Academic achievement and success are closely related to attendance and arriving at school on time, and ready to learn. Every effort should be made by the student and the parents/guardian to see that students attend all their classes every day. The absence or tardiness of any student affects not only their progress but also negatively impacts the progress of the group. In addition to classes, the attendance and tardy procedures and consequences are inclusive of Flextime, Study Hall, Clubs, Islamic Studies, Activities, and all scheduled courses.

Tardy (Late) to Class

All teachers report attendance for each period on PowerSchool. Seniors exercising their Senior Privilege are required to follow the specified procedure (see below). Any student arriving late, within the 20 minute tolerance for being considered tardy in a normal 80 minute class or past the 5 minute tolerance for being considered tardy in a Flextime class, must complete the Late Form at the top of the Eagle Student Bulletin. If students fail to complete this form, the recorded absence will not change and will be counted as an absence. An auto-generated email will also automatically be sent to parents and teachers with the reason for the tardy. Teachers will also have access to the attendance sheet generated by the completion of the tardy form.

Minimum Attendance Policy

High School Leadership and counselors will take the necessary steps to modify the behavior of students frequently late to school with a possible attendance contract. AIS-R maintains a minimum requirement of attendance for each semester. Students may check their absences in PowerSchool. 9 absences is in a semester is the ultimate cutoff to earn a 1/2 credit in a Semester for any course for any reason (including excused absences or school related absences). At 4 absences, the HS Office & Counseling will meet with students to understand the pattern of missed school. At 6 or more absences, students will be placed on an attendance contract, parents will be emailed or called, and the student will be bound to finishing with fewer than 9 absences in the Semester. If a student reaches 9 absences in a semester, they will will lose 1/2 credit for the course and be required to make-up the 1/2 credit, if possible, to meet graduation requirements.

Time missed out of any class period in excess of 20 minutes will remain as an absence and contributes to the Minimum Attendance Policy. This includes, but is not exclusive of:

• Late arrivals to 80 minute Courses of 20 minutes or more unless excused by HS Office

• Late arrivals to a Flextime Class of 5 minutes or more unless excused by HS Office

Students must not be absent more than nine (9) periods per course per semester to receive 1/2 credit in that course. Any student absent for nine (9) or more periods of any course will not be eligible to receive credit in the course for that semester. This will result in a failing grade due to attendance (FA), the student will be placed on Probation and be required to make up the credit.

Students who are registered in an every day course must not be absent more than fourteen (18) periods during the semester to receive 1/2 credit for that course. 

Field trips , school-sponsored activities , or school-sponsored sports do not contribute to the minimum attendance policy.

In an effort to help our students maintain good attendance, parents will receive a phone call from the office any day that their child is absent from school Courses. In addition, please note the following attendance consequences:

• At four 4 absences per Course, students will meet with the HS Office/Counselors to understand the pattern of absences and for support

• At 6 or more absences per Course, families with be emailed or called regarding the situation and students will be placed on an attendance contract

• At 9 absences, regardless if excused, unexcused, school related, etc. students will lose 1/2 credit for the course and be required to make-up the missing 1/2 credit either in the summer or in following school years, if possible, to be eligible for graduation

• If students are unable to make-up missing credits or have not earned minimum credits over the course of the school year as determined by the HS Administration, students can be asked to repeat the grade-level as a condition of making-up the missed credits. This is determined by excessive absences in several courses and/or by FAs (failure due to attendance).

Other areas that are put in jeopardy due to attendance concerns include, but are not limited to, the following:

* Eligibility for Sports

* WWWs participation

* After School Events such as Prom, Other Events, Gatherings

* Eligibility for some Clubs, Awards, and other programs

Study Hall is a Student Life requirement. Students who are absent from more than nine (9) Study Halls per semester will receive an Incomplete for Student Life. A parent conference will be required and the missing time will be made up to maintain a "pass". If the time is not made up, the Incomplete will be replaced by an FA (failure due to attendance). Students who fail Student Life will not be eligible for re-enrollment at AIS-R. 

Students who are absent from assigned after school learning for travel reasons, must send an e-ticket or stamped passport copy to the High School administration or face out of school suspension on the next day at school. Please note that this does not excuse the absence, but provides evidence of the reason for the absence. Assigned after school learning must be made up at the next available opportunity. 

For absences of two or more consecutive days, documentation is required in order for the absence to be marked as excused, however, a one-day absence from school due to illness may be excused without documentation. Acceptable documentation includes embassy appointment confirmations, visa-related documents, or a medical report/sick note from a doctor. Exceptions to this include bereavement leave which may be excused without formal documentation. For serious health crises, which may be excused without formal documentation at the moment of the crises, a doctor's note may come later and after it is available . All absences occurring outside of school must meet these requirements to be officially excused.

Attendance in Advisory, Clubs and assemblies are also graduation requirements. Students absent will need to make up the missed learning at the end of each semester or Final Exam period. 

