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Waterford-Halfmoon
UFSD Attendance Policy
Updated
July 2003
Reviewed by BOE 7/12/07
Students
SUBJECT:
COMPREHENSIVE ATTENDANCE POLICY
The Waterford-Halfmoon USFD recognizes that student attendance in school
is an important component of student success. Student interaction with
teachers and other
students in class helps to enhance the academic
learning experience and provide a basis by which students can demonstrate
mastery.
Pursuant to Section 104.1 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of
Education, the comprehensive attendance policy contains the following
elements:
I. Rationale
(statement of objectives of the policy);
II. Reporting System
(strategies to meet objectives; excused &
unexcused absences, tardies and early departures);
III. Coding System for
Absences
IV. Attendance and
Course Credit
V. Interventions
(incentives and/or sanctions);
VI. Analysis of
Attendance Data; and
VII. Dissemination and Policy
Review
I.
Rationale
Every student has a right to educational opportunities that will enable
the student to develop to his or her fullest potential. Each year an
increased number of students accumulate an excessive number of absences
from school. In some cases, verified illness is the cause, and in other
cases, the absences are a direct result of disinterest or lack of concern
for school. High rates of absenteeism have a negative impact on the
entire school population.
Numerous studies link attendance with student achievement, therefore
Increased student attendance will result in improved student achievement.
Given this research we believe that by improving student attendance the
following will occur:
• Improved
student attitude
• Improved
teacher attitude
• Improved
student achievement
• Improved
teacher productivity, which creates
an environment conducive to teaching and learning.
An effective attendance policy is crucial to a good education. Attendance
policies are based on the principle that regular school attendance
maximizes the student's interaction
with his or her teachers and peers,
and is a major component of academic success.
Improved school attendance procedures that provide for the early
Identification of attendance problems and effective methods to address
them are most likely to succeed.
Every class will have a percentage of its grade allocated for daily
"class
participation." The percentage is determined by each instructor for
each
class.
The purpose of comprehensive attendance policy is:
• To
ensure that the District maintains adequate attendance records on
each of its compulsory school age pupils;
• To
inform students and parents of the consequences of unexcused
absences;
• To be
able to keep track of pupils throughout the school day;
• To be
able to tell parents where their enrolled children are
throughout the school day;
• To
identify patterns of behavior that may require school/parental
attention; and
• To
maximize the achievement of academic standards.
Successful implementation of any attendance procedure requires
cooperation
among members of the
education community, including parents, students,
teachers, administrators, and support staff.
II.
Reporting System
A. Strategies to
meet objectives
The system of pupil attendance record keeping in each school shall
provide an accurate record of
each pupil's presence, absence, tardiness, and early
departure. The register of
attendance shall set forth the following for
each pupil:
• Name
• Date of
Birth
• Full
names of parent(s)or person(s) in parental relation;
• Address
where the pupil resides;
• Phone
number(s) where the parent(s) or person(s) in parental
relation may be contacted;
• Date of
the pupil's enrollment; and
• A record
of the pupil's attendance on each day of scheduled
instruction.
Each teacher must record and report attendance daily and maintain a
register of attendance.
All entries in the register of attendance shall be
made by the teacher of the class in which the pupil is
enrolled.
The entries in the register of attendance shall be verified by the oath
or
affirmation of the individual making the entries in the
register of
attendance.
The administrator of each school shall have the responsibility of
supervising the keeping of
the register of attendance. The program
administrator shall also be charged with reviewing pupil
attendance
records periodically for the purpose of initiating
appropriate action to
address unexcused pupil absence, tardiness, and early
departure.
Process
Beginning in the 2002-2003 school year:
• Attendance
shall include a student's presence/absence, tardiness,
and
early departure.
•
Attendance is to be taken daily at the K-6 level for non-departmentalized(self-contained)
secondary classes.
• Attendance
is to be taken daily as well as period by period for
grades
7-12
•
Presence/Absence: 5-12 attendance is to be taken no later than
8:00am
and K-4 attendance is to be taken by
9:30am
or
12:50pm
for pm
kindergarten.
Students who are not present at those times will be
marked
absent.
• Tardiness
and early departure: A student shall be regarded as being
absent from class under this section of the policy if he
or she misses more than 15 minutes of class due to tardiness or early departure.
