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STUDENT ABSENCES
We believe that the value of a student being in school cannot be measured solely by the attainment of passing grades. Learning goes well beyond that of the completion of assignments and the recall of facts and information. Further, research reveals a direct correlation between student attendance and academic success. Students who attend school with a high degree of regularity greatly increase the likelihood of their academic success.
Thus, we believe that the best attendance policy is one that places a high emphasis on students being in school; holds students accountable for “poor” attendance; rewards students for “good” attendance and involves school personnel, parents, and the community in specific procedures designed to carry out established regulations.
Based on these beliefs and realizing that circumstances arise which prevents students from being at school every day, we expect students’ attendance rate to be 95%. To insure that these goals are met, the following guidelines have been established:
When a Student is absent from school:
- Parents/Guardians are responsible for reporting their son/daughter’s absence and the reason(s) for the absence.
- This should be done in the morning between 8:00am and 10:00am on the day(s) the student is absent. Phone to report the absence and reason for the student not being in school.
- If phone contact is not established, the parent/legal guardian should submit in a written excuse to student services upon the student’s return to school. The written excuse must state the reason and the date(s) of the absence. Students will be given a five-day time period to furnish the valid excuse.
- All absences should be reported to our Student Services Office at 237-4250.
- If a student is absent due to a medical appointment/hospitalization a doctor’s note should be provided to Student Services upon the student’s return to school for the absence to be considered Medical Excused.
- Failure to comply with 1. or 2. above will result in absences being considered unexcused.
- Written excuses may be requested in addition to phone contact as the discretion of the building administration.
- The explanation of each absence shall be made by the parent or guardian to the building attendance secretary and/or building administrator who will determine if the absence is excused or unexcused. (Refer to pages 21-22 for more information)
- A student charged with an unexcused absence may not receive credit for any class work done during the absence.
- Students who accumulate any unexcused absences in a semester will not be eligible for exam exemptions at the end of the semester.ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION DUE TO ATTENDANCE: School personnel will notify parents/guardians of student absences via “One Call Now”, a computerized calling system. School personnel are responsible for providing staff members with the names of students who miss class as a result of scheduled field trips and/or such things as guidance appointments or administrative conferences.School personnel are responsible for recording full and one-half day student absences and based on the reasons for the absence will record the absences as being excused or unexcused as established by standards set forth by the State of Ohio. NOTE: Students reporting to school later than 11:10 or leaving school prior to 11:10 will be counted as absent ½ day.Teachers are responsible for taking daily attendance in each class and for recording student attendance in a timely and appropriate manner in their grade book. Periodic communication between the school, the students, and the parents regarding individual student attendance will take place.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Students that are habitually absence can lose the privilege of participating in field trips, dances and other school activities.
Parents will be notified when a student has 30 hours of consecutive unexcused absence, 42 hours in a 30-day period, or 72 hours in a year. There will be up to 3 attempts to contact a parent to meet with the attendance intervention team (the first contact is the notice of truancy). The student should be assigned to an attendance intervention team within 7 days, and the initial attendance intervention meeting should take place within 10 days. An improvement plan must be developed within 14 days of the intervention meeting.
The principal, the counselor, and grade level teachers from Stebbins will meet to review student attendance and serve as the primary point of contact for students who have missed more than five days of school. The team will contact parents, meet with parents to discuss student attendance, and conduct interviews/home visits to identify barriers to regular school attendance, and serve as a resource for other teachers and staff who are dealing with students who fail to attend class regularly.
A student absence list will be compiled daily and distributed to staff via e-mail. Teachers are responsible for reporting, on a daily basis, students who are absent from class, but who do not appear on the absence list.
Teachers are responsible for creating and maintaining a daily attendance and participation point system to be used in each class. Students who are absent from class due to an approved school activity (i.e. field trips, counselor appointments, etc.) will be given time to make up participation points. When the school is on an alternate schedule, students must be in class for ½ of the class time.
Any deviation from the above policy and procedures will occur only as directed by the building principal.
EXCUSED AND UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
The state law requires that all pupils be in school all days and hours that school is in session. Pupils who must be out due to reasons of health and/or family emergency should return to school with a statement from a parent or guardian to the attendance office. Depending on the reason, a student’s absence may be classified as excused or unexcused.
Absences/Tardies considered excused include, but are not limited to:
- Illness (Repeated absences due to illness may require a doctor’s note.)