Students in Grades 11 and 12 who arrive late for school on the mornings that their day begins with a Study Hall will make up the missed time during lunchtime detention on the day they missed the Study Hall, excluding Senior Privilege.

Students who transfer from one  course to another during a semester will have the absences from the first course carried over to the new course.

Islamic Studies is a mandatory requirement for all Saudi National students by the Ministry of Education. Failure to attend, places the student’s enrollment at AIS-R at risk. Students who miss Islamic Studies for any reason will need to make up the missed class during assigned after school learning. Once they make up the time and missed learning, students will be marked as present.

Students who miss Islamic Studies in the final two weeks of Semester 1 will make up the missing classes during after school learning in Semester 2. Their Semester 1 Islamic Studies grade will indicate that they have passed the Semester 1 course. Students and parents will be notified of the necessity of making up classes.

End of Semester Early Leave Policy

In the event a student departs AIS-R prior to the end of the semester, there are no special arrangements for final exams or take-home assignments and the student will receive a grade of “M” for the missed exam and/or an “incomplete” (no credit awarded by AIS-R) depending on the evidence of learning that a teacher has for the overall course.

Student Withdrawal

Parents who plan to withdraw their children from AIS-R must complete the Withdrawal Notification form found on AIS-R’s website at least two weeks prior to the student’s last day of attendance. Each withdrawing student will receive an official and unofficial final transcript, their original health form and a letter of attendance. Additional copies of official documents and the Saudi Ministry of Education attestation may be ordered at Document Services on AIS-R’s website.

Students withdrawing from AIS-R must complete all exams and final assessments that are required by their teacher. If exams and final assessments are not completed, the student will receive a “0” for their exams/assessments and an “incomplete” on their transcript. 

Gate Procedures

The following are the general gate procedures for entering and leaving campus, including during the exam period:

• • HS students may leave through the gate when dismissed at 3:30 and return before 3:45. After 3:45, the gate is closed and students are not allowed to enter campus

  • HS students have RFID cards and scan the cards upon entering and departing campus. 

    • Students must have their card to enter campus 

      • If students do not have their card, they must have their name registered at the gate with the designated adult on supervision. 

      • If students do not have their card for 4 or more times in a 7 day period, they are required to purchase a new RFID card.

  • HS exams: students may enter campus for their exams and leave campus when their exam is finished

    • Students may not leave campus after one exam and then return for another exam later in the day (e.g. leave after a morning exam and come back for an afternoon exam)

Arriving Late to Class or Leaving School Early Procedures 

 If you are Late to Class, students must complete the Tardy Form located in the Eagle Student Bulletin before entering a class or it will count as an Absence. Attendance in the HS is responsibility of the student. 

Being Late to a Normal 80min Class: Students are considered Tardy if they arrive to a Class within the 1st 20 minutes of that class (for every 4 Tardies in a semester of that class=1 Absence). Students are considered absent if they arrive 20 minutes after class. 

Being Late to a Flextime: If late to any Flextime, students are considered Tardy within the 1st 5 minutes. Students are considered absent after 5 minutes. 

If students are absent because they are later than the Tardy cutoff, they must still attend the class or this will be considered Truancy (for students' safety- parents will be contacted and students will be searched for by a team of adults from the HS Office and our school security).

Absences: 4 or more Absences in any Course and students will meet with the HS Office/Counseling. 6 or more Absences in any Course and students will go on an Attendance Contract and parents will be informed. 9 Absences in any Course and this will be considered not to have been present enough in the Course for learning requirements. At this point, students lose a 1/2 credit for the Course at the Semester (regardless of the grade in the course). The course credit, as needed, must be made-up either in the Summer or in the following  school years to meet graduation requirements.

Truancy/Cutting Class

Students are considered Truant when:

• Leaving an 80 minute Course early, with 20 minutes or more remaining in the period, unless excused by HS Office, or leaving a Flextime class with 5 minutes or more remaining

• Leaving a Course or Flextime class at any point in the class periods for more than 20 minutes (even if the student was given permission to leave for a period of time)

Truancy or cutting class will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The consequences for truancy are:

• 1st offense - After School or Counseling Classroom Learning in the School Day and parents may be contacted

• 2nd offense - Out-of-School Suspension, meeting with parents, and an Attendance Contract

• 3rd offense - A possible invitation to withdraw from AIS-R

A student is considered truant if they:

• Are absent without knowledge and consent of parent or guardian 

• Falsification of any documentation verifying an absence

• Leave school without signing out at the office

• Absent from class or flextime, after arriving on campus, without the consent of the school or teacher

• Obtain a pass to go to a certain place and do not report or return to the class within 20 minutes

• Fail to attend scheduled meetings, assemblies, etc.

• Leave class and do not return

Attending Siblings' Performances

AIS-R is a busy school and there are many wonderful assemblies, performances, and activities going on all year long. Because daily attendance is a vital part of the learning process, we cannot allow students to attend all of the performances, assemblies or activities of their older or younger siblings. However, we do recognize that there are some functions that are important for families to attend together; therefore, the exceptions to this are the one-time-a-year assemblies and passage ceremonies. Students will only be allowed to attend if their parents come to the HS office to officially check their child out of class.

