Upper School Attendance Attendance Policy

Class attendance is an essential part of the educational philosophy and process at Webb School; the school will honor students’ choices regarding attendance by holding them accountable for those choices. It is the expectation of Webb that each student be in school and on time every day. When students are absent, all pertinent procedures included in this section must be followed in the ways described.

Students and parents are expected to be familiar with the school’s attendance policy and procedures, and it is their responsibility to communicate with the Attendance Coordinator, Leah Roberts, any and all absences from class or other school commitments When a student is or will be absent due to illness, or is running late for any reason, parents must phone the Upper School (291-3805) before 9:15 a.m. on the day of the absence.

Failure to follow the attendance policy may result in consequences for students. Finally, a student’s grade may be affected by excessive absences regardless of the reason for the absence.

Excessive Absences

Students with excessive absences (10 percent of any one class per semester), risk forfeiting academic privileges, athletic privileges, and course credits. If absences become excessive (10 percent of any one class per semester), parent conferences are expected, and re-enrollment contracts or diplomas may be withheld.

An exception to this policy involves situations that require a medical leave of absence from school. Such an exception requires the approval of the Head of Upper School and only after documentation from a physician(s) has been submitted to the school for review.

Absences Or Tardies To First Period

Classes start at 8:20 a..m., Monday through Friday, and 8:40 a.m. on Wednesdays. Students who have a first period are expected to be at school on time for their first class of the day. If a student arrives late, they are required to check in with our Attendance Coordinator, Leah Roberts.

If a student has a first period class and arrives to school after 8:40 a.m., he/she must still attend the first period class but with the understanding that he/she has missed enough of the class period to be marked absent for that class. Students who mistakenly sleep through a class and subsequently miss a class will be given an unexcused absence, regardless of parental permission. In addition, we ask that students driving to school make the necessary arrangements to leave early enough from home in the morning so as to arrive to their first period class on time. Any unforeseen delay driving to school will be reviewed by a member of the Student Life Office.

NOTE: A parent phone call does not automatically excuse the absence or tardy.

Class Cuts

If a student deliberately misses a class (including labs, Chapel, or other school commitments), he or she may expect to receive a detention. A second offense will result in a Saturday School. The absence will be considered unexcused; therefore, the teacher does not accept missed assignments or offer make-up work of any kind.

Anticipated Student Absences

Students and parents are strongly discouraged from using school days for absences other than medical or emergency reasons. Webb asks parents not to schedule appointments or travel plans that take place before the end of the school day or before vacation periods begin. In rare instances when class time is missed, students must understand that they will be responsible for their make-up work. In Webb’s college preparatory environment, unnecessary student absences do cause additional work, challenges, and, in some cases, stress for students upon their return.

Students who know that they will miss school for college visits, court dates, or other personal reasons must complete an Anticipated Absence Form. This form is available in the Upper School Office. The student must take the form to all of his/her teachers for signatures. The completed form must be returned to Attendance Coordinator, Leah Roberts, at least one day prior to the first day of absence.

Students missing class for medical appointments, religious holidays, or schoolsponsored events do not need to complete an Anticipated Absence Form, but they are required to notify their teachers and the Attendance Coordinator prior to anticipated absences. The student is responsible for arranging with their teachers for the timely completion of all work missed as the result of the absences. If a student fails to make up work on schedule, he/she may receive a zero or some other academic consequence for the work missed.

College Visits

All students planning to miss any part of a school day to visit a college must complete an Anticipated Absence Form before going on the college visit. The completed form should be returned to Leah Roberts before any classes are missed. College visits planned in conjunction with a school holiday must have visit verification documentation from the school for an excused absence. Seniors may take as many college visits as necessary during their final year here at Webb School. All other students will be limited to no more than three approved college visits each academic year.

Appointments

Students should not have appointments during the school day. After school, weekends, holidays, and vacation periods should be used for appointments.

In the rare instance where a student wishes to be excused from class for a medical, dental, or orthodontist appointment, or a court appearance, the following procedure should be followed:

Students who will miss the start of the school day for an appointment must have a parent contact Leah Roberts at 291-3805 by 9:15 a.m. on the day of the appointment. If a student leaves campus for an appointment, he/she must have a parent contact Ms. Roberts prior to leaving campus.

