Attendance Procedures

 

Excused - Excused absences are due to reasons acceptable to the school district and verified by parents/guardians. Excused absences are for personal illness, illness or death in family, impassable roads due to inclement weather, religious observance, required court appearances, attendance at health clinics, approved college visits, approved cooperative work programs, military obligations, obtaining a driving permit, and taking a driving road test.

Unexcused - Unexcused absences are due to reasons unacceptable to the school but approved by parents/guardians. Examples of unexcused absences are absences for hunting, babysitting, family vacations, haircuts and tanning.

Truancy - Truancy is an absence due to reasons unacceptable to the school and without the knowledge or approval of parents/guardians. An example of truancy is but is not limited to, oversleeping.

School Related - School related absences are absences due to the attendance at school-sponsored activities or events. School-related absences from school or class are to be counted as the equivalent of regular class attendance. Examples of school-related absences are absences due to field trips, guidance appointments, visits to the nurse, music lessons, assemblies, and standardized or state testing.

 

When truant from a class a student will receive a grade of zero (0) on the following:

 

a. assignments collected during the class period
b. assignments issued during the class and due the next time the class meets
c. quizzes and tests given during the class period.

 

In addition, students who are truant will be disciplined in a fashion consistent with the district's code of conduct. Teachers will have no obligation to provide make up work or instruction for material covered during a class from which a student is truant.

Students who exceed a combination of 18 (9 for a half credit course) unexcused absences and/or truancies from a particular course will have any subsequent absence from class treated as a truancy, as far as assignments, quizzes, and tests are concerned.

Students who exceed a combination of 8 (4 for a half year course) unexcused absences and/or truancies and 10 (5 for a half year course) excused absences will have any subsequent absence from class treated as a truancy, as assignments, quizzes, and tests are concerned.

 

 

The Assistant Principal will run an attendance report every three weeks:

(9/24, 10/15, 11/5, 11/26, 12/17, 1/14, 2/4, 3/4, 3/25, 4/23, 5/13, 6/3)

Any students who have accumulated three or more absences will be flagged.

The report will then be filtered through the Counseling, Health and Administrative offices.

A report will be emailed to staff to show what students are struggling and what intervention was put into place.

August Attendance Letter

A letter to parents/guardians based on a review of student's attendance from prior year (Letter #1).

Any student who had a tardy and attendance rate of 10% or higher receives the letter.

1st Offense

A conference with the student will be set up with the Assistant Principal.

This conference is a check to make sure everything is going well, address the issues of why they have not attended school, and put some strategies in place to improve.

2nd or 3rd Offense

A conference with the student will be set up with the Assistant Principal.

This conference will address the attendance and, based on the student, interventions will be put into place at this time.

Letter #2 or Letter #3 may be sent home at this time.

4th or more Offense

A conference with the student will be set up with the Principal and parents/guardians.

Letter #4 will be sent home.

If the student is under 18, we will be pursuing a PINS.

We have designed 4 tiered letters that we can use to send home to students who are struggling with their attendance. These letters are designed to increase communication with families as well as establishing documentation.