Cross-Divisional Event Student Attendance - During the School Day:

• • In order to attend a siblings performance, the following guidelines must be followed:

    • The parent must contact the respective office(s) and give permission for their child to attend the event

    • The duration of the performance must not exceed 60 minutes  

    • All Elementary students must be accompanied by an adult

      • Elementary students do not attend a siblings Assembly performance unless the sibling was absent on the day of the dress rehearsal

    • At times, seating is limited therefore, the respective division must give permission to the family/siblings prior to attendance approval. It is the expectation of the family to contact the division in which the performance is taking place.

    • All students must sign-out and sign-in from their respective office 

Learning from Home in the Event of Illness 

If a student is ill, they are responsible for contacting their teachers by email and for checking Google Classroom on a regular basis. Students must arrange with their teacher(s) to take any formative assessments or major/minor assessments that have been missed. In most cases, a different, alternative assessment will be arranged.

Unexcused Arrivals Throughout the School Day (excluding 1st Block)

A student must arrive at school No Later than 11:30am to be able to attend their remaining classes and afterschool activities such as sports games, practices or events. We have this arrival cutoff for the whole day in place to ensure students experience a minimum of half of the school day for learning and do not stay home for a long period of time to attend specific classes later. This avoids students staying home in the morning to take extra 'study time' or additional 'project time' for a class that may have an assessment due later in the day. Students need to be at school to learn, and this is not fair for other students who come to school and also have an assessment later in the day. Students arriving at the gate after 11:30am will not be permitted to enter campus. However, if a student has an appointment in the morning, there are special procedures (see below). 

Appointments

Students and parents are asked to schedule appointments (dental, orthodontic, medical, etc.) outside of school hours. If this is not possible, scheduling appointments at the same time and during the same class period over a semester must be avoided. All students who attend appointments during the school day must send a receipt, booking ticket or medical note from that appointment to the HS Office Manager the next day. Failure to do so will result in an after-school detention. 

Appointment Procedure for Early Dismissal

Before school on the day of an appointment, parents should send an email to the High School office (hsoffice@aisr.org) to receive a gate pass. The email from the student's parent or listed guardian in PowerSchool stating:

• The reason for leaving school

• The name and phone number of the student's destination

• The time frame for which the student is to be excused, including when the student will return to school

Parents may be contacted to verify the above information. Please note that for any absence of over 20 minutes a student is considered absent from class and this absence counts towards the minimum attendance policy.

In order to leave campus before regular dismissal, the HS Office Manager will notify the teacher(s) of the student being dismissed early and the student will collect their gate pass from the HS Office Manager to present to security upon departure from campus. 

If the student is able to return to school from the appointment, the student must check in with the HS office, complete the Attendance Form, and secure a pass to return to class. Students able to return to class the same day from an appointment must do so. Students will not be allowed to go to any doctor or dentist appointments without permission from a parent.

Absences and School Events

In order to participate in any school event (athletic, concert, drama, social, etc.), a student must attend all classes on the day on which the event takes place. Extenuating circumstances may be reviewed by the High School Leadership. 

Attendance and School Trips

When returning to Riyadh from a school trip:

• • it is mandatory that all students attend all classes the very next day, in the event of a late night arrival (before midnight), 

  • it is mandatory that all students attend their 3rd and 4th block classes the very next day, in the event of an early morning arrival (after midnight), 

Make-Up Learning and School Trips

Traveling students are responsible for school learning missed while traveling. Prior to missing any school days, participants are required to check their assignments and submit/complete all outstanding learning/major assessments within two days of returning to school.

Make-Up Learning

The decision as to what is required for make-up and the time and place of make-up learning will be determined by the teacher in conjunction with the student. It is the student’s responsibility to check with the teacher and to complete the required make-up learning within the allowable make-up time period following the student’s return to school. Make-up time periods are as follows:

• • Each day absence up to 3 days in a row = 2 days to make-up missed learning

  • 3+ consecutive days absence = six days maximum in total to make up missed learning

Major assessments with due dates known in advance of the absence are exempt from this make-up time allowance and are due upon the student’s return to school unless there are extenuating circumstances or at the teacher's disecretion. 

Late Assignment Practices and Procedures

Meeting due dates requires responsibility and students are expected to manage their time and prioritize so due dates are successfully met. To support students’ efforts in meeting this expectation, teachers shall:

• • Announce deadlines in advance

  • Provide sufficient time as determined by their professional judgment

  • Post assignments and their due dates to Toddle

Students who do not submit their assignments by the published due date, either electronically or by other means, will be referred to our Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Should students be required to attend the after school learning support session, parents will be notified by telephone or email on the day that the learning has not been submitted so that they can make alternative transport arrangements. If a student does not complete their learning with MTSS support, they will be assigned an after school learning.

DP Internal Assessments (IA) are covered by AIS-R’s IA Practices and Procedures.