ATTENDANCE The State of Illinois provides by law for the compulsory attendance of all children between the ages of seven and sixteen years. It is the duty of the principal and teachers to insist upon daily attendance. Principals have the obligation to see that the requirements of the law of the State of Illinois are met. Schools keep accurate and daily records of attendance, and a summary of these records are kept permanently on file. On time arrivals are of utmost importance as school starts right at 7:50 a.m. and tardiness delays a student’s daily learning process. Continued tardies and absences will be brought to the attention of the Regional Office of Education.
ABSENCES To be marked present for the morning, a student must be present for a minimum of 1 hour and 50 minutes between 7:50 and 11:30 a.m. To be marked present for the afternoon, a student must be in school for a minimum of 1 hour and 10 minutes between 12:10 and 2:43 p.m. Parents should phone or email the school regarding an absence by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the absence. “Valid cause” for absence shall be illness, including the mental or behavioral health of the student, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, or family emergency and shall include such other situations beyond the control of the student, as determined by the board of education in each district, or such other circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of the student. If your child must leave school during the day because of a doctor’s appointment, please send a note or email on or before the day of the appointment to the homeroom teacher. We discourage visits to the doctor during the school time but realize that there is sometimes no other alternative. Please come to the office and we’ll call for your child. In planning vacations, we urge you to consult the school calendar and to take your vacation during a time when school is not in session. Vacations during the school year are discouraged. If you must take your vacation during the school year, we urge that it be an educational trip. Since it is extremely difficult to give advance work for more than a couple days, it will be given at the discretion of the teacher. Make-up work must be of a high quality to be counted. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure make-up work is turned in. Tests that are missed must be made up no later than the second day after returning to school from vacation. A description of diagnostic procedures to be used for identifying the causes of unexcused student absenteeism, which shall, at a minimum, include interviews with the student, his or her parent or guardian, and any school officials who may have information about the reasons for the student’s attendance problem. The identification of supportive services to be made available to truant or chronically truant students. These services shall include, but need not be limited to, parent conferences, student counseling, family counseling, and information about existing community services that are available to truant and chronically truant students and relevant to their needs. Beginning July 1, 2018, every school district, charter school, or alternative school or any school receiving public funds shall collect and review its chronic absence data and determine what systems of support and resources are needed to engage chronically absent students and their families to encourage the habit of daily attendance and promote success. The review shall include an analysis of chronic absence data from each attendance center or campus of the school district, charter school, or alternative school or other school receiving public funds.
TARDINESS Only Doctor’s appointments, late bus arrivals, and road closures are an excused tardy. They are not marked on the permanent records. Any other tardy should have a written excuse and must be presented to the office. A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in the classroom for the 7:50 a.m. bell.