Sehome High School Attendance Policy
August 31, 2005
Statement
of Overall Objectives
School
attendance is both a right and a responsibility. Sehome High School is an active partner with students and parents
in the task of ensuring that all students meet or exceed the Washington State
Learning Standards. Because Sehome High
School recognizes that consistent school attendance, academic success and
school completion have a positive correlation, This comprehensive attendance
policy has been developed to meet the following objectives:
·
To increase
school completion for all students;
·
To raise
student achievement and close gaps in student performance;
·
To identify
attendance patterns in order to design attendance improvement efforts;
·
To know the
whereabouts of every student for safety and other reasons;
· To verify that individual students are complying with education laws relating to compulsory attendance.
Strategies to Meet
Objectives
1. Create and maintain a positive school building culture by fostering a positive physical and psychological environment where the presence of strong adult role models encourages respectful and nurturing interactions between adults and students. This positive school culture is aimed at encouraging a high level of student bonding to the school, which in turn should lead to increased attendance.
2. Sehome High School recognizes an important relationship between class attendance and student performance. Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Consequently, each marking period a student’s grade may be based on classroom participation as well as students’ performance on homework, tests, papers, projects, etc.
3. Maintain accurate record keeping via the Zangle student attendance database to record attendance, absence, tardiness or early departure of each student.
4. Students with excused absences will have an opportunity to complete class work, assignments, projects, activities, quizzes and/or tests upon their return to school from such absence.
5. Develop early intervention strategies to improve school attendance for all students.
6. Students with unexcused absences will not earn credit for make-up work including, but not limited to, class work, assignments, projects, activities, quizzes and/or tests upon their return to school from such absence. In the event of extenuating circumstances, a student may petition the building principal for the opportunity to make up work. Such opportunity may be permitted in the sole discretion of the building principal.
7. When attendance is adversely affecting a student’s academic progress, the classroom teacher will notify the student’s assistant principal. The assistant principal will follow district guidelines for notifying parents and seeking their assistance in solving the problem.
For the purpose of these procedures, the term "parent" means a custodial parent, legal guardian, or other person having legal custody of a child, or, in the case of adult students (those 18 or older) and emancipated students (those over 16 who have been emancipated by court action), the student himself or herself.
The following are valid excuses for absences and tardiness.
A. Participation in a school-approved activity. To be excused, the absence must be authorized by a staff member, and the affected teacher must be notified prior to the absence unless it is clearly impossible to provide such notice.
B. Absence due to illness, health condition, family emergency. In case of illness or emergency, the parent is expected to notify the school office on or before the morning of the absence or send a signed note of explanation with the student upon his/her return to school.
C. Temporary absences for agreed activities upon parental request and verification. Upon parental request, the principal and/or his/her designee may temporarily excuse a student for agreed reasons. The request should be submitted in writing in advance and should state the reason and duration of the requested absence. An absence may not be approved if it is likely to cause a serious adverse effect on the student's educational progress. Any request for partial day absence, including an absence to participate in off-campus religious instruction must, in addition, specify the individual or individuals into whose custody the student is to be released, if other than the parent. Parental verification that a student was excused from attending school in observance of a religious holiday should be submitted in writing as soon as possible after the absence.
D. Absence resulting from disciplinary actions or suspensions. Absences due to the temporary exclusion of a disruptive student from a class or activity, short-term suspension, or long-term suspension are deemed "excused" for the attendance purposes.
Assignments
and/or activities not completed because of an excused absence other than a
long-term suspension may be made up in the manner provided by the teacher. At a
minimum, for all excused absences except long-term suspensions, the student
shall be provided the opportunity upon his or her return to make up assignments
and tests missed by reason of absence if:
· Such assignments or tests have a substantial effect upon the student’s semester grade or grades, or
· Failure to complete such assignments or test would preclude the student from receiving credit for the course or courses.
If a student has one
all-day unplanned absence, the student will have one school day in which to
make up the work. If the student has a
two-day unplanned absence, the student will have two school days. For longer absences arrangements will be
made.
In
participation-type classes (e.g., certain music or physical education classes)
the student may not be able to achieve the objectives for the unit of
instruction as a result of the absence from class. In such a case, an excused
absence would have an adverse effect on the student's educational progress
which would ultimately be reflected in the grade for the course.
Any absence where a legitimate excuse, as defined above, is not adequately documented shall be deemed unexcused.
Consequences
For Truancy
First
truancy-Conference with
administrator, verbal warning, parent letter.
