The goal of the attendance policies and procedures of the Portsmouth School Department (PSD) will be to support and improve the regular attendance and performance of our students.  The School Committee and Administration recognizes that regular attendance is vital to a student’s success in school.  In order to take full advantage of the educational programs offered, students must attend school on a daily basis.  Regular attendance and parental support coupled with student effort are critical factors in learning and being successful in school.  Ensuring that a student maintains regular attendance requires a cooperative effort by the student, parent(s)/guardian(s), and school personnel. 

PSD will not be responsible for the educational progress of students who fail to maintain regular attendance or who are removed from school for extended periods of time contrary to law or good educational practices as determined by the district.

Expectations

PSD requires that the parent(s)/guardian(s) ensure the regular attendance of their children and inform the school of any absences and the causes of such absences.  Any student who is not able to attend school must have a parent notify the school of the student's absence before 8:00 A.M. for each date of absence.  Please call 401-683-2124 Option 1  to leave a voicemail message. The attendance mailbox is available 24/7 therefore a message can be left the night before the absence. 

If a student is marked absence and no notification has been received, an automated phone call will go out to parents/guardians. If you receive an automated phone call and your student should be in school or no prior phone call was made alerting the school of the absence, please call the main office to verify your student's attendance status and to clear up any discrepancies that may exist.

Medical Documentation

Under certain circumstances, PSD may require parents or guardians to present medical documentation of physical or emotional conditions causing a student’s absence.

According to the Attendance Policy of Portsmouth Public Schools:

• Excused absences are assigned when a student is participating in an approved school-sponsored activity, suspension days, religious holidays, a court appointment, family emergencies as approved by a school administrator and illness or injury as documented in writing by a medical professional and provided upon a student’s return to school.  All absences are recorded and reported as unexcused until notification of an approved reason for excused absence is provided to the main office. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to provide information regarding a family emergency or court appointment and to provide written documentation from a medical professional in the event of an excused absence. Excuses will not be accepted later than two school days after the absence.

• Unexcused Absences are defined as all absences not covered by the definition of “excused absences” above shall be considered “unexcused.” Please note that per building policy, teachers and administrators are under no obligation to provide make-up work for students in the event of unexcused absence(s). For this reason it is essential that all missed class/school time is appropriately reported to the PHS main office within 48 hours of said class/school absence.  

• Excused Tardies are used to describe when a student arrives at school after the beginning of the official school day.  Excused tardies shall include a student’s participation in an approved school-sponsored activity, observance of a religious holiday, a court appointment, family emergencies as approved by a school administrator and a doctor’s appointment as documented in writing by a medical professional and provided upon a student’s arrival at school the day of the appointment. Any student arriving after the start of the regular school day must sign in at the Main Office of their school. All tardies are recorded and reported as unexcused until an approved reason for excused tardy is provided to the main office. Excuses will not be accepted later than two days after the tardy.

• Unexcused Tardies include all tardies not covered by the definition of “excused tardies” above shall be considered “unexcused.” Please note that per building policy, teachers and administrators are under no obligation to provide make-up work for students in the event of unexcused tardies. For this reason it is essential that all missed class/school time is appropriately reported to the PHS main office within 48 hours of said class/school absence.  

• Excused Early Dismissals are defined as an early dismissal is the release of a student from school prior to the end of the student's school day in order to accommodate unavoidable, scheduling conflicts. Excused early dismissals shall include a student’s participation in an approved school-sponsored activity, observance of a religious holiday, a court appointment, family emergencies as approved by a school administrator and a doctor’s appointment as documented in writing by a medical professional and provided upon a student’s return to school. An early dismissal that is granted by the school nurse shall be recorded and reported as an excused early dismissal. All other early dismissals shall be recorded and reported as unexcused until an approved reason for excused early dismissal is provided to the main office. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to provide information regarding a family emergency or court appointment and to provide written documentation from a medical professional in the event of an excused early dismissal.

