Attendance Policy

To clear absences or report upcoming absences, contact our A ttendance Clerk.

Attendance-Every Day Counts

School success is directly related to good attendance. Poor performance in the classroom is often the result of poor attendance. If students are to achieve maximum value from their middle school education, 100% attendance is the goal. Students with poor attendance and/or chronic tardiness (6+) will be referred to Child Welfare and Attendance and may result in meeting with the police to develop a plan to improve attendance. State law defines the only valid excuses for absences from school as:

• Illness or quarantine
• Medical, dental, or optometry appointments (All appointments should be made during non-instructional hours.)
• Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family.

Reporting Absences

Student absences for each class are recorded every day and reported on progress reports and report cards each quarter.

Attendance is monitored daily by school staff in order to prevent excessive and/or unexcused absences. Parents will be promptly alerted to attendance problems. All absences must be cleared by a call or a note within 72 hours of the absence from a parent/guardian to the attendance office (723-3100 extension 40111). When absences are not cleared in this manner the family can expect to receive a call from our attendance manager or automated phone system. If the absence is due to illness for more than five school days, a medical note will be required to clear the absence.

Medical Appointments

Parents/guardians must come to the office to sign their children out for any appointments that will take them out of

school during the school day. This ensures the safety of students when not on campus. Medical and dental

appointments should be scheduled outside of the school day whenever possible.  Illness/Injured students should not come to school when seriously ill. If a student becomes ill or injured the student is given a pass from the teacher to report to the office. Students must use the office phones to call home with permission from the office or attendance manager, not personal phones. Students may not leave the school grounds or go home because of illness or injury without checking out through the office and having permission from a parent or guardian.

Tardy is Not an Option

Students are expected to be in their assigned assigned seats and prepared for instruction before the bell rings. Students in P. E. need to be in the locker room before the bell rings. Students who are not in their assigned seat or in the locker room when the bell rings will be marked tardy. Students who are tardy to class interrupt the teacher’s instructional plan and learning process for all students. In order to benefit fully from the instructional program, students must be on time every day. Unfortunately, there are times when being tardy is unavoidable. These tardies can be EXCUSED: illness, medical, dental, and /or optometry appointments. If your child is tardy or absent for any of the reasons listed above, the law requires that you notify the school. You may write a note, call

or come to the school. The information must be given to our attendance office. Tardies for other reasons are UNEXCUSED. We cannot excuse tardies for oversleeping, car trouble, bus delays, etc. Students must also be on time to each class each period.

Students have 4 minutes between periods to get to their next class. If students do not have a pass from a staff member, students will be assigned detention for tardies. Excessive tardies (10 or more in 2 weeks) will result in after school detention, Saturday detention, in-school detention, or other disciplinary actions as needed.