ATTENDANCE PROTOCOL

Students who leave campus without a pass from Attendance/Health Clerk will not be excused for their absence.  Parents first must contact the attendance office, have student be called to the office, then are allowed to leave when checked out from the attendance office.

Please read this document for full comprehensive information.

EXCUSED ABSENCES MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY PAPERWORK

The following absences are excused when accompanied by paperwork:

• Student medical appointments

• Student dental appointments

• Illnesses beyond five days

• School approved events such as field trips and sporting events with guardian approval

• Advance written request is required from parent or guardian for: Court appearances and other Legally Excused Absences (Ed Code 48205)

The following absences are also excused with parent contact with the school:

• ​Illness

• Death in the immediate family

Policy regarding make up work adheres to board policy:

BP 5120.3 regarding make up work is as follows:

Excused Absences

Students who miss school work because of an excused absence shall be given the opportunity to complete all assignments and tests that can be reasonably provided. As determined by the teacher, the assignments and tests shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the assignments and tests missed during the absence. Students shall receive full credit for work satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period of time. The teacher of the class(es) from which the student is absent shall determine the number of days in which the tests and assignments can be completed, which shall be not less than five school days nor more than twenty school days, or the end of the second semester, whichever comes first, unless an exception is agreed upon.

TIMELY NOTIFICATION - EARLY CHECKOUTS

Parents/visitors must check in at the kiosk in the 100 office anytime they need to be on campus.  This is our only point of entry.  Visitor parking is located near the office on Snell Ave. side of campus.  Once checked in and have received a visitor's badge, a staff will accompany them where needed.  

Please read this document for full comprehensive information.

SHORT-TERM INDEPENDENT STUDIES

If your student is going to miss 5-15 consecutive school days, you are encouraged to notify the Attendance Office as soon as possible to apply for Short-Term Independent Studies (at least three days notice is needed).  If your student qualifies, your student will be assigned a Short-Term Independent Studies teacher, work to do during the time the student is out of school, and the opportunity to have the absences excused if the work is completed. STIS is not granted for days falling on our finals schedule at the end of each semester.  For more information, please contact the Attendance Secretary.

ILLNESSES DURING SCHOOL

If your student should become ill while at school, they should speak with a teacher and receive a pass to the Health Office. The health clerk will work with parent/guardians to make pickup arrangements. Students SHOULD NOT come to the health office without a pass from a teacher. If your student calls you to advise that they are ill, please direct them to the health office with a teacher pass.

COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE

California compulsory education law requires everyone age 6-18 to attend school until graduation from high school or passing the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE).

Here is the link to the District Attendance Policy.

Statistics show that students who attend school regularly are significantly more likely to pass their classes than those who are absent.  Similarly, students who arrive to class on time are significantly more likely to succeed than those who are tardy.  The bottom line: students need to be in class and on time to have their best chance at success.  Please understand that our daily average attendance is about 95%-96%, which means on a given day, we might have as many as 100 students who miss school.  This means at least 100 students a day who need to have their attendance posted in our student information system. This also means we are losing 4%-5% of our overall funding due to absences.  

A school like Santa Teresa High School should have a daily average attendance closer to 97%-98%, which means we are definitely losing about 2% of our annual budget.  Please help ensure your student attends school regularly.