Welcome to the Attendance
Office!
Research in education clearly indicates that a strong relationship
exists between class attendance and high academic
achievement. Students with good attendance practices
generally leave high school with skills and habits necessary to be
successful in life and a valued employee upon entering the working
world. The Washington State Commission on Student Learning
has made good attendance one of its objectives under Goal IV:
School to work transitions. State law also requires daily
attendance and the Becca Bill requires schools to petition the
court regarding students with excessive unexcused absences.
Hence, Auburn Mountainview High School is committed to
encouraging good attendance and monitoring daily student
attendance.
The following assumptions are basic to a successful attendance
policy at Auburn Mountainview High School:
* Auburn Mountainview High School
offers its students excellent educational opportunities.
* Student participation in classroom
activities is essential for optimal learning.
* Students are preparing for careers
after high school and need to develop appropriate attendance
behaviors and habits required in the working world.
* Students are responsible for
participating in the school curriculum and maintaining regular
attendance. Parents are responsible for their children's
attendance in accordance with state law and district policy and,
therefore, are responsible for notifying the school of an excused
absence. Teachers are responsible for accurately monitoring
attendance on a daily basis and are expected to encourage good
attendance through class expectations and participation
requirements.
What are state approved reasons for
absences?
There are occasions when you do need
to miss school. According to state law and Auburn School
District policy, the reasons for which absences may be excused
are:
*
Injury or
illness *
Religious holidays
*
Authorized student
activities *
Doctor and dental appointments
*
Driver's license
testing *
Special non-school activities
*
School-sponsored
activities
* Legal obligations
*
Absences prearranged at the discretion of the principal
(trips/family vacations)
How do I excuse an
absence?
* A parent or
guardian must clear absences withing 24 hours. Any absence
not cleared within 24 hours will be
unexcused.
* Students must
check in and out through the attendance office when leaving or
returning during the school day.
* Students are entitled to make up work missed
due to excused absences.
* Consequences will be assigned for unexcused
absences.
* Grades will be affected by excessive
absences.
If one of these situations arises, your parent should telephone the
attendance office at 253 804-5197 or send a note
within one (1) day of the absence. You will be given an admit
slip which is shown to each teacher verifying your right to make up
missed assignments. Work must be made up in order for you to
receive credit. If you need to leave school during the school
day, you must check out through the attendance
office.
Unexcused
Absences: Unexcused absences will
result when the student fails to get parent permission for absences
within 24 hours of the absence or when a parent indicates that the
student was absent without permission. Students will not be
allowed to make up work missed and disciplinary action will
result. The purpose of the disciplinary action or
intervention is to correct the attendance problem and strongly
encourage the student to avoid additional unexcused absences.
Discipline intervention for truancy or skipping classes normally
results in an assignment to Thursday school, community service, or
other disciplinary measures. If, after proactive steps and
disciplinary measures have been taken and truancy/skipping
violations continue, a short-term suspension for insubordination
from school may result. Continued truancy may ultimately
result in long-term suspension for the remainder of the semester,
alternative scheduling or placement. State law now requires
if an enrolled student has five unexcused absences in a month, or
ten in a school year, school districts must petition the
court to take jurisdiction of that student.
Home/Hospital: Home/hospital status
may be granted by the district if the student is expected to
have a prolonged absence of four weeks or more due to illness or
injury. This would provide the student with an opportunity to
complete schoolwork and not lose credit. The nurse and/or
counselor should be contacted if this status is necessary (before
the absence begins, if possible). Home/hospital is not
applicable after the fact.
Trips: Trips need to be
pre-arranged by having the parent/guardian request a prearranged
absence form from the attendance office at least two (2) days prior
to the trip. The student needs to acquire all teacher
signatures and return it to the attendance office before
leaving. This process will allow both teachers and students
to make arrangement for homework. Absences may still affect
grades or class credits.
Forged Notes or False Phone
Excuses: Forged notes or false phone excuses
will result in a minimum of one Thursday school on the first
offense. A second offense will result in a short-term
suspension.
Homework Requests (Absences of 3 days or
more): Requests for homework for absences of
three (3) consecutive days or more may be done by calling the
attendance office administrative assistant or via e-mail. The
process of obtaining homework assignments from teachers takes 24
hours to complete. Before make a trip to the high school you
should call the attendance office administrative assistant at
804-5197 to make sure that assignments have been turned in.
For absences shorter than three days, the student should contact a
friend in the same class to determine the assignment or e-mail the
teacher directly. Students have two (2) days to complete
make-up work for each day that they have missed. Teachers are
generally available before and after school for one-half hour to
assist students as necessary.
Tardies: Students are required to report
to their assigned class before the tardy bell rings. If the
student has been detained by a staff member, a note signed by the
staff member should be given to the next teacher. Students
who report to class more than 10 minutes late are considered
absent! Teachers will work with the students on tardy issues
and may require students to serve detention with them. If a
teacher feels that a student is excessively tardy, the teacher will
contact the parent to discuss the situation. Should the
tardiness continue after the parent conference, an administrator
will become involved and other disciplinary measures will be
taken. Other measures may be taken throughout the year
including hall sweeps and administrator-assigned detentions to
encourage prompt attendance.
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