made working with the supervisor. Exceptions for medical reasons should be referred to the Human Resources manager.
Employee Conduct
Employees are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times. Debate of administrative, academic, and disciplinary policies and decisions should take place within the forum of faculty meetings, or in private conversation with the Head of School or Division Director. Unless otherwise indicated, faculty meeting discussions, whether regarding policy or students, should be treated as confidential. Faculty and staff members are expected to support the policies of the school in the presence of students and parents.
Inappropriate physical contact with students is not permitted. Darlington is committed to fostering the educational and social development of its students. Amorous or sexual relationships between students and employees are inappropriate, compromise the relationship between the student and Darlington, and will not be tolerated by Darlington. Any such contact or relationship should be reported to the Human Resources Office and the Head of School immediately.
Alcohol, Illegal Drugs, and Tobacco
Consumption of alcohol is not permitted on the campuses in the presence of students. Faculty and staff members living in the residential houses or in private homes on campus should demonstrate the utmost care in the storage or display of alcohol. Requests for exceptions to this policy at school events where students are not present must be approved by the Head of School. Faculty members are also asked to refrain from drinking alcohol prior to school-sponsored contact with students (e.g., sporting events, concerts, recitals, dances, or student activities functions). Faculty or staff members who come into contact with students while impaired due to the influence of alcohol will be treated on a case-by-case basis by the administration with discipline including: suspension from employment, counseling, or dismissal from their duties at the school.
Illegal drugs are not permitted on campus or at school-sponsored events. Anyone on school property found to be in possession or under the influence of illegal drugs will be reported to the police and will be subject to sanctions including but not limited to termination.
Due to its harmful effects, tobacco use is not permitted within any field, enclosed building, structure, or vehicle belonging to Darlington School. Campus residences are exempt from this policy. In keeping with long-standing policy, Darlington employees should not smoke or use tobacco in the presence of students in any location at any time.
Weapons
Except as otherwise provided herein, Darlington prohibits all persons from possession or use of firearms, illegal knives, explosives or any other prohibited weapon of any kind while acting in the course of employment with Darlington, while on Darlington owned, leased or controlled property, while operating a Darlington owned, leased or controlled vehicle, or at Darlington-sponsored functions regardless of whether the person is licensed to carry the weapon or not. Employees residing on Darlington campus may keep a legally registered firearm in their residence provided such firearm is at all times maintained out of view in a safe and secure manner. Darlington reserves the right to conduct searches of any person, vehicle or object that is on or enters onto Darlington property. Failure to abide by all terms and conditions may result in corrective action up to and including immediate discharge.
Background Checks and Drug Screens
Darlington strives to provide a safe and secure environment in which our students, faculty, staff, and visitors feel comfortable. Before allowing any employee to begin work, Darlington reserves the right to require that criminal background checks and drug screens be conducted on all employees, substitute teachers, community coaches and spouses of employees living on campus. Darlington reserves the right to conduct criminal background investigations on other employees at Darlington’s sole discretion and as deemed necessary. Every employee must notify their supervisor or department head within five business days if he/she is convicted of a crime (not including traffic infractions), in which case Darlington may then conduct a criminal background check.
Darlington School reserves the right to test employees for drugs or alcohol if given reasonable suspicion that the Employee may be under the influence while at school or while at school functions.
Darlington School also participates in a Preventive Drug Screen program throughout the school year. This means that employees may be chosen at random by our third party Drug Screen Vendor and be required to participate in a drug screen. Failure to report for a drug screen after you have been notified will be handled as a disciplinary issue. Employees will be notified of their results, as the results come in. If there is an issue with the sample, the employee will be contacted by the Medical Review Officer affiliated with the Drug Screen Vendor and will be given an opportunity to explain any medications that they may be on that may adversely affect a drug screen result. If the result remains positive, the Head of School and the Division Director will be notified. The employee will have the opportunity to discuss the results with the Head of School and Division Director before any disciplinary recommendations are made. In the case of a positive result, the employee may be asked to not report to their job until the situation is resolved.
Mandatory Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse
The State of Georgia requires that all employees, faculty, and staff of Darlington report child abuse or neglect when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child under the age of eighteen: (1) has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon the child other than by accidental means by a parent or caretaker, or (2) has been neglected or exploited by a parent/caretaker, or (3) has been sexually assaulted.
