PHS Student Attendance for Success and Safety 

Attendance matters. Student success is most likely to be achieved with good attendance. We will do all we can to make school engaging. Students increase their chances at both academic and social success by being here every period. When a student misses class, it is impossible to recreate the discussion or activities that happened in class. In the past, learning content to pass a test has been too much the focus in school. To be future-ready, we must build the capacities of creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication by using that content in class to go beyond just information that might be on a test. When a student misses class, they create gaps in these capacities. 

Attendance also matters for student safety. The safest place a student can be is in class. If a student misses class for any reason it should be excused by a parent. When a student has an unexcused absence, we will work diligently to notify parents. 

Therefore, for both student success and student safety, a student should NEVER miss school without their parent’s knowledge, and we need parents to excuse their children when they know they are absent. We hope our whole community (students, parents, and teachers) can embrace the value in learning and knowing where students are throughout the school day. 

CONSEQUENCES FOR POOR ATTENDANCE 

The biggest consequences for poor attendance are the learning gaps and safety issues that arise from missing class. But there are some other short-term consequences the school can enforce in situations where chronic unexcused attendance becomes a problem. 

To be eligible for any extracurricular activity, club, team, or performing group: students cannot have more than 10 hours of accrued detention on the year or exceed 4 tardies in a single class. 

To be eligible to participate in date dances, reward trips, other school-sponsored activities, students cannot have more than 20 hours of accrued detention time or exceed 8 tardies in a single class. 

Detention is accrued in the following ways: 

1 hour - for any unexcused absence. 

15 minutes for every tardy 

15 minutes for every non-excused release early. 

Every Monday, an attendance check will be run and communicated to students and parents if the student is on the attendance list. The student will have until the following Monday to work off the detention time. If they have not worked off the time, they will be ineligible until their total drops below required hours. 

Detention time can be worked off in the following ways: 

Working with any teacher before or after school 

Attending lunch detention 

Attendance school on Tuesday and Wednesdays at 7:00am. 

Friday School 

Administrative directed activities 

TRUANCIES 

Students who receive a truancy will be considered ineligible for athletics and/or representation of Preston High School in competition of any kind. Upon receiving a second truancy, students will be ineligible for field trips and dances. A truancy is defined as a confirmed unexcused absence (skipping class) and cannot be excused by a parent. Upon the completion of required amount of attendance school, the student will regain eligibility. 

Beyond being eligible to participate with school related functions, students will be held accountable for the attendance in the following ways. 

-If a pattern of excessive excused absences occurs, administration, parents, and students will meet to develop attendance plan and contract. 

-If students accrue a total of 25% absenteeism in any class for the semester (20 absences in a single class), an attendance council may be held that could include: teacher, administration, counselor, student, and/or parent. At the attendance council the group will decide if the student should stay enrolled in the current class and be placed on a strict attendance contract, or if the student should be removed and placed in a credit recovery class for the remainder of the semester. 

-Before a student reaches the 25% level, the parents and student will be contacted at 10%, 15%, and 20% absenteeism. This contact may be as a PowerSchool notification, email, phone call, or administrative meeting. 

PRIOR APPROVAL FOR ANTICIPATED ABSENCES 

If a student is planning to miss multiple days due to vacation, surgery, etc., a prior approval form should be filled out by the student and signed by the parent/guardian before the absences to help facilitate coordinating make-up with the teacher. Forms may be picked up in the Attendance Office. The student accepts the responsibility for getting materials/notes, for completing assignments and making arrangements for any testing prior to or upon return of absence as required by each teacher. Parents and students should realize that any extended absence may adversely affect grades due to missed labs, participation points, etc. If denied, the student will be advised in person and the parent will be notified. Even if an extended absence is pre-approved, it has the potential to hurt grades due to what the student will miss by not being in class. 

EXCUSING ABSENCES 

As previously mentioned, anytime that the student is not in attendance at school their parents/guardians should be aware and excuse the absences through the front office. 

·After 8 school days an unexcused absence (A) will be inexcusable by a parent/guardian. 

·Parents may call or email the Attendance Office to check a student out. We discourage parents from contacting a student directly via cell phone/text, because this will disrupt learning for other students. 

·Leaving campus without parental permission and without going through the proper check-out procedure in the Attendance Office for any reason will be considered an Unexcused Absence (U). 

·When parents are writing a note, please include the date it is written and parent signature. Fraudulent excusing of absences may result in loss of privileges for all involved. 

-Preston School District board policy considers a student habitually truant if attendance drops below 90% (8 absences per semester). If a parent excuses a student more than 8 times, they are in violation of State and board code and further absences may not be excused unless approved by administration. 

Parents requirements for attendance: 

·Be aware of student attendance through PowerSchool APP. 

·Excuse students when they have a legitimate absence. 

·Don’t excuse student if student is not legitimately absent. 

Absences appropriate for being excused include but are not limited to the following: 

Sickness 

Medical treatment and office visits 

Funerals 

Family Emergencies 

Students are always responsible to make up any work, quizzes and/or tests missed during their absence. Students have the responsibility to arrange for makeup work and due date for the work with their teachers.