Attendance Information

Every Day Counts! Every day counts in a child’s education. Every day a student misses school, he/she gets more than two days behind his peers, because he must make up missed learning and catch up with new learning at the same time. Every day a student is in school, he/she benefits from direct instruction and raises his or her chances to score well on fundamental testing while learning a valuable lesson in the life skill of responsibility. Absences, excused or not, also take away valuable funding from our school. Attendance is compulsory by law and is the responsibility of all students and parent/guardians.
What if my student is going to be absent from school? Parents/legal guardians must contact the school whenever a student will miss his/her assigned classes. Absences must be cleared within 48 hours by the parent/legal guardian or the absence will be permanently changed to an “un-excused cut.” How do I clear my student’s absence?

• Absences can be cleared by telephoning or sending a note with the student. All notes and messages related to absences or tardies must be processed by the House Secretary.
  
  House 1 (A-Dal) - Press 1 (x9342)
  House 2 (Dam-Jac) - Press 2 (x9343)
  House 3 (Jad-Mor) -  Press 3 (x9341)
  House 4 (Mos-Sim) - Press 4 (x9344)
  House 5 (Sin-Z) - Press 5 (x9345) 
• The following information is required for messages and notes: 
  • Name of the Student (please include spelling if leaving voice message) and grade level.
  • Name of the person calling and relationship to student.
  • Date(s) of the absence. If clearing partial day, include period or time student will be absent from school.
  • Specific reason for absence. PLEASE INCLUDE IF YOUR STUDENT HAS HAD A FEVER RELATED TO THIS ABSENCE.
  • Daytime telephone number

What absences are excused? Cleared absences are excused when reported within 48 hours of the absence and as defined by California Education Code 48205. Absences that are considered excused are:

• Medical/Dental Appointments
• Personal Illness
• Funeral Services for an immediate family member.
• Court Appearances
• Religious Holiday Observance when approved by the Principal or designee upon receipt of prior written request.
• Religious Retreats when approved by the Principal or designee upon receipt of prior written request. Attendance at retreats cannot exceed four hours per semester.
• Participation in school approved activities.

What if my student will be Tardy or needs to leave early? Tardy students must report to their House Office to sign in and obtain a pass to be admitted to class. If a student must leave early, they may take a note to the House Office in the morning to obtain an off-campus pass for the time they are to be released.

Independent Study Contracts

In order to maximize student achievement and social/emotional growth and in accordance with California Education Code, it is expected that students will attend school every day.  However, family situations do arise which necessitate emergency travel.  When these rare situations arise, families may arrange a Short Term Independent Study Contract with the school.  These contracts are appropriate for unavoidable emergency absence of no fewer than 5 consecutive school days and no longer than 10 consecutive school days.

A completed Short Term Independent Study Contract request must be submitted to the House Office or Assistant Principal, signed by the student and parent/guardian and all teachers on the student schedule at least 10 school days prior to the absence. The contract must include the dates of absences, return to school date, and reason for the request.  The absence duration should
be as brief as possible, as absences of more than a few days will negatively impact student learning. Independent study for family vacations or leisure travel that can occur during schools breaks is strongly discouraged, since independent study cannot replicate the classroom instructional experience. 

All requests must be approved by site administration.  If approved, students should pick up all assigned work on the last day of attendance prior to the first date of the contract.  Once the student returns to school, all completed work must be turned into the House Office or Attendance Office before the student returns to class.  If the student does not complete all assigned work, future requests may be denied.  Independent Study contracts at the end of the school year must be completed no later than fifteen school days prior to the last day of school.  Independent Study contracts cannot be established during the first 10 days of the school year nor are they allowed the last 15 school days of the year.  

Note:  If a student on an IEP is requesting a Short Term Independent Study Contract, the Program Specialist must be notified immediately so that appropriate IEP documentation can be determined.