Attendance Policies and Procedures

ABSENCES:

• 10 absences excused OR unexcused are allowed PER CLASS.
• After 10 absences students are required to do credit recovery
• Credit recovery is at teachers discretion and student is responsible for speaking with individuals teachers to make this up

EXCUSES:

All excuses must be handed in to the attendance office within 5 days of an absence. Documentation is required by CMS to excuse an absence. Please make sure student full name, ID number, and date of absence are all included on the excuse note/ form. Parent sick notes please include parent signature and phone number as well. If absence was not a full day please be sure to also indicate that on the excuse or a full day absence will be entered. If you choose to use the online form to report an absence, you must still submit supporting documentation to the attendance office, such as a Doctor's note or a wrtten note from a parent/guardian, BEFORE the absence will be excused in power school.  

Excused absences include:

• Parent note stating injury or illness
• Doctor note
• Dentist note
• Counseling appointment/ personal appointment/ etc.
• Court appointment
• Death in family

We do not need any documentation for unexcused absences. These include car troubles, traffic, family trips, weddings, vacation, etc. and will remain unexcused absences.

TARDY POLICY:

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REFERRALS:

• Written up for accumulating 5 Unexcused Late per class
• Written up for every tardy after 5 as well
• Student must do Academic Restitution for a tardy referral
• Marked in system as (2L) Unexcused Late

Excused Late:

If a student is excused late and had a doctor appointment, court/ counseling appointment, dentist note, etc. they can sign in at the attendance office. They will be given a GREEN excused late pass.

ISS:

Students more than half of a class period late for an unexcused reason will report to ISS. If a student does not have their excused note at time of arrival they will be counted as unexcused late and after half of a class period late will also report to ISS. If a student is late in between class after the bell before 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th period and do not have a pass, they can be sent to ISS.

SIGNING IN WITHOUT SIGNING OUT:

Students MUST sign out properly with documentation/ or parent. Students who did not sign out properly that try to sign back in will be directed to a principal. Parking passes could be taken for a period of time if students leave without following the rules.

EARLY DISMISSAL: (no later than 1:45pm)

Early dismissals require:

• Print an Early Dismissal Form and send with student morning of leaving early
• Bring a hand written PARENT NOTE

Notes MUST BE WRITTEN BY PARENT in order to be accepted and include student full name, ID number, date of dismissal, parent's signature, and parent phone number. Early dismissals without the following information may not be accepted. The rules apply to students age 18 years or older. They MUST have documentation to leave early and cannot sign themselves out.

Bring a note by the attendance office between 6:45am-7:10am the morning of leaving early or during lunch to receive a pass to get out of class. If you drop note off in early dismissal box be sure to come back in between classes or at lunch to pick up your pass. Students will not have to stop back by attendance to sign out when they have provided documentation in advance. This is the preferred way for early dismissals as it minimizes not having to interrupt teachers during their instructional time. If you come to dismiss a student for an emergency or for illness please do so in between classes.

EDUCATIONAL LEAVE:

• Fill out Educational Opportunity Form found below or pick up from Attendance Office
• Attach documentation to the Educational Form

Forms must include student full name, ID number, reason for request, date of absence, and parent signature. You must also attach proof to the educational form. This can include college brochure, official visit/campus tour confirmation, email verification, itinerary, etc.

Please allow for at least one week for educational forms to be approved and entered into the system. Administration signs off on these so we ask for a week to get approval and enter them.

Request for Educational Leave

RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE:

• Fill out Religious Observance Form found below or pick up from Attendance Office

Forms MUST include student full name, ID number, parent signature, and date of absence request.

Religious Obligation Form.pdf

SUSPENSIONS:

When a student is suspended the counselor and all teachers are informed by the school. Students are responsible for all work missed on days they are suspended. If students are out for a long term suspension work can be left in the main office for students/ parents to pick up to ensure they don't fall too far behind on work.

ATTENDANCE RECOVERY UPDATES:

Attendance at the high school level is taken each block. For a student to be counted as present for the block, the student must be in attendance for at least one-half of the block.

For the 2022 – 2023 school year, high school students absent from eleven class periods or more will receive a grade of F for that course (please see policy). This is not a new policy unique to Myers Park High School. It is a district policy suspended by our Board of Education in 2019 - 2021 but is now active as a policy and procedure for 2022 - 2023. This rule applies to all absences, whether excused or unexcused.

To allow teachers to better communicate the number of absences students need to recover, students are asked to present medical documentation or a written note from the parent/guardian stating the reason for the absence once they return to school. Documents or notes MUST be dropped off in the Attendance Office or emailed to Erica Stines. If there are concerns with confidentiality, then the documentation can be submitted to the Counselor or School Nurse.

Once documentation or notes are received, then absences will be properly coded in PowerSchool. Absences coded as follows will NOT require “Attendance Recovery” (see below):

• Illness or Injury
• Death in the Immediate Family
• Medical or Dental Appointments
• Quarantine
• School Sponsored Activity
• Homebound/Residential

In these cases, students will NOT have to submit a Medical Waiver form. Teachers will review the coding in PowerSchool.

For students who exceed 10 absences, and the absences are NOT coded as above, teachers will be offering "Attendance Recovery" sessions by department. Students with 11 or more absences can recover the days missed above the initial 10 days (1 day = 45 minutes of "attendance recovery"). For example, when a student has missed 12 days of their English class, then the student will need to recover 2 days (90 minutes) with their teacher.

To participate in "attendance recovery", the student must speak with their teacher. The teacher will let the student know the available times and days. "Attendance Recovery" completion records will be maintained by departments and administrative contacts for the departments will have access to review the records and sign-off on "Attendance Recovery" completion.

Please Note:

1. "Attendance Recovery" must be pre-scheduled with the teacher.

2. Students must arrive on time and remain for the full session. Late arrival or early departure will result in no credit for the session.

3. Morning sessions will begin at 6:35 AM (30-minute sessions) and 6:20 AM (45-minute sessions). Morning sessions will conclude at 7:05 AM. Afternoon sessions will begin at 2:20 PM (45-minute sessions) and conclude at 3:05 PM.

4. Students must engage during the session, completing any make-up work/assessments or actively participating in tutoring.

5. Students who misbehave will be removed and will not receive credit for the session. Misbehavior includes excessive talking, head down, unauthorized use of cell phones, off task working, playing games on electronic devices, etc...

If you have any questions, please email Allyson Davis, Assistant Principal of Instruction.