What the heck is "the ICU list" anyway?

Have you gotten a text message about your child being placed on an ICU list?  Are you confused about what this whole "ICU list" thing is anyway?  What does it mean?  What do I need to do about it?  Who do I need to talk to about this?  

At South Dale Middle School we have a simple statement that applies to all students...

That's it!  It really is that simple!  

We do not accept zeros from students.  We know what our students are capable of and we will not accept less from them.  

Enter, the ICU list.  When a student fails to turn in an assignment to their teacher, the teacher enters the name of the student, the missed assignment, and a brief set of instructions into the ICU list.  The ICU list will automatically send a text message and an email to the parent/guardian of that student informing them their child has a missing assignment.  

The text message will be very short - just telling you the name of the teacher and that the student has been placed on the ICU list.  The email you receive will be much more detailed including the name of the assignment and any additional directions the teacher may have added.  

Simply, the ICU list is way for teachers to easily communicate with parents if their child has any missing work (or zeros in the gradebook) before progress reports or reports surprise you with a very low grade because of multiple zeros in the gradebook.  

Students that are on the ICU list will be given extra time and extra help needed to complete the missing work.  When the assignment is completed and turned in to the teacher the teacher will then mark the assignment as completed on the ICU list - this removes them from the list - and you will get a followup text message letting you know the assignment was completed.

What do I need to do?  Who do you need to contact or talk to?  Talk to your child first.  If they were absent, encourage them to talk with their teacher about a makeup time for missed work.  Maybe it's something they can work on at home and turn in at school.  If it's a missed test or quiz they may have to schedule a time with the teacher to come in and complete the assignment.  
If they haven't been absent, maybe they didn't finish the assignment or maybe they have lost the assignment.  Help your child look through their bookbag to find missing work or talk with them about what they need to do to get another copy of the assignment.  

If it's been a few days after you and your child have problem solved together about completing the assignment and you haven't received confirmation by text that the assignment has been completed, talk with your child again.  Make sure they have taken the necessary steps to complete the work and turn it in.  If they say they have completed the assignment and turned it in, but you still haven't received the completion text, it may finally be time to contact the teacher.