- Serious illness or death in the immediate family
- Emergency medical or dental attention
- Absences approved in advance by school principal
- Authorized religious holidays
- Approved school and instructional program activities
Absences/Tardies considered unexcused include, but are not limited to:
- Truancy
- Missing the school bus
- Trips not approved in advance
- Shopping
- Hunting, fishing, attendance at games
- Birthday or other celebrations
- Gainful employment
- Oversleeping
- Car trouble
- Driving test/class
- Class cuts/skipping class
NOTES THAT ARE CONSIDERED AS MEDICALS
- Medical Note – Doctor, Dentist, Hospital
- Funeral – Memory Booklet or Newspaper Obituary (covers only the day of and appropriate travel time)
- Court AppearancesMedical documentation must be turned within 5 school days of returning to school.
ATTENDANCE REFERRALS
An attendance officer is provided to assist the local school district in meeting the education, emotional, social, and physical needs of the individual student. The types of problems that may be referred include the following:
- Cases of suspected child abuse and/or neglect
- Cases of truancy or excessive absence
- Cases requiring referral to Juvenile Court, Children Services Board, Welfare, and other appropriate community agencies
- Cases involving violation of work permit regulations or child labor laws
- Cases of delinquent or incorrigible behavior in the school setting
- Cases requiring investigation of residency
TARDINESS
Students not in their 1st period class by 7:25 a.m. will be considered tardy. Parents are requested to notify the school if a student is going to be tardy. An accumulation of tardiness to school on the part of the student will be grounds for disciplinary action. Students not inside their classroom, when the bell rings, will be considered tardy. Excessive tardiness will be referred to the office for disciplinary action.
● Tardy 1-4 – Teacher Consequences (warning, contact home, teacher detention, etc.)
● Tardy 5 and higher – Office Referral with Administrative Consequences
MAKE-UP SCHOOL WORK
Students are responsible for making up work due to any absence. Teachers will give students the opportunity to make up class work following an excused absence. Students will typically be given the same amount of time to make up the work as the amount of time that they were absent from class. However, for absences due to truancy, unexcused absences, class cutting, and/or suspension (after the 1st), students may not be given credit for make-up work. Please allow teachers 24 hours to prepare work to be sent down to student services. Parents and students are encouraged to email teachers directly to get make-up work.
TRUANT
A student is “truant” when he/she is absent from school and/or any part of class without parents’ and/or school official’s knowledge or permission. The student may receive a “0” for all missed class assignments. Disciplinary action will also be taken. Continual school truancy will be filed with the juvenile court. Under Senate Bill 191, students adjudicated as a “habitual” or “chronic” truant may be ordered to attend alternative school, removed from the home, sent to a juvenile detention facility, ordered to house arrest or to participate in probation. Habitual absence without legitimate excuse may be subject to denial, suspension and/or revocation of driving privileges by Section 3321.13 of the Ohio Revised Code.
LEAVING SCHOOL GROUNDS
Once students arrive at school, they are not permitted to leave the school grounds at any time during the school day without permission from the school office. Students leaving during the day must have a written request from a parent or guardian. Students should report to the Student Services Office before school to secure a Special Excuse Slip. This will serve as a pass to leave and enter the building. All students must sign out when leaving and sign in when returning.
Parents picking up students must sign the sign-out sheet and include the reason why the student is leaving. It is helpful if the parent calls prior to picking up a student if the student does not have a special excuse for the day.
No pupil shall be permitted to leave school prior to dismissal at the request of, or in the company of, anyone other than a school employee, a police officer, a court official, or the parent or guardian of the child, unless permission of the parent or guardian is first secured.
No pupil will be allowed to leave the building with a family member or any other individual listed on the Emergency Medical Form without written permission from the pupil’s parent or custodial/legal guardian.
Students are not permitted to walk home, during the school day, without the expressed permission of guardians who have consulted with Administration or Student Services personnel.
When parents are divorced, school personnel, regarding the release of a student, will show considerable caution.
VACATION DURING SCHOOL
School attendance is important to the academic success of students. Therefore, the school seeks parent support and requests that family vacations be scheduled when school is not in session. When it is necessary, due to extenuating circumstances, to take a family vacation when school is in session, the following guidelines apply:
- Submit a written notification to the building administrator that states that your child will not be in attendance due to a family vacation for a specified amount of time. This must be submitted at least one week prior to the student’s absence.
- Parents must request in writing, assignments and/or review work, from the teachers. Make-up work is the responsibility of the student and must be completed in a timely manner.
- Absence of more than five school days for grades K-8 or three days for grades 9-12 may be considered excessive and unexcused. Make-up work may not be accepted.Because the loss of course credit is closely tied to student attendance, careful consideration by parents should be given to our attendance policy prior to making such requests.