Second
truancy-Conference with
administrator, After School Assignment, parent phone conference.
Third and fourth truancy -Conference with administrator, Saturday
School, parent phone conference.
Fourth
truancy-Conference with
administrator, Attendance Contract, face-to-face conference with parent.
In
addition to Sehome High School’s attendance policies, Washington State also has
its own compliance requirements for students 17 or younger to attend school.
Whenever
a student has one (1) unexcused absence within any month the school shall
notify the parent or guardian. After two (2) unexcused absences within any
month, a conference shall be held between the parent, student, and principal or
his/her designee at a time and place reasonably convenient to all persons. The
purpose of this conference shall be to analyze the causes of the student's
absences and take steps to eliminate or reduce the student's absences. These
steps may include, but shall not be limited to, adjusting the student's school
program or school course assignment; providing more individualized or remedial
instruction; preparing the student for employment with special vocational
courses and work experience, or both; referring for assessment for Special
Education; and assisting the parent or student to obtain supplementary services
that might eliminate or ameliorate the cause or causes for the absences from
school.
If a student has five (5), unexcused absences in a month in which he/she has failed to attend the majority of hours or periods in an average school day, the principal and/or his/her designee shall either establish an agreement with the student and parents which sets requirements for school attendance, or refer the student to the district's attendance officer who shall file an appropriate petition with juvenile court.
· The student's name, birthdate, address, and phone number.
· Parent or guardian's name, address, and phone number.
· Attendance records.
· Summary of contacts with parent.
· Summary of all meetings held with the student and parent regarding attendance concerns.
· Summary of all corrective actions taken and their results.
· Copies of all letters sent to the parent.
· Copy of the student's Individual Education Plan, if in Special Education.
· Summary of the student's current education status, and
· Any other information the principal and/or his/her designee considers relevant.
Students
are expected to be in class on time. When a student's tardiness becomes
frequent or disruptive, the student shall be referred to the principal or
his/her designees. If counseling, parent conferencing, adjusting the
student's school program or school course assignments, providing more
individualized or remedial instruction, assisting the parent or student to
obtain supplementary services that might eliminate or ameliorate the cause or
causes for the tardiness, and/or other remedial steps, if appropriate, are
ineffective in changing the student's tardy behavior, the student may be placed
on short-term suspension from class in accordance with Policy 3200.
Disciplinary
Consequences For Unexcused Tardies
·
First three
unexcused tardies-Teacher responsibility.
Option to make-up time or assignments at the teacher’s discretion. Must warn the student of impending After
School Assignment (ASA) on their next recorded unexcused tardy.
·
Fourth and
fifth unexcused tardies-Teacher assigns one day of ASA for the fourth
and fifth unexcused tardies. The
teacher is encouraged to call the parent/guardian to inform them of the
situation.
·
Sixth
through tenth unexcused tardies-Office referral and one day of Saturday
School. Administrator calls the
parent/guardian to inform them of the situation.
· Eleven tardies and beyond-Possible removal from that class and long-term suspension. Requires extensive communication between the parent/guardian including a face to face conference with administrator if possible.
The record of each student's
presence, absence, tardiness and early departure shall be kept in the
Bellingham School District’s student information database. An absence, tardiness or early departure
will be entered as "excused", "unexcused" or
"truant" along with the District code for the reason.
Each student's presence or
absence shall be recorded after the taking of attendance in each period of
scheduled instruction. Any
absence for a school day or portion thereof shall be recorded as excused,
unexcused or truant in accordance with the standards articulated in this
policy. In the event that a student
arrives late for or departs early from scheduled instruction, such tardiness or
early departure shall be recorded as excused, unexcused or truant.
Students returning to school
after an absence must clear their absences within 24 hours upon their
return. This may be done by:
·
Parent/guardian
phone call to assigned alpha secretary (A-K, 676-6482 x5211; L-Z, 676-6482
x5207)
·
Parent/Guardian
note to assigned alpha secretary.
Students that arrive late for or
depart early from scheduled instruction must report to the office for
clearance.
Students participating in
school-sponsored activities that require an absence are to be excused by the
sponsoring teacher/advisor. A
pre-arranged contract may be required for participation or attendance at some
activities. Students must be present in
all classes to be eligible for practices or games that day. Students absent on the day of an activity
are ineligible to participate or practice that day. Students must also adhere to attendance regulations included in
the district activity code. Medical
absences are allowed providing the student brings a note from a doctor’s office
that serves as a record of the appointment.