Attendance

Attendance Hotline: (858) 668-2730 available 24 hours

Sarah Pierce, Attendance Technician
[email protected]

Attendance in school is vital for a successful education. When students miss school, they miss the following: direct teacher instruction, clarifying homework questions or due dates, working with peers on projects and assignments, developing ideas, receiving help and feedback from others, creating, analyzing, and using high order thinking skills etc.

Notifying the school of absences, tardies and/or early dismissals:

Please call the Hotline (858-668-2730) as early as possible, it is checked throughout the day.
Written notes are accepted and should be given to the Attendance Technician.
Only parents and legal guardians may call the hotline or write attendance notes.

CLEARING ABSENCES

Absences: If your student is absent, please call the attendance hotline (858)668-2730 as soon as possible each day your student is absent (unless you give us a date range for multiple days).

Parent or legal guardian please call and state the following information:

Your student’s first and last name
Their grade
The date of the absence(s)
The reason (if sick, please list symptoms)
Your relationship to the student
A phone number where you can be reached.

Note: Students will be listed as truant if we do not receive a call or note from a parent or guardian.

EARLY RELEASE

To prevent delays for you and help us minimize interruptions to the classrooms please note the following:

Please call the Attendance Hotline or send a note with your student for the Attendance Technician.
Students must be signed out at the Attendance Desk before departing early.
Parent/guardian be prepared to show your ID.
Students are not allowed to wait in front of the school to be picked up during school hours.
Please meet your child at the Attendance Desk to be signed out at the time of departure.

Parent or legal guardian please call the Attendance Hotline and state the following information:

Your student’s first and last name
Their grade
The time your student needs to leave school
Whether or not your student will return that day
Who is picking up your student.

Note: We will not release your student to anyone but a parent/guardian unless we have prior approval. The designated person must show ID and be over the age of 18. If your student returns to school after being picked up early, please have him/her check back in at the Attendance Desk before heading to class

TARDINESS

Students who are not in their seat by 8:30 a.m. or 9:50 a.m. (Wednesday late start), will be marked tardy. All students who are late need to check in with the Attendance Technician.

To excuse your student's tardy, please follow any of these procedures:

Accompany your student to the office, and sign in at the Attendance desk.
Call and leave a message on the Attendance Hotline.
Send a note with your student for the Attendance Technician.

Note: Parents may not excuse tardies which occur between classes during the school day. If your student believes a tardy was given incorrectly, please have the student email the teacher to clear the tardy.

EXCESSIVE ABSENCES AND TRUANCIES

The law in California regarding compulsory school attendance for minors is very specific and carries penalties for both parents and minors for failure to comply with these regulations. The process is explained below with the purpose of providing full disclosure about the legal responsibility parents have to ensure their student attends school on time, every day. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to provide your children with the finest education.

Excessive Excused Absences: 12 full-day excused absences in one school year are considered excessive. Parents will receive a letter from the school office as notification. 16 absences will trigger a 2nd letter, and 20 will trigger a 3rd.
Truancy: 3 truancies (unexcused absences) in one school year will trigger a letter home, 6 truancies will trigger a 2nd letter, and 9 will trigger a 3rd.

Copies of the above letters are sent to the district’s Student Attendance and Discipline office. Students with truancies or excessive excused absences will be referred to a Student Attendance Review Team. This team is comprised of Poway Unified School District personnel and works with the student and parents to eliminate attendance problems and issues appropriate disciplinary measures.

PLANNED ABSENCES (OCIS Contracts)

Attendance is also vital for school funding, and any absences reduce the funding the school gets from the state (unless the student is on an Off-Campus Independent Study Contract [OCIS]).

If there is a planned extended absence, please see the Attendance Technician at least two weeks prior to the absence to set up a homework contract.
An OCIS contract allows your student to complete missed work and helps the school to continue to be funded by the state.
Absences accumulated while on an OCIS Homework Contract do NOT count toward a student's absence total (unless the student does not complete all assisgnments before returning to school)