Attendance
Chargeable Numbers
Students cannot exceed the following for each course:
- 18 chargeable absences for a full-year course;
- 9 chargeable absences for a semester course;
- 5 chargeable absences from a Health, Physical Education or Drivers Theory marking period course;
- 5 chargeable absences for any course in the fourth marking period.
Chargeable vs. Unexcused
All absences other than the three exceptions (clarified below in State Regulations) are chargeable absences, meaning they are counted as absences toward the student’s 90% requirement. All absences that feature a parent phone call are still chargeable but are excused, meaning they cannot be documented as a class cut. Examples of excused absences include: illness, medical appointments, death in the family, motor vehicle obligation, legal obligation, family illness. For an absence to be excused, parents must report it on the parent portal or call the Attendance Office at ext. 4448. Unexcused absences carry the double penalty of counting toward the attendance record and requiring detention hours.
After a student accumulates three tardies for a class, classroom teachers will provide Office A with documentation and detention hours will be administered. This process will repeat every time a student accumulates another three tardies for the course.
Field Trips & Privileges
Student-conduct consequences and student attendance also may impact field-trip and student privileges. Specifically, only students in good standing with regard to attendance and conduct will be allowed to participate in field trips and student activities. Students with outstanding detentions and those over the attendance thresholds may not be allowed to participate.
Absence Call Protocol
Students will only be excused for an absence when that is verified by a parent or guardian through submitting the absence through the Genesis Parent Portal or through a phone call to Office A. Student calls and messages will not be accepted as valid excuses and may result in disciplinary consequences. Absences must be entered in Genesis by 9 am for same day or future absences.
How an Absence Becomes a Cut
Any absence from class not accompanied by a phone call or verified through Genesis Parent Portal from home will result in an “Absence Unverified” documentation on our attendance software. After a few days, this will transfer over to a cut, and the student will receive notification from the teacher of the course that was missed. This includes unverified absences involving students who report to class more than 20 minutes late. Students who are often more than 20 minutes late for their first period of the day, without a parent phone call, may find themselves with several cuts.
Unexcused, chargeable absences (cuts) will activate the following SARC (Student Attendance Review Committee) procedures:
1st Cut: 2 hours of central detention
2nd Cut: 1 Saturday detention
3rd Cut: 1 Saturday detention and 2 Central Detentions AND denial of credit in semester courses and marking period courses
4th Cut: 2 Saturday detentions
5th Cut: 2 Saturday detentions AND denial of credit in full-year courses
Leaving During School Day
When a student has to leave school early, the parent or guardian must notify the Attendance Office by phone, with an acceptable reason, before their child can be dismissed. No students will be dismissed early without this notification by a parent/guardian. Once verified, the student must sign out through the Attendance Office before leaving the building. Also, if the student will be returning for their remaining class(es), they are required to sign back in. Failure to follow these procedures will result in detention hours. Absences from classes other than for religious obligations, school-sponsored activities, or college visits are charged toward a student’s absence record.
Loss of Credit
Loss of credit due to excessive absences will be noted on the transcript as “NC” and will be calculated as 0 points in the student’s GPA. A Review Committee will consider requests for appeals of the policy when absences are occasioned by cases of extended illness or extenuating family circumstances. The presence of unexcused class absences (class cuts) in an attendance record under appeal/review will adversely affect the committee’s decision. It is strongly recommended that medical and dental appointments, college visitations, or other non-school-sponsored matters be arranged in such a way as to avoid absence from class and exceeding the loss of credit caps.
Parent Meetings
When parents receive a notice requiring a meeting with that student’s assistant principal (AP), the parent is expected to call that AP’s secretary and schedule a time in which the AP will meet with the parent via phone and the student in Office A (unless circumstances require the AP to request the parent to be present in school as well, or if the parent prefers to meet in person). When a student has more absences than usual due to illness, the key components are communication and documentation. When parents provide these two, administrators have much more information with which to work.
State Regulations
In accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Education of the State of New Jersey, Westfield High School has set a 90% attendance requirement for students. All absences for all reasons, inclusive of full-day and individual class absences, are recorded and charged toward a student’s attendance record. Anytime a student arrives to class more than 20 minutes into the period, this also counts as an absence for that course. Absences occasioned by religious observances, school-sponsored activities, and college visits are recorded but are not charged toward a student’s attendance record. College visit days, which are limited to a maximum of 3 days per year for pupils in grades 11 & 12 only, require documentation of the trip on college letterhead.
Warning Notices
On the 8th and 15th chargeable absences for full-year courses, on the 3rd and 6th chargeable absences for semester courses, and on the 3rd chargeable absence for a marking period course, a warning notice will be sent to parents/guardians indicating the attendance status and the potential consequences of continued absences. If a student accrues 10 absences in a full year or 6 absences in a semester course, a meeting with the student and parent is required to discuss the attendance policy and potential loss of credit. Failure to participate in this meeting will result in the ineligibility to appeal any potential loss of credit.
When Student Cuts Reach the Automatic Loss of Credit
After receiving a loss of credit for cuts, students have these options for the balance of the course:
- Remain in class and meet all course requirements to be eligible for summer school, provided student has no additional cuts in the class and does not exceed 90% class attendance requirements;
- Be scheduled for a semester course for the next semester if the master schedule permits.