Good attendance is expected and is essential to academic success. The primary
purpose of our attendance policy is to provide the structure for a student to be
successful academically. Students need to be in class because absences have a negative
impact on the student learning the content of the course and impair the
teacher in observing the student’s performance. We also encourage good
attendance by students because we believe it is an important indicator of
dependability and responsibility. Most importantly, however, students are more
likely to have greater academic success if they have a good attendance record.
We believe that a successful attendance policy relies on students, teachers,
administrators, and parents assuming their responsibilities for following the
regulations. Parents have a legal responsibility to be sure their students are in
school. If parents are having difficulty with their students attending school, counselors
and school social workers are available to assist them. High School-aged
students have the responsibility to be on time and attend each of their six classes
throughout the day. Administrators and teachers have a responsibility to inform
parents of their student’s absences and to provide the disciplinary structures, as
well as the counseling and academic resources to help a student attend regularly.
The regulations are also not to be interpreted as encouraging students who are ill
to attend school. The regulations are to be enforced as reasonably and
consistently as possible, and judgments made on the validity of an individual's
absences are open to review by the assigned assistant principal at the request of
the student or parent.

A part of the rationale for implementing these regulations is to encourage
students to assume responsibility for their own actions. There is no punitive
intent, but rather the goal of encouraging students to adopt behavioral patterns
which can lead to success in school and in life.
Each student is assigned to one of four assistant principals to monitor and follow
up on attendance and discipline issues.

TARDINESS

• A student is tardy if he/she is not in the classroom when the bell rings at the
  beginning of a class period.
• A record will be made of a student's tardies.
• Three tardies will be considered equivalent to one absence. If tardies are not
  excused and are chronic, they will count toward unexcused absences and lead
  to the student’s not receiving credit in the class. A tardy of more than five
  minutes will be considered an unexcused absence and will be treated as a cut
  unless the student arrives with a pass. Multiple tardies in one day will result
  in immediate consequences.
• At times, students who are late may not be admitted to class and sent to a
  designated area for the student to explain the reason for being tardy and to be
  re-taught about the importance of being on time to class.