|
Attendance Regulation Procedures at Plainville High School
The schools will use the following procedures in keeping with state school attendance statutes:
1. Before the beginning of the new school year, Principals will mail a letter to the parent of students who were "red-flagged" for poor attendance the previous school year restating the importance of regular school attendance.
2. At the beginning of the school year, the Principal or his/her designee will inform parents of the state statutes regarding attendance and the district procedures for enforcing the statute.
3. Classroom teachers will complete attendance slips daily or enter attendance via computer and submit them to the school office.
4. The school nurse, Principal or his/her designee will attempt to call any parent who has not notified the school of a child's absence.
5. The school nurse or designee will notify the Principal, as needed, of any unusual attendance circumstances, i.e. suspected truancy and related unexcused absence. Truant, as defined in Sec. 10-198a, means a child age 5-18, inclusive, in a public or private school who has four unexcused absences from school in any one month or ten unexcused absences from school in any school year. A habitual truant means any such child who has twenty unexcused absences within a school year. The Principal or his/her designee may request social worker assessment.
6. The Principal or his/her designee will review the attendance summary data and look for any poor attendance patterns which may be developing.
7. Parents of the students who are beginning to display poor attendance patterns will be contacted by the school nurse and/or the Principal or his/her designee(s) by phone or by mail.
8. A meeting with the parent of each child who is truant will be held with appropriate school personnel to evaluate the reasons for the child being truant. The meeting shall be held not later than ten school days after the child's fourth unexcused absence in a month or tenth unexcused absence in a school year. At this conference, parents will be asked to sign an attendance agreement with the schools.
Excused Absences
Parental/school approved absences will accumulate toward the attendance limit. The following is a list of absences that do not count toward the attendance limit and suspension of credit:
1. Absences because of suspension from school
2. College visits (with appropriate form filled out by parents)
3. Field trips
4. Testing
5. Administrative Permission
6. Connections Intervention
7. Religious observances
Discretionary Vacations
The Plainville Board of Education establishes the calendar for the school year. Families are asked to use the school calendar when scheduling vacations. If a student and his/her family elect to take a vacation while school is in session, they should be aware of the following:
1. It may not be possible for teachers to provide compensatory work for the student to do during the vacation. Arrangements for work completion must be made with staff one week in advance.
2. Class discussions cannot be replicated. Students who miss those activities should understand the possible consequences. Teachers should not be requested to re-teach the lessons missed. It is the student's responsibility to search out the information missed from these absences.
Class Credit
1. In a one semester course (1/2 year), the student will lose credit for the course if he/she goes beyond eight (8) absences.
2. In a two semester course (full year), the student will lose credit for the course if he/she goes beyond sixteen (16) absences.
3. In a physical education course the student will lose credit for the course if the absences go beyond the following:
a.) 3 classes per 8-day rotation– maximum of 5 absences per semester
b.) 4classes per 8-day rotation– maximum of 7 absences per semester
Homeroom and Class Attendance
1. Homeroom Attendance and Attendance List
a.) A warning bell at 7:25 a.m. notifies students to move towards their homeroom. Homeroom will start at 7:30 a.m. to 7:35 a.m. each day.
b.) Teachers take homeroom and period attendance via computer.
c.) Names of all absent, tardy, suspended, new, dropped, or dismissed students will appear on the computerized attendance list.
d.) Habitual excused/unexcused tardiness to school in the morning shall result in a progressive disciplinary action being taken.
2. Attendance Procedures
a.) Names of all absent or tardy students should be listed in the teacher's computerized attendance record.
If a student reports to school after the homeroom period, he/she is required to report to their Assistant Principal's office to be recorded as present.
b.) Names of students missing from class but not on the daily attendance list should be reported on the computerized attendance sheet. The Assistant Principal will verify these student names and return the information to the teacher.
c.) When a student will be absent, the parent should notify the school office. Upon his/her return to school, the student must present a note for the absence indicating date(s) and reason for absence. Any student who is absent from school for five (5) consecutive days must present a doctor's certificate or other verification as listed previously, upon his/her return to school.
d.) A Class Attendance Notification form is filled out for each student who has 3 absences in a one semester course and 8 absences in a full year course. This notification is mailed home with an accompanying letter.
e.) A notification entitled At Attendance Limit/Pending Loss of Credit form is filled out when a student reaches 8absences in a semester course and 16 absences in a full year course.
f.) The House Appeals Committee will convene to discuss the student's attendance situation.