If any faculty, staff, or employee of Darlington has reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect and/or deprivation, it must be reported to the Head of School or any school counselor immediately. Failure to legally report suspected abuse, neglect and/or exploitation may result in criminal prosecution of the person who fails to report.
I further acknowledge and agree that I shall communicate to any and all volunteers that I work with or supervise in connection with any Darlington School-related activity that such volunteer is a mandatory reporter of suspected child abuse under Georgia law, and should report any reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect immediately to the Head of School, or any school counselor or Department of Family and Children’s Services.
Periodic Evaluations
A clear and transparent evaluation process challenges us to grow, stretch, and learn by encouraging individual excellence as well as adherence to general school goals and principles; keeping us informed about current research and best practices; and identifying areas to devote resources, whether they are a conference to attend, books to read, schools to visit, or training to receive. Darlington School employees are subject to periodic oral and written evaluations which may occur annually, or more frequently as necessary. Such evaluations may be considered by the school prior to any decision to renew the employee’s term contract.
Outside Employment
Full-time employment by the school implies a commitment which ordinarily precludes outside employment. Absent prior approval by the Division Director and Darlington Head of School, employees should not enter into an agreement to perform, or perform, for remuneration any work other than the duties required by the employee under the written employment agreement with Darlington.
Professional Development
All professional development requests must be submitted to the Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs. The annual deadline for requests will be January 10th. The requests will be for the following fiscal year from June 1 to May 31. The budget for Professional Development will be set each January and only requests received by the deadline will be considered for approval for the following fiscal year.
The deadline includes requests for graduate school assistance, department and division professional development, Parent Association grants, Wood Fellowship grants, Thatcher Faculty Development & Research and Thatcher Master Teacher grants. There is a specific request form for each type of grant. The request forms are located on the Darlington School Intranet.
Please note that the Parent Association grants, Wood Fellowship grants and Thatcher Faculty Development & Research and Thatcher Master Teacher grants are set amounts each year. The graduate school assistance and department and division professional development will be based upon the Darlington operational budget for professional development. Graduate school assistance is reimbursement up to ½ of tuition cost.
School Cars and Vans
Darlington-owned vehicles are available for faculty/staff use for official Darlington business only, and personal use is not permitted without the prior permission of the transportation manager. Prior to using a Darlington-owned vehicle, the employee must verify with the Transportation Manager that he/she is listed with the insurance underwriter. It is the responsibility of each employee using a school vehicle to return the vehicle in a clean and undamaged condition to its proper location. Every attempt should be made to monitor the students on school trips so as to prevent horseplay and roughhousing which could result in injury to the students and/or damage to the vehicle.
When Darlington business requires employees to travel by automobile, Darlington requires all employees to practice safe, defensive driving at all times. Darlington never requires employees to conduct Darlington business while driving, and employees are discouraged from operating a cell phone for any reason while driving on Darlington business.
If a Darlington vehicle is not available for an official business trip, the use of a private vehicle will be permitted. Expenses will be reimbursed at a rate as set by Darlington. Other appropriate expenses (tolls, etc.) shall be reimbursed if verified by original receipts. Fines, traffic citations, etc., will not be reimbursed, but must be reported immediately to the Transportation Manager. Darlington does not provide insurance on personal cars used for Darlington business.
Upon returning a Darlington vehicle to the transportation manager, any maintenance needs of the vehicle should be brought to the attention of the transportation manager. The vehicle being returned should be clean, free of trash and have an amount of gasoline at least equal to that which was in the vehicle when picked up for use.
All new employees will receive bus training, pass an online test and a driving test prior to being allowed to drive a Darlington School bus or vehicle. All coaches and residential duty staff will retake the bus training and tests every two years. Any other employees who wish to take a refresher course on the bus training may do so.
Pets on Campus
Darlington School is a pet friendly school. However, we ask that pets be kept on leashes and that any animal waste be picked up and disposed of properly. We want to keep our campus clean not only for visitors but for our residents as well. In light of hygiene, medical and safety issues we ask that faculty and staff not bring pets to the classroom or office. As a multicultural school, we want to respect our fellow students and faculty and understand that everyone may not appreciate having animals in these spaces.