Upon returning to school, a student who misses any class time as the result of an appointment with a doctor, dentist, or other health care provider, must bring a note signed by the doctor's, dentist's, or other health care provider's office confirming the appointment . It will be considered an "unexcused" absence without such documentation.

Any student who does not follow the above procedure may be considered to have skipped a class without approval.

Tardiness

Since tardiness is disruptive to instruction, students should always be mindful of the importance of arriving on time for each class. The same criteria for an absence, whether excused or unexcused, are applied to tardiness. Students who arrive late to school must get a class admittance slip from the Attendance Coordinator. Students who arrive late to class without an admittance slip will be sent back to the Upper School Office for a tardy slip. Students who arrive 20 or more minutes late for a class will be marked absent for that class. Each student will be allowed two (2) tardies per half-semester without a consequence from the school.

• 3rd & 4th Tardy = After-School Detention

• 5th & 6th Tardy = Three-Hour Saturday School

• 7th Tardy = Non-Drivers: Three-Hour Saturday School/Drivers: Removal of Parking Privileges for One Week.

After the 8th tardy, there will be a meeting with parents and a member of the Student Life Office.

NOTE: All detentions will be scheduled during one of the next three available time slots of the occurring infraction

Detention Schedule

Morning Detention

7:25 a.m. - 8:10 a.m.

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Afternoon Detention

3:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

Tardies are a disruption to the learning environment and will continue to be an area of focus. .

Illness During The School Day

When students need to go to the school's Health Center/ nurse's office during the school day, they should either check with the Attendance Coordinator, Leah Roberts, in the Upper School Office or they may proceed directly to the nurse’s office if their teacher gives them permission. Because Webb is responsible for a student’s safety during the school day, it is imperative that he/she can be accounted for at all times. Therefore, it is important to note that students must always obtain permission from a member of the faculty before going to the school's Health Center. Any student who does not follow the above procedure will be considered as having cut a class.

Dismissal From Class

A student who is dismissed from a class for behavioral reasons is required to see a member from the Office of Student Life immediately for consequences. If the student misses more than half of the class as a result, he or she will be marked absent (unexcused) for the class.

LEAVING CAMPUS WITHOUT PERMISSION ELIGIBILITY FOR CO-CURRICULAR PARTICIPATION

To participate in co-curricular activities (including dances and athletic events) after school, students must be present for a majority of the school day. Therefore, a student must attend at least three academic classes to be allowed to participate. Exceptions include medical appointments, religious commitments, or family emergencies. A member from the Office of Student Life will approve all exceptions to this policy.

Since the health and safety of students are of primary importance to our mission as a school, Webb considers students who leave campus during any part of the school day, without authorization from a member of the Office of Student Life, to have committed a serious offense. This first violation of this school policy will typically result in the loss of driving privileges on campus for two weeks. A second violation of this policy will include an out-of-school suspension. In addition, students who do not yet drive from home to school and who violate this policy will face consequences, including two weeks of after-school detention and Saturday School.

EARLY DISMISSAL/LATE ARRIVAL

SIGNING IN & OUT

Students leaving early from or arriving late to campus for any reason must sign in or out in the Upper School Office. This includes students who are FREE first period and those who have free periods at the end of the day. Students may NOT be signed out for lunch (this includes post-Chapel Talk celebrations) unless they are accompanied by one of their parents and/or a legal guardian. Even in these special cases, the student is still responsible for returning in time for class.

In all circumstances, leaving campus is NOT permitted unless the student has permission from a member of the Office of Student Life or Head of Upper School. Failure to comply with these procedures will result in loss of driving privileges, early-morning detention, and/or other responses deemed appropriate by the Head of Upper School. In addition, academic restrictions will jeopardize a student’s opportunity to sign out.

Students with driving privileges who are in good academic and disciplinary standing may arrive late to school in the morning or leave school the last period of the day if they do not miss class. Both privileges are the responsibility of the parent or guardian, even if another student is driving. Early dismissal students who sign out in the Upper School Office are expected to leave campus. Early dismissal and late arrival students must sign in and out with the Upper School office when arriving late and before leaving school. Leaving school without proper authorization may result in disciplinary action.