Attendance / Attendance & Grading Update

Nashua Board of Education Policy JH-R

STUDENT ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

Procedures for Excused Absences and Late Arrivals

All excused absences originating from outside the school must be documented through written/phone communication from the parent, and verified as necessary by the school.

Parents should report an absence, including the reason for the absence, on the morning of or evening before the absence.

When the school has not been contacted prior to an absence, parents must provide, by the end of the next school day, a note including the student’s name, grade, date(s) of absence, specific reason for the absence and the parent/guardian’s name, phone number and signature.

Additionally:

For an Illness. A doctor’s note may be required for absences that exceed five (5) consecutive school days or ten (10) cumulative school days in a school year, or to document a long-term or chronic health condition.

Religious holidays are restricted to those holidays regularly observed as part of the family’s

Attending the funeral of a family member. If the funeral requires an absence of more than three days, the school should be notified in advance. A school administrator may excuse an absence for the funeral of another individual who has played a significant role in a student’s life.

Field trips. If the field trip leaves after the beginning of the school day or returns before the end of the school day, students are expected to attend all of the classes up until the scheduled departure and upon return. If the student does not attend those classes, he/she will be considered truant from them.

Personal or family emergencies requiring student absences. These are approved at the discretion of the school administrator.

College visitations. Must be approved in advance by a school administrator.

Family obligations. Require prior approval from a school administrator.

Procedures for Early Dismissal

Parents requesting dismissal before the end of the school day must make a written/phone communication request. High school students must have signed permission by parents if under age 18 and all students must properly sign out before leaving. Signed permissions are subject to verification. Early dismissal should be requested only in an emergency or extenuating circumstance.

Legal References:

RSA 193:1 Duty of Parent; Compulsory Attendance by Pupil

RSA 193:16 School Attendance

RSA 189:35-a Truancy Defined

Ed. 306.18 C 6 Board Approved: 03/14/2013

Class Expectations/Make-Up - Academic Consequences

Attendance and class participation are key elements in every student's success. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with the teacher to get assignments and re-schedule tests.

Any student who has an absence will be allowed to make up the class work, tests or quizzes within five (5) school days of the student's return to school when reasonable. Long-term assignments and projects will be due upon the student’s return to school. Additional time may be granted for excused absences.

For student absences, a note or telephone call must be received within 24 hours of such absence or this absence will be deemed unexcused.

Students who miss quarter end or semester end assignments may submit missed assignments at the teacher’s discretion.

Procedures – For Absences

When a student is going to be absent, a parent/guardian must call to notify the school of the absence and the reason for it. These calls should be made before 7:30 a.m. on the day of the absence, giving:

the caller's name

the student's name and grade

the specific reason for the absence

Calls may be left via voice mail the evening before the absence. The call and reason for absence will be noted by the secretary as calls are retrieved from voice mail.

Calls to the parent/guardian, will be made when a student is absent and the parent/guardian has not called the school. The purpose of these calls will be to determine the reason for the absence. In addition:

If a student is absent with no contact from home, a call will be made to the student’s home via an automated system.

Teachers are expected to call parents when absences impact academic achievement.

For Dismissals:

A student who is to be dismissed must bring a note from home to his or her Academy office before school on the day of the dismissal. Also, the parent/guardian may call the Academy office for a dismissal. Requests are subject to verification. When the time arrives for dismissal, the student must sign out of the Security Office before leaving the building.

The team/academy may define incentives to encourage attendance. Incentives must be approved by the building principal, communicated to the parent/guardian in writing, and put in place at the beginning of the marking period. These incentives associated with privileges may include but are not limited to the following:

Participation in extra-curricular activities.

Students must be present the entire day on the day of an activity in order to participate in extra-curricular activities.

Participation in field trips, speaker presentations, etc.

Opportunities to purchase or keep parking permits.

Other incentives may include prizes and privileges to reward exemplary attendance. These may be unique to specific academies and teams.

When calling your child out of school, or for when they need to be dismissed, please contact your student’s Academy Office.

For all first year freshman contact:

Ms. Frenette

frenettek@nashua.edu

Phone: 603-966-1340

For all 10^th-12^th grade students with last name A-F contact:

Mrs. Massua

massual@nashua.edu

Phone: 603-966-1210

For all 10^th-12^th grade students with last name G-M contact:

Mrs. Capone

caponel@nashua.edu

Phone: 603-966-1150

For all 10^th-12^th grade students with last name N-Z contact:

Mrs. Lahey

laheyl@nashua.edu

Phone: 603-966-1400