Attendance Policy Approved 11906, revised 3807 Mission Statement

Attendance Policy Mission Statement All students will graduate from Lyme Central School with the tools necessary for a successful life. In order for this to be accomplished, it is essential that we provide an environment where each student has the opportunity to learn and meet success. Students will develop strong academic skills, along with the ability to use logical thinking to solve problems and make decisions. From these successes will come positive selfesteem, self-discipline, concern for others, and a respect and thirst for learning that will continue throughout life. Introduction It is the belief of the Lyme Central School District that opportunities for students to achieve their fullest potential are maximized by regular school attendance that allows a student to take advantage of full interaction with his/her teachers and peers. Absence for any length of time, even a class period, disrupts the continuity of the educational process. It is the goal of the Lyme Central School District to provide for the early identification of attendance problems and to establish effective methods to address such problems. Successful implementation of this procedure will require cooperation among all members of the school community, including parents, students, teachers, administrators, and support staff. Commencing July 1, 2003, each student’s presence or absence shall be recorded (in writing or electronically) in a register of attendance during each period of scheduled instruction. In non-departmentalized elementary grades, school districts must record each pupil’s presence, absence, tardiness and early departure once per school day. Until the new policy is created, adopted, and implemented, the following procedure will be utilized. Attendance Guidelines 1. When returning to school from an absence, students are to report to the attendance officer with a signed note from the parent/guardian stating the dates of and the reason for the student’s tardiness or absence. The attendance officer will provide the student with a pass to enter the student’s scheduled class. 2. When a student returns to class, it is their responsibility to present the pass to the teacher and to find out what work was missed and make arrangements for missed exams and completed assignments. 3. Students are to report to class on time. If a student reports to class late, he/she should have a pass from a teacher or the attendance officer. Unexplained tardiness will be recorded and not allowed to accumulate (see tardiness guidelines). 4. It is the responsibility of the teaching staff to:  Keep accurate attendance  Be knowledgeable of the work that the student has missed  Devise a plan with the student for making up missed work Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 1 Attendance Policy Goals The goals of the Lyme Central School Attendance Policy are:  To improve the accountability procedures for student attendance  To provide a standardized mechanism for accounting for the whereabouts of all children throughout the day  To create a user friendly document detailing procedures for attendance at Lyme Central School Objectives Measurable objectives of the Attendance Policy are:  To verify compliance with compulsory education laws  To identify attendance patterns to design improvement efforts  To determine the District’s average daily attendance for reporting purposes Definitions 1. An excused absence: Any absence will be judged to be legitimate by virtue of being outside the student’s/parent’s control. This includes medical or emergency-related absences, as well as family/religious observances, courtrelated matters, and educational (school related) activities. The following list of reasons are examples of “excused” absences: 1. illness 6. required to be in court 2. illness/death in the family 7. attendance at clinics 3. impassable roads or weather 8. school supervised projects 4. quarantine 9. remedial health treatment 5. religious observation 10. military obligation 2. An unexcused absence: Any absence that is characterized as a matter of choice. Absences will be classified as unexcused if there is no clear reason given, if the reason provided is deemed inappropriate, or if there is no written excuse or personal contact/phone conversation with parents to verify the reason for the absence. Family vacations that conflict with the school schedule are unexcused absences. The following nonexclusive list includes possible examples of unexcused absences: 1. family vacations 5. traveling 2. shopping/hair appointments 6. working 3. missing the bus 7. baby-sitting 4. hunting/fishing 8. needed at home 3. Truancy: Truancy is defined as absence from school without knowledge, consent, or approval of parent/guardian and school officials. Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 2 Attendance Policy 4. Tardy to school: Any student who arrives to school after attendance has been taken is termed tardy. Tardies will be deemed excused or unexcused according to the same guidelines as absences for the purposes of determining participation in extracurricular activities. Tardiness will be recorded on the daily attendance sheet, report card/progress reports, and monitored for excessiveness. 5. Late to class: Students are late to class when they fail to make it to their scheduled class on time and prior to the bell. There is a distinction between “tardy” and “late to class” in that tardy students are late at the start of the school day and tardies are recorded for school attendance purposes. Students who are late to class are held accountable only on a period-by-period basis. 6. Absent from class: Students who are present for the day but absent from an individual class are recorded as part of period-by-period attendance in grades 712. Attendance & Course Credit (for grades 7-12)  Students are expected to be in class every day. If minimum attendance is not maintained, the student will be in jeopardy of being dropped from the course and be given a zero. This will happen to any student with absenteeism that totals 24 for a full-year course and 12 for a half-year/semester course. All absences, excused and unexcused, and including both in-school suspension (assigned by an administrator) and out of school suspensions, will be included in the total number of absences that may result in removal from a course and loss of course credit. Exceptions to the procedure are school related absences, field trips, early dismissal for athletic contests, and late buses, which will not be counted toward absenteeism. Students on home instruction due to illness will be given credit for attendance. If extenuating circumstances exist to warrant consideration, such exceptions shall be made at the discretion of the administration.     