ERWIN MONTESSORI ATTENDANCE POLICY Effective schools have well designed expectations for students. At Erwin, we expect all students to be present daily and report to school on time in order to benefit from the instructional program. This policy is designed to develop habits of attendance, punctuality, self-discipline, and responsibility. There is a direct relationship between poor attendance and academic failure. Students who are punctual and have good attendance generally perform better and enjoy school more than those who do not. In providing consistency for our students, the following guidelines address tardiness and absences. Tardies to School: Students must be on time. Students who arrive at school after the 8:00 bell will report to the Office. Office staff will issue a tardy slip to the student. Students are considered tardy to class if they are not in their assigned location when the tardy bell rings. When late to school, the student must submit a written excuse to the teacher within three days. Tardies will be coded “unlawful” pending receipt of this note. The tardy code will not be changed if a note is received more than 3 days after the incident. Due to the time sensitivity of the attendance process, teachers will turn in tardy notes to the office the day they are received. Absences from School: When absent from school, the student must submit a written excuse to the teacher within three days of returning to school. This excuse must include the student’s name, reason for absence, date of absence, and signature of the parent/guardian. Absences will be coded “unlawful” (truant) pending receipt of this note. The absence code will not be changed if a note is received more than 3 days after the incident. Due to the time sensitivity of the attendance process, teachers will turn in absence notes to the office the day they are received. To maintain magnet assignment, students must abide by the following: No more than 10 unexcused tardies or 10 unexcused absences in one school year. Tardies and absences are counted separately, not combined, for the purposes of this policy. The Guilford County Schools Attendance Policy is clearly outlined in the Guilford County Schools Student Handbook*. The Handbook defines “lawful absences” and “unlawful absences”** in Section XII Selected Procedures and Adopted Policies: Attendance Policy K-12. The Guilford County Schools Board of Education has notified the Student Assignment Office of the following: Magnet school principals, following extensive efforts to resolve attendance or tardiness problems, are given authority to return magnet students to their home schools. Parents will be notified of Attendance Policy infractions in the following manner: Teacher contact/conference after 3 unexcused tardies or absences. Principal contact after 4, 6 and 9 unexcused tardies or absences. (Official letter will be sent) Social worker referral/contact after 6 unexcused tardies or absences. Referral to Attendance Committee after 8 unexcused tardies or absences. Reassignment to Home School after 10 unexcused tardies or absences. *Parents are expected to read the Student Handbook at the beginning of each school year in order to become familiar with all GCS policies governing student behavior and expectations. **Definitions: “LAWFUL ABSENCES: Examples of lawful absences: Death in the immediate family*, religious observances*, medical/dental appointments, military obligations, ***family trips, college visits, ***educational opportunities, shortterm illness with a doctor’s note, chronic illness with a doctor’s note*, illness with a parent’s note, other extenuating circumstances at the principal’s discretion. *Absences due to death in the immediate family, religious observances and chronic illness with a doctor’s note are exempt from make-up time. Students are required to complete all missed assignments. These absences are not included in excessive absence counts.” “UNLAWFUL ABSENCES: Unlawful (unexcused) absences: the student’s willful absences from school without the knowledge of the parents/guardians or the student’s absences from school without justifiable causes with the knowledge of parents/guardians. ***Teachers must be informed in advance if a student will be absent due to a “family trip” or an “educational opportunity.” Students will be expected to complete all missed class work in order for the absence to be excused.