• Late
passes: All students K-12 must sign in at the attendance
office.
They will be issued a pass to class and marked accordingly
in
the attendance register by the attendance
officer.
Once attendance is taken, the office creates a list of absences, and
distributes the list to all teachers. This will be done
electronically and
or by paper. If
a student is not on the list and is not in class, the teacher must contact the
office immediately.
B. Excused vs. unexcused
absences, tardiness and early departure
Any absence for a school day or portion thereof shall be recorded as
excused or unexcused.
In the event that a pupil at any instructional
level arrives (after the official start of the school
day) or arrives late
to class without a pass, such tardiness or early
departure shall be
recorded as excused or unexcused.
It is the responsibility of the parents or guardians to notify the office
by telephone or in writing anytime there is an absence or
tardy. If this
does not occur, such absences or tardy shall be recorded
as unexcused. A
parental note with telephone number must accompany any
early departure
request. Without said note, the student shall not be
released.
A student who departs early may leave the building early (excused) with
written permission by a parent or guardian. A note must
contain the date
and time to be excused with parent or guardian signature
and a contact
phone number. Parents must sign out their K-4 students in
the Elementary
Office, 5-8 students sign out in the Junior High Office,
and 9-12 students sign out in the High School Office. Only those names listed on
the emergency card are able to sign a student out of school. If a student is
walking/driving to their destination it must be indicated
in the note.
The following reasons for pupil absences, tardiness, and early departure
shall be considered by this policy
to be excused:
• Personal
illness, doctor/dentist, physical therapy and/or hospital
appointment
• Extended
illness (three consecutive days or more) or chronic health
condition
as documented by a physician's note. (All medical excuses
written
by the doctor shall be submitted within three days of the
students return to school in order to be considered as an
excused absence. Otherwise they will remain unexcused absences).
• Family
illness
• Death in
the immediate family
• In-school
disciplinary actions
• Religious
observance (Holidays only)
• Required
court appearance with note from court
• Military
obligations
• School-sponsored
trips (e.g. college visits), activities, or
athletic
events
• Take
Your Child to Work Day(usually held in March)
Unexcused Absences, Tardies and Early Departures
Any other pupil absence, tardiness or early departure is considered to be
unexcused.
Examples of unexcused include, but are not limited to:
• Out of
school suspension
• Overslept
• Missed
the bus
• Running
late
• Family
vacation
• Getting
your hair & nails done
• An
appointment
• Skip day
• Shopping
• Going
home during school day to pick up items (e.g. homework,
uniform,
lunches)
It is the responsibility of the parents or guardians to notify the
attendance office by telephone or in writing on the
morning of the
absence, tardiness or at the time of early departure as
to the reason for
each excused absence, tardiness or early departure.
As a follow-up to any
oral notification, parents or guardians should provide a
written excuse
containing the date of the absence, tardiness, or early
departure and the
reason for such.
These notes should arrive no later than 24 hours after the
absence/tardy.
They must arrive before the early departure. All notes
must be handed in
to the attendance office.
III.
Coding System Identifying Reasons for Absence or Tardiness
For any absence, tardiness or early departure that is excused, the coding
system shall identify the reason for such absence,
tardiness or early
departure. An absence tardiness or early departure shall
be assumed to be
unexcused until the attendance office receives either
oral or written
confirmation that such absence, tardiness or early
departure is in fact
excused with appropriate reason.
Along with coding for whether an absence, tardiness or early departure is
Excused or unexcused and, if excused, the reason for
such, the attendance
officer shall record the time of entry of a student due
to tardiness and
the time of exit of a student due to early departure.
Absence Codes:
• ES
Excused Absent individual sick
• EFS
Excused Absent family sick
• ED
Excused Absent Death in Family
• EO
Excused Other (court, military, religious observations)
• EMD
Excused Extended Medical
• EDR
Excused Doctor/Hospital Appointment
• EDI
Excused District In School Suspended
•
EDO
Excused Absent District Out of School Suspended
• ESA
Excused School Academic (test, college visits, school
field trips sports
activities)
• ESR
Excused School Regents Week
• LS
Left
School
Without Permission
• RES
Release Early Excused Sick
• REO
Release Early Excused Other (Parent signed student out)
• RU
Release Early Unexcused
• TES
Tardy Excused Sick
• TRU
Truant
• TU
Tardy Unexcused
• UE
Unexcused Absence
IV.