Procedures of Notification 1. When a student has missed up to 8 class periods (4 for half credit course), the teacher will conference with the student to remind him/her that continued absences may result in failure of the course. The teacher will notify the parent/guardian in writing that excessive absence may be a problem. 2. When a student has missed up to 12 class periods (6 for half credit course), the teacher/attendance officer will alert the administration and a parent conference will be held to address the excessive absences. 3. When a student has missed up to 16 class periods (8 for half credit course), the administration will issue an in-school suspension. The attendance officer will work with the student to devise a plan to address the problem of student absenteeism. 4. When a student has missed up to 24 class periods (12 for half credit course), the administration will conference with the parent/guardian, the student, and teacher. Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 3 Attendance Policy It may be necessary to file a PINS (Person In Need of Supervision) with the Jefferson County Probation Department and further disciplinary action may incur. Register of Attendance Lyme Central School recognizes the necessity of maintaining a register verifying the attendance of all students at instruction because attendance is an integral part of a student’s performance in school. Commencing July 1, 2003, each student’s presence or absence shall be recorded in a register of attendance during each period of scheduled instruction. Scheduled instruction shall include actual instruction or supervised study activities. Any absence from the school day or portion of the day shall be recorded in the register as excused or unexcused. In addition, any student’s late arrival or early departure from scheduled instruction will be recorded as excused or unexcused. This register of attendance will be reviewed regularly in an effort to examine and develop effective intervention strategies to improve school attendance, thereby improving students’ performance. The attendance officer will input, record, and monitor daily records of attendance. The Register of Attendance will include the following information for each student: 1. Name 2. Date of birth 3. Full names of parents or persons in parental relations 4. Address of student’s residence 5. Phone numbers where parents/guardians may be contacted 6. Date of student’s enrollment 7. Record of student’s attendance on each day of instruction 8. Date when a pupil withdraws from enrollment or is dropped from enrollment *Entries in the register of attendance will be verified by oath or affirmation, by the District Office Secretary and/or the Superintendent of Schools. Procedures 1. The responsibilities of the Parents/Guardians of Lyme Central School Students are: a. To call the attendance officer when their child is known to be absent from school b. To send in a written, dated note with their child stating the explanation for their child’s absence within 2 days of their return to school c. To sign their child in/out when arriving to or when departing from school in the register located in the main office 2. The responsibilities of Lyme Central School Students are: a. To bring any written excuses to the attention of the Attendance Officer first thing in the morning or upon entering the school building Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 4 Attendance Policy b. To use their planbooks and to get passes from teachers to travel from place-to-place when classes are in session c. To report to class on time, prepared, and ready to learn 3. The responsibilities of the Lyme Central School Teaching Staff are: a. To record accurate attendance for each scheduled period for students in grades 7-12. For teachers of students in grades K-6, attendance may be taken one time per day b. To use a cohesive and consistent coding system for attendance (see Appendix B). Student attendance should be recorded consistently for each class c. To be knowledgeable of the work that students miss when students do not attend their scheduled class d. To devise a plan with students for making up missed assignments 4. The responsibilities of the Administration at Lyme Central School are: a. To review daily attendance statistics b. To inquire, monitor, and address students with chronic absenteeism, tardiness, etc… c. To assist as needed with issues regarding attendance, tardiness, etc. and their impact on the students’ success at Lyme Central School Incentives to Encourage Good Attendance Elementary Level 1. Perfect Attendance: Certificates recognize students with perfect attendance on a monthly basis. Perfect attendance is also awarded at the conclusion of each semester and for overall perfect attendance for the entire year. 2. Outstanding Attendance: Certificates recognize students who have not missed more than 3 days of school per semester. Thus, outstanding attendance certificates are presented each semester or twice per year. Secondary Level At the secondary level, classes with the best overall attendance percentage are recognized in a similar manner as described above. Also, monetary donations will be made to the class treasury to support the class trip initiative. Intervention Strategies Students who have an unexcused absence, late arrival, or early departure from scheduled instruction will be subject to a series of incremental interventions including loss of privileges, warnings, suspensions, and any other disciplinary penalties available under the Code of Conduct. Classroom teachers, the attendance officer, and building administrators review student attendance records regularly and address identified patterns of unexcused pupil absence in the most timely manner possible. Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 5 Attendance Policy The district encourages parents to support the attendance rules and to work cooperatively with district officials in this regard. Parent support for an unexcused absence does not absolve an unexcused student from consequences. Attendance, as part of class participation, can also be figured into the grading policies of individual teachers. If a student exhibits a poor attendance record, progressive disciplinary consequences designed to curb the problem may occur. ABSENCES: Disciplinary Action for Absences 5 absences: letter home 10 absences: request for parent conference 15 absences: refer to DSS TRUANCY: Truancy is defined as absence from school without knowledge, consent or approval of parent/guardian and school officials. If a student tails to report to the attendance officer for a late pass, he/she will be considered truant. The consequences for truancy will be dependent upon the situation. The student will make up at least the time missed attending detentions and parents will be notified. Detention will be held in the ISSTOR area and will take place the following day so that appropriate parental notification can be made. Disciplinary Action for Truancy: 1st offense: warning 2nd offense: lunch detention 3rd offense: 1 after school detention 4th offense: 2 after school detentions 5th offense: 3 days in school suspension 6th offense: 5 days of in school suspension and mandatory conference with parents, student, and administration before student is readmitted to class TARDY TO SCHOOL: Students typically enter the school building at 8:15 AM. All students are to be in their first period class by the first period bell. Students who are late must report to the Attendance Officer upon entering the building. Disciplinary consequences are assigned for excessive tardiness. Disciplinary Action for Tardy to School: After 3 incidents of tardiness: telephone home/letter home, loss of privileges, and after school detention 6th offense: two after school detentions, telephone home/letter home Greater than 6 tardies: continued administrative involvement and further disciplinary action LATE TO CLASS: In order to obtain the optimum time of instruction, it is important for students to arrive to class on time. If a teacher detains a student between classes, it is necessary for the student to request a pass from that teacher. If a student is late for any other reason, then the teacher will contact the Attendance Officer. On a daily basis, the number of late to class notices will be tallied and disciplinary consequences will be assigned. Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 6 Attendance Policy Disciplinary Actions for Late to Class: After 3 incidents of being late to class: teacher detention and call home 4th offense: after school detention 5th offense: after school detention and parent conference 6th offense: administrative involvement and further disciplinary actions to follow, teacher detention and call home 7th offense: administration involvement, call home and detention 8th offense: administration involvement, after school detention and parent conference 9th offense: administration involvement and further disciplinary actions to follow Early Release from School Students who wish to be excused for a legitimate reason during the school day must strictly adhere to the following procedure: A parent/guardian must write an excuse, date, time to be excused, and to whom the student is to be released. Students may not be released to other students or to any other person not in the family without prior approval of the Principal. In the event of an emergency, please feel free to call the administration to arrange for the release of your child. Students who leave or attempt to leave the building without authorization will be subject to disciplinary review. Attendance Regulations for Extracurricular Activities In order to participate in all extracurricular activities or contests during a school day or during the evening of the school day, the student must be in attendance half of the school day. Exceptions to this policy will be: 1. Administratively approved absence 2. Previous school permission to miss school Other exceptions to this policy may be considered only upon the advice and consent of the high school principal and the athletic director. Guidelines for Making Up Class Work 1. For a planned absence, students are to give their teachers enough notice so that assignments can be prepared. 2. For unplanned absences (sickness, emergencies, death in the family), students are to make arrangements with each individual teacher whose class was missed within two days of their return to school. 3. Work that is not made up in a timely manner will result in a grade of zero for that material 4. If a student is absent for 2 or more days, a parent should call the counselor’s office by 10:00 AM and make arrangements for picking up their child’s assignments. Homework may be picked up in the nurse’s office at the end of the day. When students return to school, they should speak with each of their Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 7 Attendance Policy teachers about their work and make arrangements for any missed quizzes or tests. Annual Review by the Board of Education The Board shall annually review this attendance policy and make any revisions necessary in order to improve student attendance. This review shall include an examination of current intervention strategies as well as the development of new and effective intervention strategies to improve school attendance, thereby improving students’ performance. Community Awareness The Board of Education shall promote necessary community awareness of this policy by: a. Providing a plain language summary of the policy to parents/guardians and students at the beginning of each school year and promoting the understanding of such a policy to students and their parents or guardians b. Providing each teacher, at the beginning of the school year or upon employment, with a copy of the policy c. Providing copies of the policy to any other member of the community upon request Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 8 Attendance Policy Appendix Section Appendix A= Codes used by the attendance officer Appendix B= Coding system used by the faculty/staff Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 9 Attendance Policy APPENDIX A Attendance Codes Utilized by the Attendance Officer Category Present all day Absent all day Tardy Dismissed Absent/excused Absent/unexcused Absent/am Absent/pm Truant Truant part of day Suspended: out of school Suspended: in school Code PR AB TD DS AE AU AM AP TR TP OS IS Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 10 Attendance Policy APPENDIX B Attendance Coding System to be Utilized by Staff/Faculty Category Present Absent Late Code   L  Term Make a  Make a circle and leave blank In the circle, mark an L for late to class; note where student is coming from In the circle, mark the code (see below) for where the student is going Excused/Pass Suggestions N=Nurse B=Band LB=Library OT=Occupational Therapy T=Physical Therapy C=Cafeteria -Guidance AO=Attendance Officer Approved 11/9/06, revised 3/8/07 11