Attendance Appeals Process
a. Teachers are required to take attendance at the start of each class. If a student is not in the classroom when attendance is taken, he/she will be marked as absent from the class.
b. Teachers and administrators will periodically review attendance counts and submit a Class Attendance Report Form when students reach the mid-point, at the limit, and over the limit for absences/tardies.
c. Once received, the Class Attendance Report Form will be reviewed for accuracy and mid-point, at the limit (credit maintained), or over the limit (loss or denial of credit) letters will be mailed home. Attendance is periodically reviewed at weekly White House/Blue House meetings. At this meeting, the number of absences and the reasons for the absences are reviewed for accuracy. Based on the number of absences, a mid-point, at the limit or over the limit determination will be made. In some cases, additional days (credit extended) may be given for documented medical absences or other extenuating circumstances. For serious attendance issues/concerns, a parent meeting will be requested or a referral to the court may take place.
d. If a student exceeds the maximum number of absences OR has reached the attendance limits with class cuts (1 in a Semester class or 2 in a Full Year class) his or her credit will be denied. Even though the student may have a passing average in terms of a numerical or letter grade, the student will earn a mark of NC (No Credit) for the class. This NC mark will appear on the student's report card and official transcript. No credit (0.00) will be awarded towards the 23.7 credit total required for graduation. A loss of credit may also affect a student's eligibility to participate on an athletic team.
e. Once credit has been denied, a student is expected to remain in the class. If the student maintains less than 15 absences in a semester class and 25 absences in a full credit course, the student will be eligible for summer school provided that the numerical average grade for the class remains above a 40.
3. Tardiness to Class
a.) A late pass will only be accepted from the nurse, school counselor, school psychologist, a teacher or an administrator. This will be regarded as tardy, as long as not more than one half the class period has expired. If a student reports to class after the class has been in progress for more than half of the period, he/she will be recorded as absent.
b.) A student, who is more than five (5) minutes tardy to any class and does not have a pass, shall be counted as absent from the class.
c.) It is the student's responsibility to get to class on time. Three unexcused tardies to any class will be counted as the equivalent of one absence in that class.
d.) Students tardy to class will receive teacher detentions up through the third unexcused tardy. Failure to serve teacher detention will result in an office referral and two-hour detention. Students will receive a two-hour detention for each tardy following the third tardy to any class.
4. Late Arrivals
a.) Students who check in late to school must present an appropriate pass from their Assistant Principal to their teacher to indicate that he/she is officially signed into school
b.) Excessive unexcused OR excused tardiness to school will result in the following disciplinary action being taken:
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, unexcused or excused tardy to school (3 unexcused tardies forgiven and 3 excused tardies allowed) =Warning to Student
7th, 8th, and 9th, unexcused or excused tardy =1 hour detention for each occurrence and parental notification
10th, 11th, 12th = 2 hour detention for each occurrence and parental notification
13+ = 1 day ISS each occurrence, parental notification and meeting will be requested
c.) The names of students who are in class but whose names appear on the computerized absence list should be sent to the appropriate Assistant Principal.
d.) Students arriving late to school and not reporting to the office will be considered officially absent even if they attend any of their classes. The student will be marked absent even if he/she is physically present.
5. Early Dismissal
Students who have been dismissed are to present a parents note to the House Assistant Principal. This note should include date, time and reason for dismissal. A pass will be given to the student. Students should present their dismissal pass signed by the office to the teacher before the teacher dismisses the student from class. (cf.5113 – Attendance and Excuses)
6. "Class Cuts": If a student's name does not appear on the absence list, he/she will be considered officially present and his/her absence will be considered a cut.
a.) The following procedure takes place after a "cut" has been verified by an administrator:
1.) On the first offense the student will receive a 2 hour detention and no make-up work will be allowed. The student is also responsible for being prepared for the next day's class. Parents are notified by mail. On the second offense the parent will be notified by an administrator and no makeup work will be allowed. The student will receive 1 day of ISS.
2.) The third offense will result in a 2 day suspension or ISS and the student will be allowed back to class only if accompanied to school by a parent or guardian upon his/her return from suspension. Make-up work will not be allowed for the cut class.
|