Attendance Policy

Illness/injury:  

When a student is unable to attend school due to illness or injury, a document or notification (call or note from the family or doctor) is required to indicate it as excused.  

• If an accommodation is required to return to school (cast or medication) families must call Ms. Yasmina Ellis about 504 plans or Medication Administration Forms. If families fail to seek the necessary accommodation plans, any continuing absences due to illness or injury, including asthma-related absences, may be considered unexcused.  

• The school follows the DOE policy on Head Lice.  

Religious observation:  

When a student is unable to attend school due to religious observation, the family’s request in writing is required to indicate an excused absence. Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A-630. 

• Family emergency: When a student is unable to attend school due to a death or an emergency, notification and documentation by the family is required to indicate an excused absence. 

• If a student requires supports to return to school (transportation, counseling, supplies), the family must call Ms. Suzy Acacho, 718-584-6764 to discuss their needs.  

• Absences to attend funerals outside the country will not be excused.  

• Pre-arranged appointments: When a student is unable to attend school due to appointments with the court, social services, or other city agencies, notification and documentation by the family is required to indicate an excused absence. 

• Up to three full-day absences for school visits related to the middle school or high school application process or college visits will be considered excused with appropriate documentation of the activities.  

• Whenever possible, families are expected to schedule appointments, including school visits and doctors’ visits, outside of regular school hours, or to schedule appointments so the student does not miss an entire day of school.  

o Prior to scheduling medical appointments, check with the School Based Health Clinic.  

Families are expected to notify the school whenever a student is unable to attend school, either in advance of the absence (preferred) or following the absence. Without explanation of a reason, the absence(s) are considered unexcused. 

• Immunization exclusion: When a student is unable to attend school due to lack of appropriate immunizations the absence(s) are considered unexcused. Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A-701.  

• Family vacations or travel: Families should plan vacations and trips when school is not in session. If students do miss school, families must work with the school to develop plans for take-home and make-up work. Any unexcused absence in a course/periods is a cut 

• It is the family’s responsibility to call the main office before …. 8 a.m. to inform the school of the reason for any absence. When a student returns from a full-day absence, he/she must go to the main office and see Ms. Pamela Smith or Ms. Suzy Acacho to  submit a note or documentation ini . A record of the absence (excused or not) will be shared with all of the student’s teachers. Set Attendance and Lateness Policies Division of School Climate and Wellness SY19 4  

• For any absence, students must make up any exams, quizzes, interim assessments, or other tests. It is the student’s responsibility (parents for students in elementary school)  to coordinate make-up work with the teachers. (See full grading policies for options and tutoring hours.)  

• If a student is absent due to traveling or doctor appointments, the parent must see Pamela Smith to discuss alternatives and avoid such absences in the future. If a student will be out of school for two weeks or more, families are asked to attend a conference and complete a transition plan that will include a schedule for missed classwork and for mandatory tutoring/lessons at lunch, after school or Saturday upon return. Current contact information will be reviewed and updated to prepare for any contingency that delays the student’s return to school. 

If a student arrives at school at 8:35 a.m. or later, student/parent must stop at the front desk to get a late pass and  provide a reason for the lateness. 

• Lateness may be considered excused for the same reasons provided above for absence (Illness/injury, religious observation, family emergency, pre-arranged appointments) or school bus delays or documented MTA delays. 

• Lateness due to routine delays in public transportation are not considered excused. Students and families need to allow ample time for travel and monitor MTA reports on [1010 WINS AM].There are no exceptions for inclement weather, and families are advised to leave extra time for travel.  

• Students who are less than five minutes late  (before 8:35 a.m.) should go promptly to class where the teacher will mark the lateness and collect any documentation for the lateness. 

• After 8:30 a.m. students must enter the building through the main entrance on the Grand Concourse and must go to the security desk and provide a reason for the lateness.  

• During inclement weather the late pass issuance will be waived.  

• The attendance team will follow up with families about recurring lateness issues, including recurring lateness that may be considered excused. 

A student can be dismissed from school early to the family or a person who has been identified on the emergency contact card. Anyone picking up a student must come to the office and provide a photo ID. Students under age 18 may/may not leave school early without an accompanying authorized adult. 

