Attendance
Attendance is critical to student learning. If students miss school, they miss out on important instruction and the ability to discuss and fully comprehend learning with their peers. Our goal as a school is to maintain at least a 95% attendance rate so students can take full advantage of their learning and continued success.
Reporting student absences:
If your child is going to be absent from school, it is important that you call the office at (909) 478-5650 to report and verify the reason for the absence. Absences from school will be marked as:
Excused: illness (fever or vomiting), medical appointment (please try to schedule these after school hours); funeral attendance (immediate family members only); religious reasons, late school bus, or mandated court appearance of the student. Students who are ill for more than 5 days must present a doctor's note for the absence when returning to school.
Unexcused: Any other reason for not being at school.
Truancy: Failure to clear an absence with a legitimate reason within 48 hours will result in a truancy being marked on the student’s attendance record. Being tardy for 30 minutes or more on three different days will also result in a truancy.
A student will be marked absent by their teacher at any time they are not present in their class. An automated caller will notify parents of all students who are absent. When a student returns following an absence, the Attendance Office must be notified within 48 hours (not including non-school days) by means of a parent/guardian note or telephone call stating the reason for the absence. Students will need to arrange to make up for missed classroom assignments.
All students are responsible for being lined up on the blacktop by their classroom number when the tardy bell rings at 7:43 a.m. Any student who is not in line at 7:45 a.m. is considered tardy.
Short-term independent studies contracts:
Students are eligible for independent study contracts when they are absent for 3 or more consecutive days. Please contact the attendance office for assistance with these packets. When an Independent Study contract is completed the student can recover the missed days that were on the contract. Independent study, once completed, does not count as an absence in the system and helps to avoid attendance letters and attendance review processes.
SART/AIM/SARB Process
We are required by the State Department of Education to monitor and track attendance which involves informing parents of days absent. This is done monthly via form letters that are automatically generated based on a formula determined by the State Department of Education. As mandated by the state, attendance letters will be sent home after 5, 10, and 15 absences, regardless if the absences are excused or unexcused. The first two letters are intended to remind families of the importance of regular on-time attendance.
Please be aware of the California Ed. Code states that students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of the school year. Students who are chronically absent (less than 90% attendance rate) will be scheduled for a Student Attendance Review Team (SART) meeting. At the meeting, a contract is signed by the student, parent(s), and administrator. If attendance continues to be a concern, a referral will be made for a District AIM (Attendance Intervention Meeting). This is the last intervention prior to being referred to a District SARB (School Attendance Review Board) meeting. It is our goal to help students maintain good attendance, and work with families to ensure student success.