• Unexcused Early Dismissals are defined as all early dismissals not covered by the definition of “excused early dismissals” above shall be considered “unexcused.” Please note that per building policy, teachers and administrators are under no obligation to provide make-up work for students in the event of unexcused early dismissals. For this reason it is essential that all missed class/school time is appropriately reported to the PHS main office within 48 hours of said class/school absence.  

Tardiness to Class

Students at Portsmouth High School are expected to attend their classes in a timely fashion. When a student is tardy to class, their late arrival results in a disruption to the class as well as a negative impact on the educational process. Students are expected to have a pass from their sending teacher/location when entering a class that has begun.

The consequence for violation of any of the above shall be:

First Offense: Documented conference with classroom teacher. 

Second Offense: Parent/guardian notification by the classroom teacher; Teacher detention

Third and Subsequent Offenses: Parent/guardian notification by building administration; Collaborative Response to Intervention (RtI) meeting with student and related stakeholders.

Tardiness to School Procedure 

Any student arriving after the start of the regular school day must sign in at the Main Office of their school. All tardies are recorded and reported as unexcused until an approved reason for excused tardy is provided to the main office. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to provide information regarding a family emergency or court appointment and to provide written documentation from a medical professional in the event of an excused tardy. Excuses will not be accepted later than two days after the tardy.

Tardiness to School

Any student who arrives at class after 7:25 A.M. must report to the Main Office.  Students should plan to be in the building by 7:20 A.M. in order to arrive to class on time.

It is the responsibility of the student to clarify any valid tardiness with the classroom teacher. Students are permitted 3 unexcused tardies to school prior to receiving a consequence per quarter. On the 4th tardy during the same quarter, consequences will be administered as follows:

Fourth (4th) Tardy: Office detention; Academic consequences; Parking permit may be revoked up to seven (7) calendar days;  Documented conference with student and School Life Coordinator 

Fifth (5th) and Subsequent Offenses: Saturday Academy; Academic consequences; Parking permit may be revoked for a minimum of (14) calendar days; Parent/guardian notification by building administration; Collaborative Response to Intervention (RtI) meeting with student and related stakeholders; Student may be placed on social probation for the duration of the quarter. For more information on social probation and it's impact on extracurricular activities, please click here.

Whenever possible, appointments should be scheduled so as not to interfere with the students’ education.  However, in the event an early dismissal is necessary: 

• Students must bring a written note from a parent/guardian to the main office. It should include the name of the student, date, time of dismissal, reason for dismissal, telephone number where parent/guardian can be reached, and a parent/ guardian signature. The student will be issued a dismissal pass allowing them to leave class at the indicated time.

• All notes must be verified by the school before the student is dismissed.  Without telephone verification, a student will not be dismissed early.

• The Attendance Clerk in the Main Office will sign the student out and collect the notes and dismissal passes.  

Failure to report to the Main Office for dismissal will be regarded as unauthorized leaving of school grounds and related disciplinary action may be taken.

Student illness during the school day 

• Should a student become ill during the school day, the school nurse, or designee, will contact a parent or person listed on a student's emergency card, if the illness requires the student to be sent home.

• Any absence from class as a result of illness must be by permission of the nurse or administration.

• When a student is absent, they assume responsibility for making up the class work that is missed. 

• A student leaving the building for illness reasons without permission of the nurse or designee, will be considered as having left the school building without authorization and related disciplinary action may be taken

Emergencies

• The School Administration will dismiss individual students from school in emergency situations at its discretion.

• Telephone calls for emergency dismissals may require that the parent/guardian sign the student out in the Main Office.

Short-Term Illness

When a student is absent, they assume responsibility for making up the class work that is missed. If a student is expected to be absent from school for 3 or more consecutive days, the parent is requested to call the School Counseling Department for homework assignments for all academic subjects.  The request will take approximately 2 days to fulfill.  The parents must make the arrangements for getting the work from the School Counseling Office.

Extended Illness

If a student is absent for an extended period of time or if the doctor treating the student can project long term absence, the main office, counselor, and school nurse should be notified, in writing, so that a proper referral can be made for tutorial services and arrangements for an adaptive school environment can be initiated.