Attendance Guidelines

Dance is a discipline as well as an art form. The Wooden Floor trains bodies, and in that process it helps form minds and strengthen spirits. Our philosophy is that there is no substitute for one’s body in class – participation is everything. The Wooden Floor takes a whole person educational approach to train bodies, minds, and spirits. Students become active agents in their own empowered learning rather than passive recipients of received knowledge. Active learning and community building are important factors from participation.

An attendance of 80 percent of classes is necessary in order to maintain good standing. Parents receive three attendance reports by mail and are more than welcome to come in and speak with the Student Support Services Coordinator if they have a question or concern regarding their child’s attendance.

TARDINESS

All classes begin at the times listed on the weekly class schedule. Tardy students will not be allowed to take class for reasons of injury prevention as well as promoting discipline, respect, and accountability. Tardiness interrupts the learning process for all students; also, students may not leave or be taken out of class early.

ABSENCES

Maintaining excellent attendance can be challenging. Absences may be excused for the following reasons and with appropriate documentation within the first week of absence:

Excused Absences:

• Illness requiring a doctor’s note • Bereavement –with documentation • Summer school –with documentation • Medical or dental appointments –with documentation • Mandatory school events -with documentation • Religious commitments -with documentation

Unexcused Absences:

• Common illness (no doctor’s note) • Minor injury (no doctor’s note) • Forgot dancewear • Traffic • Homework • Late to class • Transportation issues

Under no circumstances will The Wooden Floor be flexible and/or excuse the following absences:

• Athletics/Sports/Dance

Team /Cheer/other lessons or extra-curricular activities • Vacations taken in conflict with The Wooden Floor’s annual schedule (refer to calendar on last page)

“I want to go into computer engineering because I really like coding. Dance taught me to be creative, so I didn’t want a job where I couldn’t be creative, and engineering allows you to do that. I coded my own website and I want to be able to create technologies because tech can help society. The Wooden Floor showed me that there was help everywhere, and now that I’m older, I look for help when I need it. If I have a challenge, I look for whom can help me. I also try to look for ways to help others.”

Daniela graduated from Segerstrom High School with a GPA of 4.5. She was a finalist for the prestigious National College Match Questbridge Scholarship. In addition, she was very active at The Wooden Floor and was in 10 Annual Concerts. She currently attends Northeastern University and is majoring in Computer Engineering. Her sister Alejandra graduated from The Wooden Floor in 2013 and was the first in their family to attend college. Her younger brother Juan Carlos is in The Wooden Floor’s Class of 2023.

CONDITIONAL PARTICIPATION

Students are placed on probation if their attendance drops below 80 percent in any session. Students with more than one session of low attendance may be dropped from The Wooden Floor. If dropped, students with extraordinary reasons for excessive absences may apply for reinstatement and, if approved, will enter into a year of conditional participation. This may only be granted at the discretion of the Artistic Director in consultation with The Wooden Floor staff.

WHEN TO KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME

The Wooden Floor has created the following guidelines to align ourselves with the safeguard practices that are recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC): If your child is sick, please follow these guidelines for when to keep your child home: • A temperature of 100 degrees or above • Students must be fever-free without fever-reducing medication (such as Tylenol or Motrin) for at least 24 hours before returning to The Wooden Floor • Vomiting and/or diarrhea; student may return to

The Wooden Floor 24 hours after last episode • Uncontrollable cough or wheezing or shortness of breath • Suspected communicable disease (example: strep throat, influenza, Covid-19, pink eye, chicken pox, lice, etc) • A rash of unknown origin – student may return to school when written authorization is received from the health care provider If a student is discovered to be sick at The Wooden Floor, they will be sent home immediately. of consecutive absence due to illness or injury, a Medical Leave of Absence may be granted up to one year. Such circumstances will require documentation from a physician, and permission to return must be given in writing by the same physician. Non-medical leaves of absence may be granted at the discretion of The Wooden Floor staff. If medical leave exceeds one year, student may be withdrawn from The Wooden Floor. Daniela, Class of 2021

PROGRAM PARTICIPATION POLICY

The Wooden Floor is committed to helping students finish high school on time and immediately enroll in higher education. In order to best support our students, we offer the

following programs that require student participation:

• Tutoring Program

(Mandatory for students with a GPA of 2.0 or less) • Empowerment Workshops • Next Step™ Program

(Mandatory for students in grades 6 to 12)

Students who do not participate in scheduled programs may be dropped from The Wooden Floor.

ATTENDANCE AND ANNUAL CONCERT PARTICIPATION

Annual Concert participation is a privilege. Students with excellent attendance, grade point average, and behavior in levels 4 and up with recommendation, and embodiment of The Wooden Floor values will be allowed to participate in the Annual Concert. Students cast in the Annual Concert must maintain their regular schedule of classes during the rehearsal period or they will be dropped from the Annual Concert. Rehearsals are not a substitute for technique classes. 100 percent rehearsal attendance is expected. At the discretion of the Artistic Director, dancers may be dismissed from concert after three absences regardless of the reason. There are no excused absences from rehearsal and concert performances.