Residential Storage Units
Employees who live in on-campus housing may request one storage unit space either in the Cooper Attic or in the Regester Basement. Storage units will be assigned on availability. Priority will be given to employees who live either in the Faculty Apartments or the Dorm Apartments. Storage units will be assigned through Human Resources. Employees are not allowed to occupy storage units without approval from Human Resources. Darlington School reserves the right to cut open locks to determine who the unit is being used by if the unit was not assigned by Human Resources.
Food Delivery
This policy is in place to support the safety and security of campus in regards to the large number of individuals providing individualized food delivery services, including app-based services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats as well as restaurant-provided delivery such as pizza restaurants. The goal is to limit exposure of these individuals to members of the community and to best monitor their activity during their time on campus.
This policy is applicable to anyone having food delivered to Main Campus through the main entrance. This includes all students and faculty members working or living on Main Campus.
During normal school operating dates, food delivery for students will be limited to the times listed below. Although these times do not apply to adults, faculty should show consideration to students if ordering personal food while at work during the school day or on residential duty during these times.
Note: faculty can make exceptions for students who miss school-provided meals, such as late trip returns or illness.
Food delivery must be picked up at the food delivery kiosk located by the parking area behind Thornwood House adjacent to the Security Gatehouse. In the case of very large orders, drivers can be met at that location or special arrangements made in coordination with Security (such as with large catering orders).
When placing orders students and faculty must ensure the following:
Food should be picked up in a timely manner to avoid spoilage. The kiosk will be cleaned out every morning at 7:30 a.m. and all items discarded.
Voicemail and Email Statement
Confidentiality or privacy of voicemail and email messages cannot be guaranteed, and Darlington makes no promise of security. Users should carefully consider what information should be included in messages. Such communication systems are intended for official Darlington business. Employees do not have a personal privacy right in any matter created, received, or sent through Darlington’s communications systems. Employees should have no expectation of privacy regarding files and data residing on Darlington computer systems, networks, servers, disks, or voicemail.
Darlington’s communications systems, including computers, software, electronic mail (email) copiers, fax machines, telephones, voicemail, communication tools and various online services, are the property of Darlington and are intended to support Darlington’s management, information, educational and operational needs. Limited personal use of these systems by employees is currently permitted; however, such use should not interfere with Darlington’s primary needs for the equipment or the employee’s performance of his or her job. Illegal use, personal use that interferes with business use, personal use for profit, or use that brings disrepute or runs contrary to the mission and goals of Darlington is not permitted. Email access will be set up through forms available in Human Resources upon hire. Darlington email accounts and passwords shall only be used by the Darlington employee to whom they are issued and only in accordance with Darlington’s Acceptable Use Policy.
All communications and information transmitted by, received from, or stored in the communications systems are Darlington records and property of Darlington. Although Darlington does not routinely monitor employee usage of its systems, there may be cases when Darlington, in its sole discretion, may elect to do so. Darlington has and reserves the right to monitor its communications systems. Darlington may inspect the computer files on any Darlington-owned computer at any time, with or without notice, at its sole discretion. The responsibility and authority to inspect computer files, devices, email and voicemail is vested in the Head of School, or his or her designee.
Email sent from Darlington accounts must adhere to Darlington’s Acceptable Use Policy, issued by the I.T. Department. Always be careful in electronic messages sent from a Darlington account to avoid the appearance of speaking on behalf of Darlington when not authorized to do so. Employees must not abuse the privilege of access to the Internet. Darlington’s systems may not be used to violate the law or download or distribute pirated media, software, or threatening, illegal, obscene or pornographic material.
Lessons that We Teach . . . Lessons that We Live
At Darlington the most vital part of our mission as teachers is the instruction that takes place outside of our classrooms with our students in private and, sometimes, vulnerable moments. These lessons are not in any handbook, textbook, or playbook; rather, they are written on our lives and those of our students. As we strive to encourage moral and ethical behavior in each of our students, we accept the responsibilities inherent in modeling that same behavior to inexperienced and impressionable children. We accept that public displays or even hints of sexual intimacy between unmarried faculty members will confuse our students and will compromise our abilities to teach them the unspoken lessons that are so important to the work that we do. All faculty, both married and unmarried, are asked to uphold the spirit of this policy and act with the utmost discretion, care, and honor in their relationships with spouses, colleagues, and friends. Faculty members are selected without regard to their personal beliefs. Darlington does stand in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and all faculty members are expected to attend any chapel services required of students.
