Attendance Office: 636.851.4600 Ext. 2

High School Procedures

Excessive absences, whether excused or unexcused, may affect the academic grade. An integral part of the learning experience is the interaction between students and teachers. Students who are absent from school are not able to participate in class discussions, small group activities or class experiments. It is not possible to make up activities of this nature. Therefore, regular attendance is an important component of the educational process. Accordingly, the ability to earn credit, especially at the secondary level, must depend in part upon regular class attendance. Failure to attend regularly may result in credit suspension according to District Policy.

Parents are asked to report their child's absence within 48 hours by sending a note with the student upon his/her return to school - or if the absence is prolonged, then a phone call to 636-851-4600 ext. 2.
The note should contain the following:

·         Full name of student (please print last name)

·         Date

·         Reason for absence

·         Phone number for confirmation if needed.

Hourly Attendance

Attendance will be taken every hour by the teacher and recorded in the teacher's gradebook. Truant students will be reported to the appropriate assistant principals for disciplinary action as indicated in the Code of Conduct policy. Pre-arranged off-campus college visits, made by juniors and seniors only and school sponsored field trips/activities will not be recorded as absences.

Pre-arranged absence (excused absence)

When parents know ahead of time that their son or daughter must miss school as a result of some necessary obligation or family circumstance, the school should be informed and the absence pre-arranged. Although this absence is not encouraged (and requires the approval of a principal if absence occurs during finals), some circumstances are simply unavoidable. Consequently, pre-arranged Absence Permission forms should be picked up in the office. The parent must notify the school AS SOON AS POSSIBLE prior to the absence if homework is to be obtained. All such work should be completed upon return to school if credit is to be awarded.

Verifying Absences / Make Up Privileges

In order for the student to be eligible to make up missed assignments, a parent must send a note with the student upon his/her return to school. If the parent note is not received within 48 hours of the absence, the student will be considered truant and not be allowed make up privileges.

Partial Absences

Students are required to be in class on time. Students may be counted absent for late arrival (more than 5 minutes) in any class.

Early Dismissal

A note or telephone contact from a parent or guardian on record with the school is required for an early dismissal. Students are to sign out in the attendance office before leaving school prior to the end of the school day.

***********Permission to leave campus**********

Students needing to leave campus during the day must have prior permission from the Attendance Office. The procedures for signing out are as follow:

1.     Notwithstanding emergencies, parents must contact or inform the Attendance Office in order to arrange an early dismissal from school. Notes must be submitted to the attendance office prior to first hour for verification. Parents should indicate the student's name, grade, and reason for leaving campus.

2.     Prior to leaving, students must sign out in the Attendance Office. Students returning the same day must sign in.

3.     Upon returning to school the next morning, students will receive an excused ADMIT SLIP from the Attendance Office to show to their teachers upon returning to classes.

4.     STUDENTS WHO LEAVE WITHOUT PERMISSION WILL BE CONSIDERED TRUANT, WILL RECEIVE DISCIPLINARY ACTION FROM THE SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO MAKE UP WORK MISSED.

Leaving the building

Students are not to leave the school building or school grounds during the school day without permission from the Attendance Office. Anyone who leaves the school campus or building after arrival to school in the morning will be subject to disciplinary action. In addition, students are not permitted to loiter outside at any time during the school day.

Make-up work

Students with excused absences have the opportunity to complete all make-up work. Although the general rule applied to excused absences is that students will have one day to make up work for each day absent, other factors may be taken into account as well, depending upon the circumstances involved. In any case, students need to check with their teachers for instructions regarding long-term assignments or scheduled tests. Students pre-arranging absences and requesting homework are responsible for having their work completed upon their return to school.

Homework
Homework requests for student absences may be made after 7:00 a.m. (but no later than 9:00 a.m.) on the second consecutive day of an absence. This work may be picked up a minimum of 24 hours later (on the third day.) The 24 hour period is necessary to insure that all work requested is available. No homework will be sent home with another student. Please do not request homework if the student will be returning to school on the third day. Requests for additional homework during the same absence period will be honored upon the completion and return of those assignments previously collected.

Homebound
Homebound instruction is available to students who because of the nature of their handicapping condition, are unable to attend school safely or adequately. This includes students who require instruction during hospitalization or in the home as a result of temporary physical condition which prevents their school attendance.

When a student will be out of school more than three weeks, the parents should call the Special Services secretary at the Administration building, 939-8585, to request a Homebound application form.

Tardies
Tardies are disruptive to any class or homeroom. Therefore, students are expected to arrive on time. If, for some reason, a student is detained by a teacher or administrator, the student should have that person provide a pass to enter class.

·       On the second tardy to any particular class, the teacher will document the information with a written tardy warning signed by the student.

·       For a third tardy and each tardy thereafter, the teacher will assign one detention. In addition, the teacher will contact the parents to notify them of the problem before the seventh tardy.

·       A student who has accumulated seven tardies in a semester will be referred to his/her principal for disciplinary action.

·        Any unexcused tardy of more than five (5) minutes will constitute a truancy.