High School Class Attendance Policy
The Board recognizes that regular attendance in class is essential to the
total learning process. Although some class absence may
be unavoidable,
each student is expected to make every effort to attend
each assigned
class. The underlying rationale for an attendance policy
that denies
course credit for non-attendance is based on a
recognition of the vital
role classroom attendance and participation plays in
academic achievement.
The
District believes that classroom participation is related to and affects a
student's performance and grasp of subject matter and, as such, is properly
reflected in a student's final grade.
Studies
have shown the importance of the relationship between attendance at school and
achievement. Daily attendance
creates an environment, which fosters subject competency, continuity of learning
and responsibility, which are all integral to the educational process.
School
attendance and class participation lead to student competency and are essential
to a comprehensive educational component. For
this reason the Waterford-Halfmoon High School Attendance Policy takes into
consideration participation as a component of the student's grade.
It is the philosophy of the faculty, administration and Board of
Education that active participation is an integral part of every course offered
in the high school. Class
participation shall be evaluated according to guidelines, which will be clearly
stated to students, by teachers, at the beginning of each course.
Any
Student absent from a class more than 15% of the time for reasons other than legal
absences, will not receive credit for the course.
Legal absences (days that would not count toward the
15% criteria) include death in the family, illness with a signed doctor's
medical excuse, court appearances with appropriate documentation and school
provided homebound instruction due to illness or extended discipline.
Examples of illegal absences include:
family vacations, missed bus, oversleeping, shopping, no specified
reason. [Note: When absent, legally
or illegally, a student will have two days from their return to school to see
their teachers to make arrangements to complete work/tests missed.
This is the student's responsibility.]
School
sponsored events will be considered legal absences until such time as a
student's class absences result in a Stage II letter.
Once a student has received a Stage II letter, the student will be
excluded from class pull-out time for: field
trips, club or civic activity sessions, school-sponsored college
orientation/visitation programs, other school-sponsored extracurricular
activities including (but not limited to) sporting events, rewards/incentives
activities, and dramatic/choral performances during the school day.
Class pull-out sessions for students enrolled in instrumental and/or
choral instruction will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Once
a student has received a Stage III letter, other privileges may be rescinded in
a case by case basis-privileges may include (but not limited to) early dismissal
for work, parking, honor society membership and senior cards.
Transfer
students and students re-enrolling after having dropped out of school will be
expected to attend 85% of the scheduled class meetings during their time of
enrollment. The procedures followed
will be prorated according to their possible number of class meetings.
The
attendance policy/procedure will be implemented in a three-stage process.
Stage
I
When
a student is identified as having an attendance problem according to the
following Stage I table, the teacher will complete a Stage I letter on the
appropriate form. A copy will be
sent to the student's parent/guardian, appropriate school counselor and
Principal.
Stage I Criteria are:
Science
Lab Courses
20 absences
Full
Year Courses
14 absences
Semester
Courses
7 absences
Quarter
Courses (PE)
3 absences
*
For all courses, arrival to the class fifteen or more minutes late will
constitute a class absence.
*
Five unexcused tardies to a class will constitute one class absence.
Stage
II
When
a student's attendance continues to be problematic according to the following
table, the teacher will complete a Stage II letter, a copy of which will be sent
to the student's parent/guardian, appropriate counselor and principal.
The Stage II letter is a notification that the student is in danger of
losing credit for the course; additionally, it will clearly delineate the
disciplinary measures to be meted out if the attendance problem progresses to
Stage III (see paragraph four of this policy).
An administrative meeting will be arranged.
The principal will make contact with the parent/guardian, student
counselor and teachers to review the situation.
The counselor will meet with the student to review reasons for the
absences and to assist the student to initiate strategies to improve class
attendance. Strategies may include,
but are not limited to, individual counseling sessions, group counseling,
psychological referral and the PINS diversion program.
Stage II Criteria are:
Science
Lab Courses
29 absences
Full
Year Courses
20 absences
Semester
Courses
10 absences
Quarter
Courses (PE)
5 absences
*
For all courses, arrival to the class fifteen or more minutes late will
constitute a class absence.
