Attendance
ATTENDANCE CLERK - HIGH SCHOOL
Judy McMahon
(716) 937-9116, 4197
Email: Jmcmahon@aldenschools.org
ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL
The parent/guardian is requested to call the attendance office (937-9116 ext. 4197) whenever their student is absent from school. The attendance officer will call the parent/guardian when a student is absent. Students who are chronically late or absent may be required to submit a medical excuse from a doctor when they return to school. If the requested medical excuse is not submitted within three days of his / her return to school, the absences will be considered unexcused.
ATTENDANCE/GRADE POLICY
The Board of Education recognizes an important relationship between school attendance and student performance. Consequently, each marking period a percentage of the student’s final grade may be based on classroom participation as well as student’s performance on homework, tests, papers, projects, etc.
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Consistent with the importance of classroom participation, unexcused absences will affect a student’s class participation grade for the marking period.
Only those students with excused absences will be given the opportunity to make up a test or other missed work and/or turn in a late assignment for inclusion in their final grade. Make up opportunities must be completed by a date specified by the student’s teacher for the class in question.?
EXCUSED ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL
If an excuse is not submitted within three (3) days of return to school, the absence will be considered unexcused. If a parent phones in, they must still send a note. An absence will not be considered excused unless a note is given to the Attendance Officer.
Personal illness
Death in family
Illness in family
Impassable roads
Weather
Religious observance
Required to be in court
Quarantine
School music lessons & competitions
Attendance at health clinics
Approved college visits
Military obligations
Emergency situation - covers unexpected events which keep a student from attendance. Such cases will be considered individually by the Principal.
Field trips
Suspension
Family planned absences - parents may submit a request in writing, two weeks in advance, to the principal of the school that a planned absence be excused for an unavoidable reason not listed above, such as a family wedding or other event. The principal shall grant or deny these requests based on the reason for the absence, the length of the absence, the student’s attendance record, or for other reasons. Parents should note that the district discourages absences for family vacations and reserves the right to designate such absences as unexcused.
When excused from class or school, a student is allowed two (2) days to complete work for every day absent. There is a maximum time of two (2) weeks immediately following the prolonged excused absence for the work to be made up. Students are responsible for material covered during that particular absence. There may be some discretionary need not to impose this rule based on the administrator’s decision in collaboration with the student’s teachers and student’s parents.
MEDICAL NOTES
When a student is absent due to medical reasons (ex. E.R visit or surgery), a doctor’s appointment card or a note written on the physician’s stationary should be submitted to the attendance officer for the school nurse upon the return of the student to school. This information must include the date(s) the student was under his/her care. The note should also indicate that the student is OK to return to school and any restrictions should be specified (ex. participation in sports or P.E.). A note from a physician is required if an absence is for five (5) or more days. The absence will be considered unexcused unless a physician’s note is submitted within three days of the student’s return.