Attendance-Student

Attendance

Student success in school is directly tied to attendance. Responsibility for attending class lies with the student.

D.C. Law 8-247 “The District of Columbia Compulsory School Attendance Amendment Act of 1990 demands that all students ages 5 to 18 years must attend school.  Failure to attend school may subject the students’ parent or guardian to a fine and /or imprisonment for no more than 5 days.  Further details about this law may be found in this handbook’s appendix section.

What Are Excused Absences?

¨     Death in the student’s immediate family;

¨     Illness of the student (A doctor’s certificate is required for a student absent more than five days.);

¨     Observance of a religious holiday;

¨     Medical reasons such as a doctor’s appointment (documentation is required)

When a student returns to school after an absence, a note must be sent with him/her to the teacher.   This note should include the date(s) of the absence and the reason.   A doctor’s certificate should be provided for medical appointments scheduled during the school day.

What Are Unexcused Absences?

¨     Vacation/Travel (unless approved in advance by the Principal and SLC Administrator)

What Is Truancy?

Truancy is the willful absence from school by a minor (5-18 years of age) with or without approval, parental knowledge, or consent.

What Is a Truant?

A truant is a minor (5-18 years of age) who without a valid reason and with or without parental knowledge or consent does not attend school.

NOTE:   All DC Public Schools are closed campuses.   This means that students are to remain on campus during school lunch periods.

What Happens to A Truant?

All uniformed law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia are responsible for truancy enforcement.

¨   If a truant is picked up by the police, he or she will be transported in a police vehicle to the Student Attendance Intervention Center.

¨   Parents are notified of the student’s truancy status.

¨   Students and parents receive intake consultation and resource support.

¨   Parents and the school are provided with consultation and follow-up support.

¨   Parents and students attend a truancy conference at the local school.

Who Can Report a Suspected Truant?

Anyone can report a suspected truant:

Why Is Truancy Reporting Important?

Truancy reporting is important because keeping students in school helps to keep them safe.

What Are Possible Consequences of Poor School Attendance or Tardiness?

Missing school may result in:

What Teachers Can Do?

1. Let students know that you think school is important.

2. Set clear expectations for arrival.  Document students’ failure to comply with expectations for timeliness as required by law in your grade book and in STARS.

3. Provide students opportunities to make up time.  Hold them responsible for the time they lose.

4. View tardiness as unacceptable behavior.

5. Refuse to accept anything but an excused absence.  

6. Classes begin promptly at 8:45 a.m.   Encourage students to arrive at least ten (10) minutes early.

7. Teach from bell to bell.  In this way, there is something to look forward to, and students learn that every minute counts.

Consequences for Absences/ Truancy/Class Cutting

The following are consequences for truancy, excessive (more than 1 absence/or tardy a month) class cutting, absences or tardiness to school or to class:

1.     The student will be assigned detention on Saturday or after school.  During detention, students are assigned community service in the school, which can involve assisting in cleaning up the school and grounds. 

2.     Parent notification

3.     Students who do not serve detention on Saturday will be suspended the following week, and a parent will have to return with them to re-enter them to school.

4.     Repeated offenses will result in suspension or involuntary transfer

5.     In the case of Truancy, parents may be required to go to court and may be fined.

6.     Students and families with chronic attendance issues will be referred to the Personal Growth Center for additional services.

Arrival Time

Classes begin promptly at 8:45 am.  Students must arrive before 8:30 a.m. and are expected to be in their classrooms by 8:40 and ready to learn at 8:45 a.m.

Entry Routines

6th, 7th and 8th Graders enter through the front doors on the Lincoln side.  9th and 10th graders enter through the side doors on the Bell side.  11th and 12th graders enter through the front doors on the Bell side.

Upon entry, all students must place their personal belongings on the scanning machine.  They should remove all metal before walking through the metal director.  All jackets that are not uniform jackets must be removed before the ID card is swiped.  Boys must have their shirts tucked in.

Early Dismissal

Any student who is to be dismissed early must bring a note from his/her parent, as well as proof of the appointment he/she has.  This note must be presented to the Attendance Officer in the morning upon entry, and the Attendance Officer will call the parent to confirm the time the student is to be dismissed.  The Attendance Officer will prepare an Early Dismissal Form, which must be signed by the student’s Administrator before he or she leaves. Teachers cannot release students form class early or from school early without notifying Ms. Lora.

Absences

If a student is absent from class, he or she should do one of the following within two days of returning to school:

1. Bring a note to the attendance office from a parent or guardian stating the date(s) of the absence and the reason(s) for the absence. OR

2.            Have his or her parent or guardian call the attendance office and give the date(s) of the absence and the reason(s) for the absence.

Attendance and punctuality are required for every class for every student. If students are absent or late without a valid excuse and do not complete a compensatory make up time, it will lower their grades.

4 unexcused absences/tardiness ---- Grade lowered 1 letter

5 unexcused absences/tardiness ---- Grade lowered 2 letters

6 unexcused absences/tardiness ---- Grade lowered 3 letters

7 unexcused absences/tardiness ---- Automatic Failure

This applies to each nine and one half-week advisory.  The same policy applies to being late to class.  Parent Conferences will be required after 3 days unexcused in one advisory. Persistent attendance problems can result in referral to a school administrator for disciplinary action.

Make up Policy for Long-Term Absence, Suspension and Late Arrival

In order to sustain learning throughout the academic year, CHEC discourages families from taking vacations or trips during the academic year.  Although it is possible that emergencies come up, it is important to make school attendance a priority at all times. In the event there is an emergency or long term suspension that requires students to be absent for an extended period,   the following policies are designed to make sure that make-up work is indeed done, and done in a thorough manner:

A.    Any request for a leave of absence in excess of 3 consecutive school days must be supported with a written approval of the Administration.  Students will be advised that, if the assigned make-up work is not turned in upon their return from the leave, they must attend tutoring until the make-up work is complete. This policy also applies to who have been suspended for disciplinary reasons.

B.    When a student is suspended for an extended period, the cluster administrator shall call a conference comprised of the student, student’s teachers, and guardian.  All present shall sign a contract limiting the time-frame for completion of make-up work to 10 school days after the return to class, and agreeing upon the work to be made up.  Failure to enter into such a contract will result in any absence being deemed “unexcused.”

C.    If the student is attending in-house suspension, s/he will turn in homework every day to each teacher. Late assignments will not be accepted.

D.    The type of suspension will be determined by the discipline policy outlined in the Student Handbook. Failure to complete assigned work within the agreed time-frame will result in the suspended student receiving an automatic “W” for the course, and the need to repeat the course the following semester/advisory, or when scheduling permits.  In any case, the student must attend the course to completion.

Skipping, Loitering

·  The first time a student is found skipping in the building, on school premises, he/she will be assigned a before or after-school detention.

·  The second skipping/loitering incident in each semester will result in a meeting with the principal or principal’s designee, with the student and parent(s) or guardian(s) of the student.

·  The third skipping/loitering incident in each semester will result in disciplinary action to include suspension and/or involuntary transfer.