*
Five unexcused tardies to a class will constitute one class absence.
Stage
III
When
a student's attendance continues to be problematic according to the following
table, the teacher will complete a Stage III letter.
A copy will be sent to the student's parent/guardian, appropriate
counselor and principal. This
notification will state that the student is now ineligible to receive course
credit and appropriate disciplinary measures will be enacted as prescribed in
paragraph four of this policy. An
administrative meeting will be arranged. The
parent/guardian, student, principal, counselor and teacher(s) will meet to
review the impact of the loss of credit, the need to continue "seat
time" in the course, and other related matters.
If the student wishes to be eligible to retake the course in summer
school, the student must remain in that course and satisfactorily participate
for the duration of time during the school year when that class is scheduled to
meet.
The
teacher will no longer grade student work, but will continue to monitor class
work. A grade of Drop Due to
Attendance (DA) will appear on the student's report card.
Stage
III Criteria are:
Science
Lab Courses
40 absences
Full
Year Courses
27 absences
Semester
Courses
14 absences
Quarter
Courses
7 absences
*
For all courses, arrival to the class fifteen or more minutes late will
constitute a class absence.
*
Five unexcused tardies to a class will constitute one class absence.
Parent
- Student Notification
School
officials will strive to notify parents/guardians and students on a timely basis
as required by this policy, but in the event that a student is not notified, the
consequences prescribed by the policy will be effective immediately upon the
accumulation of the designated number of absences.
Appeal
Process
Parents
and students have the opportunity to:
a.
Challenge the number of absences on record.
b.
Request that the maximum allowable absence limit be waived as the result
of
extenuating circumstances.
Parents
and students may appeal the above by requesting a meeting with the High School
Principal or Superintendent of Schools. All
appeal decisions will be administered in a neutral manner and will comply with
applicable law and regulations and decisions of the Commissioner of Education.
V.
Interventions
A. Intervention
Procedures
• When a
student is absent from school a call will be made home from
the
office that day. After each ten days of absence, a notification
letter
will be sent from the attendance office to the parent or
guardian
notifying them of the absences.
• A letter
will be send after the first and subsequent 10 day periods
(i.e.
10,20,30, etc) of absences by the attendance office.
• For
student K-12 and Intervention Process meeting will be held to
recommend
primary intervention strategies by the Child Study Team.
The
Child Study Team is made up of the principal, social worker,
psychologist,
guidance, nurse and prevention counselor at the
appropriate
grade levels.
Intervention strategies that may be recommended are:
• Parent
call/ meeting
• Parent/teacher
meeting
• Counseling
of student
• Other
placement
• Restriction
of privileges
• Person
in need of supervision (PINS) through court
• Hotline
call for educational neglect
B.
Sanctions
Where it is determined that disciplinary sanctions are necessary to
Discourage pupil absence, tardies or early departures by a student, sanctions
shall be available for use by the school according to the
Code
of Conduct.
VI.
Analysis of Attendance Data
In order to increase student attendance in the school, it is important to
identify patterns of pupil absences, tardiness or early departure. Then,
specific intervention strategies can be employed in an attempt to change
such patterns.
The administrator of each school is charged by the Board to be the person
responsible for reviewing pupil attendance records and initiating
appropriate actions at the building and program level to address
unexcused
pupil absence, tardies or early departure.
VII.
Dissemination and Policy Review
A. Notice to parents or
guardians
Any pupil absence, tardiness or early departure other than those
specified
in the policy is considered by the Board to be unexcused. It is the
responsibility of the parents or guardians to excuse such absence,
tardiness or early departure by notifying the attendance
office by
telephone on the morning of the absence or tardiness or
at the time of
early departure as the reason for such absence, tardiness
or early
departure.
As a follow-up to any oral notification, parents or guardians shall
provide a written excuse, which shall include the
following: date of
absence, tardiness or early departure and reason for
such.
If proper written excuse for the pupil absence, tardiness
or early
departure is not received by the school from the parent
or guardian after
24 hours, a telephone call may be made to the parent or
guardian notifying
him/her of the need for proper excuse of their child's
absence, tardiness
or early departure. In
addition, without a note a child's absence,
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