Attendance

Did you have questions about attendance?

Our school attendance policy can be found below:

ATTENDANCE

Tardies and early checkouts can interfere with learning and should happen only in emergencies or when
absolutely necessary. It is essential that your child attend school each day. Regular attendance along with the
responsibility of studying and participating in school activities is vital to the learning process. For the safety of
our children all parents must sign in and receive a visitors’ pass anytime while on campus and sign out when
leaving so that we know how many people are on campus in the case of an emergency.

Tardies- A student who is tardy misses academic instruction that may lead to learning deficits. If a
student is tardy, the parent or guardian must sign him/her in at the office and office personnel will
issue a tardy pass. If you check your student out of school before 2:30 this counts as a tardy. Excessive morning
or afternoon tardies will result in a letter being sent home from the school social worker.

Early Check Outs- Classroom instruction continues until regular dismissal time, therefore, please do
not check students out early unless absolutely necessary. Students who need to check out early must be
signed out in the front office by a parent or guardian. A note must be sent if someone else will pick up your
child and that person should have picture ID ready to show office personnel. Your child will be
called to the office by office staff to be dismissed. In order for our afternoon operations to run smoothly
and safely, there will be no early checkouts after 2:30 p.m. Students will NOT be called out of
classrooms or off of the bus after 2:30 because they will be in transition at this time. Students will be called
to the office once the parent arrives. Any changes in regular transportation must be put in writing in
advance. Absolutely no bus or car rider changes will be taken over the phone at any time. Any permanent
change in transportation will need to be done in person at the front office.

Absences- When a student is absent, a written note should be presented to the teacher on the day the
student returns in order for the absence to be excused. No note=unexcused absence.
Letters will be sent home when a child accumulates 3, 6 and 10 unexcused absences in accordance with the NC
compulsory attendance law. According to state law, the records of a student with 10 or more unexcused
absences results in the records being turned over to the social worker and/or court system for further action.
NOTE: The accumulation of frequent unexcused absences may result in the necessity of providing a
doctor’s note in order for any additional absences to be considered excused.
Educational Family Trips- If a trip is educational in nature, the absence may be excused. The parent
must apply for the trip to be excused by completing a form prior to the planned trip. The form may be
picked up in the office. Arrangements to make up missed work must be made with the teacher prior
to the trip. Forms must be turned in 5 days prior to the trip for approval.
Make-up work- In order for students to keep up with missed work, the following procedures should be
followed:
Students who are tardy or check out early are expected to turn in all assignments completed
the next school day.

Parents of students who leave school because of sickness or if they are absent all day should
make arrangements with the teacher to set up due dates for missed assignments and dates to
make up tests. All work should be returned and made up no later than 3 school days

 

Also, note that students are expected to be at school for 240 minutes or 4 hours to be counted as present for the day.  If you drop your child off late and then pick them up early, they may be marked absent if they have not been in school for the total of 240 minutes. 

 

Linked are resources to help you understand the impact of repeated absences as well as information about when to keep your child home from school. 

www.attendanceworks.org