Attendance

A parent/guardian should call the attendance secretary before 9:00 a.m. on the day of any absence. Absences must be cleared within 24 hours of a student’s absence. Notes will not be accepted for excusing a student’s absence. A parent/guardian may call the attendance secretary’s voice mail at any time within the 24 hours and leave a clear, distinct message excusing the student’s absence. Please include the following information when leaving a message: Student name, student number, parent name, reason for absence, and phone number where the parent/guardian can be reached.

Acceptable Excused Absences
Professional appointment, religious reasons, family emergency, illness, approved extended absences.

Upon the student’s return to school, the student must report to the Attendance Office to check the list of excused absences. If the student is NOT excused then it is his/her responsibility to get the absence cleared within 24 hours. Any absence not cleared within 24 hours via the Attendance Office will be considered UNEXCUSED.

Other Absences
If a student needs to leave for an appointment during the school day, please call before 9:00am. The student will be given a pass to leave class at the appropriate time. The student must then sign out BEFORE leaving campus and sign in upon return with the Attendance Office. Students who leave school without permission are considered unexcused.

If the absence from school will be an extended one, such as three or more days, please contact the Attendance secretary and ask for an extended absence form. The parent, a principal, and all of the teachers should sign the form. After the form is signed, it is to be taken to the Attendance secretary.

Tardiness
When a student is tardy it interferes with his/her education. Teachers will utilize classroom management tools to deal with tardiness. If this becomes excessive, an administrator will respond with appropriate discipline. Students may be assigned to campus service, Saturday school and/or short-term suspension.

Parent Notification:
In an effort to keep parents informed, a computer generated call will be made to the parent of every student who misses one or more periods of any school day. This phone call will be made the same day of the absence.

Attendance Procedures:

Step 1 Warning - 1st truancy from a class – Teacher conference with student. Parent notified.
Step 2 - 2nd truancy from a class – Student will be assigned to campus service. Parent notified.
Step 3 - 3rd truancy from a class – Student will be assigned to Saturday School. Parent notified.
Step 4 - 4th truancy from a class – Administrator Action – Student will be assigned to TWO Saturday Schools. Parent notified.
Step 5 - 5th truancy from a class – Administrator Action. – Conference with student and parent. Student will be placed in ISS/OSS for 1-3 days. BECCA letter sent home.

State Compulsory Attendance Law “BECCA Bill”
The 1992 legislature revised the Compulsory Attendance Law. All students aged 8 – 18 are expected to attend classes on a regular basis. Daily attendance is one of the most important keys to a student’s educational success.
School officials must enforce the State Compulsory Attendance Law Chapter 28A.225RCW. Parents’ duties are to send their children to school daily, or excuse their absence for illness, or other legitimate reasons such as; injury, quarantine, or death in the family, family emergencies, and professional appointments.
When a student fails to attend school as required by law, the school must:
Inform the parent in writing and/or by phone.
Attempt to schedule either an in-person on phone call conference with the parent and student.
Take steps to reduce or eliminate the student’s absences.
File a petition with the juvenile court alleging a violation of the State Compulsory Attendance Law by the student. This may occur upon the fifth unexcused absence within any month, and must occur upon the seventh unexcused absence within any month or the tenth unexcused absence in the school year. (Parents could be subject to legal action if found to be aiding in the student’s absenteeism.)

Campus Service
Students are assigned to campus service for attendance and/or discipline consequences. Students are assigned to pick up litter around the campus. Campus Service is open Monday-Friday from 2:45-3:30. An unexcused absence will result in assignment to Saturday School. Saturday School Students are assigned to Saturday School for attendance/discipline consequences. Students complete three hours of campus clean up during their assignment. An unexcused absence from Saturday School will result in a one-day suspension from school.