Attendance

Compulsory education laws mandated by the State of Florida require regular attendance. Each parent of a child of compulsory attendance age is responsible for the child's attendance as required by law. For more information, access www.leg.state. fl.us.

PERIOD AT TENDANCE

Period attendance is documented. Please note that the student risks failing any subject in a given quarter if he/she is absent six or more excused or unexcused absences per class. If a student is absent more than 20 minutes of a class, he/she will be considered absent from that class.

A student must be in attendance at least three mods to participate in athletics and extracurricular activities (including team practices). A student who attends Prom or Grad Bash must be in attendance for the entire day on the last school day prior to the event.

ABSENCE

An absence will be excused for the following reasons: sickness, quarantine, contagious disease, scheduled doctor or dentist appointment, pre-approved college visits, pre-approved career shadowing days, required court appearance or supervised visitation, death in the family, funeral, extreme family emergency. Unexcused absences include but are not limited to the following: pleasure trips, suspension from school, truancy; or other avoidable absences that are not on the "excused absence" list. Students with more than five excused and/or unexcused absences in any given class within a quarter risk recieving a failing grade for that quarter.

A student’s absence from school will be recorded as either an excused absence or an unexcused absence. Failure to provide a note will result in an automatic unexcused absence. Any absence requires: 1. a phone call from a parent/guardian to the school between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

2. a note from a parent/guardian stating the date(s) of the absence(s) and the specific reason for the absence. This note must be turned into the main office before school the day the student returns to school. 3. A physician's note is needed when the student has been absent for three or more consecutive days for the following reasons: •Has had surgery •Is returning to school after a hospitalization •Has been under a doctor's care for a significant illness •Is returning to school after being excluded because of a communicable disease A student with an excused absence must make up schoolwork according to the policy on page 17. A student receives a grade of zero for all schoolwork missed due to an unexcused absence.

Students out of school for an approved period of time due to a medical quarantine may be recorded as "Present Medical" if they successfully cooperate with the school in a distance learning program. Approval for the extended time away will only be granted with medical documentation approved by school administration.

PLANNED ABSENCES

The Office of the Dean of Students tracks student attendance. A student with 5 unexcused absences within a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences within a 90day calendar period may be referred to the principal. A student who is chronically absent may be placed on Attendance Probation. The student, parent and dean will meet to review the terms of the probation and sign a contract in an effort to improve attendance. Failure to comply with the process and/or the specific conditions of the attendance probation contract may result in an Administrative Withdrawal.

The Principal will document this meeting to include date, time, attendees, and corrective action plan decided upon to improve the student's attendance. At the principal's discretion, the student may be warned that continues excessive absences could result in dismissal from the school.

Family Functions

A student who needs to be excused for a family function/trip must report to the Office of the Dean of Students at least one week before the planned departure, with a note from a parent stating the duration and reason for the absence. The student will be given a Planned Absence Form, which must be signed by all teachers and returned to the same office prior to the absence. Parents should consider the academic welfare of their student when requesting to miss a school day for a family function/trip.

College Visits/Career Shadowing

A student who needs to be excused for a college visit must report to the Office of the Dean of Students at least one week before the visit to pick up a Documentation of College Visit form, which must be signed by a parent and all teachers and returned to the same office prior to the college visit. The dean will then sign approval and return the original form to the student. The student will ask a college official to complete and sign the bottom portion. The student must turn in the completed form to the office upon return to school.

A student who would like to take a career shadowing day must first be approved by the Office of School Counseling, who will in turn notify the Office of the Dean of Students of the approval. The student must bring a note from a parent to the office requesting the career shadowing day. The student will be given evaluation forms which both the student and career professional must complete. The student must turn in the evaluation forms to the office upon return to school.

COLLEGE VISITS/CAREER SHADOWING DAYS ARE LIMITED TO THREE OCCURRENCES PER SEMESTER.

If proper procedures are followed and proper documentation is provided, days missed will be recorded as excused absences. For all planned absences, students will be held responsible for all schoolwork. When a student knows that he/she will be absent from class, the student should schedule a time and date with the teacher to make up quizzes or tests. This should be done prior to the absence.

PLANNED APPOINTMENTS

Parents should make every effort to schedule appointments during school vacations and after school hours. A student who wishes to be excused for medical, dental, and legal appointments should report to the deans’ window by 7:40 a.m. the day of the appointment, with a note from a parent containing the reason and time for the early dismissal, a verification phone number, and the time he/she expects to return to school.

The student’s name will appear on the Daily Bulletin and the student must report to the deans’ window at the appropriate time to sign out and obtain an early dismissal slip. Students will NOT be called out of class except in extreme emergencies. Students must sign in when they return and present documentation. An excused absence for each period absent will be recorded. The school reserves the right to deny early dismissal if proper documentation is not provided.

TARDINESS

Tardy students cause disruption in the classroom and impede the learning process. Students must report to their first period class by 7:50 a.m. Students reporting to school after 7:50 a.m. must report to the main office for an admit pass. Students must report to all subsequent classes on time.

All tardy to school occurrences are unexcused with the exception of those documented as court dates, doctors’ appointments, or other circumstances excused by the dean of students. For subsequent classes, a student who is tardy is marked unexcused by the classroom teacher unless the student presents a pass (e.g. school counseling appointment, dean).

Students will receive a central detention after they accumulate three unexcused tardies to school or three tardies to class in a given quarter. A student who receives three central detentions will be assigned a Saturday School for any subsequent offense. Parents will also receive a letter when their student is assigned Saturday School. Students receiving three Saturday Schools in a quarter will be suspended for one day. A $40.00 supervision fee will be billed to the account of those students who are assigned Saturday School.

LEAVING SCHOOL GROUNDS

A student may not leave campus during official school hours without written permission from a parent that has been confirmed by the Office of the Dean's of Students. Students are required to sign out prior to leaving campus for an appointment that has been confirmed. Leaving school grounds without permission is considered truancy and may result in suspension.

HALL PASSES

Hall passes should be restricted to emergency situations. It is the student's responsibility to sign out by creating a digital pass and have the permission of the teacher before departing the classroom. Students must leave cell phones in the classroom.

WITHDRAWAL FROM SCHOOL

The process of withdrawing a student from school begins in the Office of School Counseling and must be initiated by the parent/guardian. An appointment is required, during which a withdrawal form will be completed. If both parents hold joint custody, both parents must sign the withdrawal form. Once the financial account is cleared by the business office, and the student’s iPad and accessories are returned, along with any school-issued uniforms or gear for athletics, co-curricular or extracurricular teams/organizations, the student’s records may be released to the receiving school.