Attendance

Daily Attendance Matters

Students are expected to attend school every day and be on time. Children who miss school miss out on opportunities to learn, to build lasting friendships and to develop the skills and attitudes needed to become good citizens and valued employees. There is a clear connection between student attendance and student performance in school. Student absences also affect school budgets. Schools and school districts get a significant amount of their funding based upon the number of students who actually attend school each day. This is called Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Potential losses in ADA revenue affect all students because they can lead to budget cuts affecting a variety of programs, as well as affecting individual schools. 

Absences for the following reasons are excused, but NOT funded. (Funding is only earned for a day when a student is present.)

• Illness, medical or dental appointments. Please make appointments on Wednesday afternoon or after school hours so that your child does not miss instruction.

• Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family

• Religious holidays 

• Family emergencies

• Court appearances

• Independent Study Contracts 

Absences for the following reasons are NOT excused:

• Oversleeping

• Transportation issues

• Vacations

When to Stay at Home

COVID Protocol: 

Please keep students home if a student has one or more symptom associated with COVID-19: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea.

 Please keep students home if they have:

• Fever above 100 degrees F

• Eye infection

• Undiagnosed skin rash 

• Vomits more than once

• Flu: body aches, fever, headache

When a child is absent, families must call the school office by 9:10 a.m. at (619) 362-4200. If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to come to school, please contact our health office.

If your child will be absent from school for five or more days, please contact the school office at least one week ahead to make arrangements for a short-term Contract for Independent Study. Academic assignments will be given to the student to complete during the absence. When the student returns with successfully completed assignments, she/he will be given credit for the missed days. For attendance purposes, these will not be considered unexcused absences. Without the contract, however, the absence will be unexcused.

Truancy Notification Procedure

All children between 6 and 18 years of age are required by California’s Education Code to attend school, and their parents have a legal responsibility to ensure their child’s attendance. The law also states that a student’s refusal to attend school regularly can result in a referral to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB), Juvenile Probation, and the Juvenile Court System. Additionally, parents who fail to compel their child’s attendance may face criminal prosecution and penalties. 

All late arrivals over 30 minutes or early dismissals over 30 minutes (without doctor’s notes) and unexcused absences are considered truancies.

• After three (3) truancies, parents will receive a First Notice of Truancy.

• After five (6) truancies, parents will receive a Second Notice of Truancy.

• After the Second Notice of Truancy, parents will receive a notice to come in and speak with the Counselor regarding the truancies. 

• After (7) truancies, parents will receive a Notice of Habitual Truancy.