• Early departures may be indicated by a reason code on the student’s attendance record. 

• The attendance team will follow up with families about recurring incidents of leaving school early.  

• Every month a letter will be sent to the home of each student who was absent during that time period. The letter will indicate the date(s) of absence. This letter is the official notification of daily absences). It is very important that parents keep all contact information updated. Please alert Ms. Pamela Smith,  Ms. Suzy Acacho, and/or Ms. Vivian Ortiz of any changes to address or phone numbers.  

• Families can check student attendance online with a NYC School Account. 

• At the end of each marking period the family should review the record of attendance that appears on the report card. If an error has been made, notify Ms. Pamela Smith.   Errors in the attendance or lateness record cannot be corrected after mid-July.  

• After the current school year, inaccurate attendance and lateness records may be amended, per Chancellor’s Regulation A-820 as a letter to the student's file.  

• If families have any questions or concerns about getting students to school every day, they can call Ms. Pamela Smith at 718-584-6764 

No number of absences can prevent promotion to the next grade or graduation. However, it is more likely that a student who misses school will have lower grades, test scores and may not meet the academic standards for promotion or graduation.  

Lateness to class may result in a lower class average due to the loss of instructional time in activities such as: classroom participation, tests, dialogues, speeches, group work, lab work, etc. 

• It is the student and family’s responsibility to arrange for make-up work and there may be required lunch, after school, or Saturday lessons.  

• To aid students and families in keeping up with coursework missed due to absences, the school offers students the ability to utilize on-line learning platforms such as I-Ready, Raz-Kidz, MyOn · Complete school grading and make-up policies are posted/shared…  

Only students who are in school on the day of after school activities (dances, clubs) can participate in after school activities.  

• In order to attend  Afterschool enrichment programs (violin, choir, drumming, gymnastics etc.), students must maintain 90 percent attendance, counting only unexcused absences within each marking period. For a typical marking period of 30 days, this means no more than two unexcused absences. 
• Perfect Attendance: Students with no absences or lateness
• Monthly Class Contest… 
• Every month at school wide assembly.... 
• Annual…

We will provide outreach and guidance interventions for students who exhibit attendance problems, including arriving late, leaving early, or cutting. Deans, guidance counselors, teachers, social workers, or other school staff can all be involved in facilitating attendance resolutions. 

• After five absences (or… n number lateness/leave early), excused or not, a guidance conference will be scheduled to understand the reasons and set up an intervention plan. After 10 absences (or… lateness/leave early), excused or not, students complete a contract with steps for mitigating the reasons.  

• Whenever students miss ten days in a row, outreach to the family is required to understand and try to resolve the reasons for the absences. For students in grade 8 and under, such outreach is also required when the students miss 20 days within three months.  

• For continued unexcused absences (or lateness, leaving early or cutting), students appears before the Attendance Review Board to review the results of conferences and the contract and to make further recommendation that may include “Success mentor” or peer buddy and daily check-ins;  

• Home visit or family conferences to better understand causes;  

• loss of school privileges;  

• Home visits as an intervention;  

• Family coaching or individual counseling on time management or managing family issues;  

• Revised academic program;  

• o Referral to ACS preventive agency services to address underlying reasons; 

• Special education assessment or revision to IEP or BIP;  

• Connection to outside agency or program for additional services;  

• Family Assessment Program for truancy and potential PINS (Person in Need of Supervision) petition; o Alternative setting/program, if applicable. 

Students will be assigned to a full academic program and a transition plan on the morning following a return to school. Families must expect regular outreach to establish the safety and well-being of non-attending students and continuing interventions to return the student to school or apply an appropriate discharge.  

Schools will contact the student's family after every unexplained absence and reach out to learn more about why students miss school and how to help. Parents must provide a reason for absences. Follow-up and new outreach is required after missing ten days in a row, and when students in PK-grade 8 miss any 20 days.   

A student who arrives late to school is counted as present for the day. Being at school on time is important, but it is always better to come to school late than to miss the whole day. Late students can be kept out of school activities or communal lunchtime.  Students who travel out of the country, are hospitalized or in treatment, or who are at home for family or medical reasons are all absent. Students above compulsory school age who are not going to school may be discharged with the consent of their families through the Planning Interview process.