Attendance of employees is critical to continuity in the instructional program. All staff is encouraged to minimize the number of absences on student days and no absences should occur on Teacher Workdays/Staff Development days or Pre/Post Planning Days without written permission from the building principal. Our total program is dependent upon our consistency in planning and instruction. If more than 10% of the staff has requested personal/short term/in-service leave on any given day, that day will be deemed a critical day and no personal leave will be granted and a doctor's note will be required for all sick leave requests (even if you have not accumulated 5 or more sick leave absences). It is requested that sick leave be taken under extreme circumstances only. If an employee accumulates 5 or more absences a doctor’s note may be required. Absences and tardies will be addressed based on district board policy.
GARH-R(2) - Leaves and Absences - Progressive Discipline
PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE REQUIREMENTS
Unauthorized absences are not acceptable and appropriate disciplinary action must be promptly applied by the employee’s supervisor. The following provisions are applicable:
All certified staff must be clocked in and on duty at the door of their classroom or other location based on the Duty Schedule (See Master Schedule) by 7:10am or they are considered tardy. Parking, running in to clock in, and going back to move one's car or retrieve materials is a violation of school policy and is considered tardy. Staff are expected to work their entire shift unless they have requested leave in advance via UKG/KRONOS attendance reporting. Early Leaves / Late Arrivals without a doctor's excuse may result in the use of personal leave or absence without pay if no personal leave exists. Failures to clock in, or late clock-ins will result in use of Personal Leave as it is available; once exhausted this becomes absence w/o pay (Code 20).
All employees are expected to KRONOS in at one of the two KRONOS clocks upon entering the building. Other preferred options are to KRONOS in from your workstation (desktop) in your classroom. Use of the UKG App is only available on school property.
All instructional paraprofessionals should be clocked in and on duty by 7:15am. Hourly employees should follow their individual schedules and ensure that they don't work more than their scheduled total weekly hours. (All paraprofessionals, hourly, substitutes (IPPS), and clerical staff must Clock In and Out on schedule).
When sickness or personal emergencies or absences occur, please adhere to the following procedures:
All staff is required to use AESOP (for subs) and/or UKG/KRONOS to report their absences along with the following:
If a Personal day is needed, complete the electronic Request in UKG/KRONOS / Hourly Leave Request Form to the Principal. Personal days are to be requested and approved at least three days in advance. A substitute should be arranged ahead of time. A Substitute Folder must be in place. If you don't get approval prior to your absence you MUST contact the principal in person to ensure approval.
Teachers should plan for 10 - 14 days of Emergency Sub plans to accommodate any extended medical leaves.
In the event you cannot give advance notice for absences, you should report your absence by calling Mr. Salley (Office & ILT) at (678) 439-7140 or Mrs. Reese (Teachers/Paras) at (678) 739-1134 or Mrs. Grant Roundtree (Teacher Tutors) at (404) 343-8578 before 9:00pm the night before. If an emergency occurs in the morning that will result in you being absent, contact Mr. Salley/Mrs. Reese/Mrs. Grant Roundtree between 5:30am – 6:30am. Please note that the teacher’s responsible for calling AESOP (or submitting an online request) and arranging a substitute.
Failure to Request a substitute MAY result in Code 20 - Absence without Pay
Failure to Report an Absence in Advance or according to procedures outlined here WILL result in Code 20 - Absence without Pay
UKG/KRONOS is for advanced notification of leave, not same-day or next-day notification of leave. -- sick leave should always be requested in person and followed by entering in IKG/KRONOS (app/desktop/clock).
Hourly Employees submit their leave requests using the following Google Form: Leave Request (Hourly Employees)
Tardies – If you discover you will be late for work, please notify the Assistant Principal and your Grade Chair immediately. When you arrive, please check in at the office. Reporting a tardy/late arrival to the office staff doesn't count. You MUST contact the Assistant Principal (1st) and if he/she is unavailable, contact the principal. This does not remove you from the progressive discipline process.
If you are unable to secure a sub and your illness isn't contagious or life-threatening, you are requested to be present at work until a sub can be secured.
More information included on workday schedules:
https://sites.google.com/site/lokstaffhandbook/home/handbook-topics/workday-hours
For added clarity:
Prior to submitting a Leave Request to report a sick leave, you should do one of the following:
Call the Administrator and inform them of your pending absence
Speak directly with the Administrator (phone or face-to-face) and inform them of your pending absence and follow up with an email to confirm the conversation.
If you call and there isn't an answer, you MUST leave a VM and follow-up with a text message.
When needing to take personal leave, you should do the following:
Submit a Leave Request at least 72 hours (3 Days) in advance.
If approval isn’t received prior to the leave taking place, you should speak directly to the principal who approves Personal Leave Requests to ensure its approval. (Failure to ensure approval may result in a Code 20 - Unexcused Absence without Pay).
If you submit a leave request that is not approved, your responsibility is to speak directly with the person that denied your leave request to seek an understanding of why it was denied. This will ensure that the reason for it being denied was not a procedural issue or a mistake on the part of the approver.
When requesting leave, you are requesting either a full day (7.5hrs) or a half-day (3.75hrs). Any leave outside of this will require use of Early Out / Late Arrival Passes (if you have any left).
Bereavement Leave
In the case of a death in an employee’s immediate family, or of any relative by blood, marriage or adoption currently living in the employee’s home, the Principal or Supervisor may authorize an employee to use up to a maximum of three (3) accumulated sick leave days as bereavement leave. (5 Days for out-of-town). All other leave days are personal or wellness* leave.
Immediate family means a spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild and corresponding step and in-law relations.
The employee shall submit bereavement leave requests for approval to their Principal or Supervisor through normal leave request protocol.
Early Leave / Late Arrival Passes & Comp Day Certificates
Please be reminded that prior to using an Early Leave or Comp Day Certificate that you get prior approval (Between 12 - 24 hours). Failure to get prior approval (face to face with signature or UKG/KRONOS) will result in Code 20 - Absence without Pay.
Mental Wellness (Flex Days)
Mental Wellness Days allow staff to work off-site on professional development, unit planning, or self-care. It is a benefit that our District encourages and our school endorses. Wellness Days look different at each APS site based on our current student population and ability to schedule. Wellness for teachers looks like a late arrival to campus (if desired). [Mental Wellness Day Plan]
Critical Days
Critical Day have been established in APS as the first 5 and last 5 days of the school year, the day before and after a long weekend/break, or any other day deemed Critical in Advance by the school administration. On Critical Days (No Personal Leave / Comp Day Requests will be granted). Sick Leave could result in Code 20 without a doctor's excuse (This list may be edited throughout the school year, so you should check it often) The dates are included on the Master Calendar: https://tinyurl.com/lokcalendar
AESOP Quick Sheet (See attachment Below)
Updated: 7/24/24 (JLS)
Staff Should ONLY clock in at the UKG Ready Clock, the App or from their Desktop