Douglass Unified School District

ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES Good attendance is very critical in the education of children. Being chronically absent puts students at risk for not graduating high school.  The attendance of elementary age children is primarily the responsibility of parents.

1. Students are expected to be present and punctual for all classes.

2. In the event of an absence, the parent must call the school office.  The absence will be considered unexcused without parental notification.

3. Students arriving late or leaving school during the day must be signed in or out of the office by the parent or guardian.

4. Excused absences are listed in BOE policy and are as follows; personal illness, a death in the immediate family, emergencies verified as such by the principal, doctor or dental appointments that cannot be scheduled outside of the school day, participation in school-sponsored academic or extracurricular functions, educational activities when verified by parents and arrangements made with the principal in advance. Please note that these absences WILL STILL affect perfect attendance! ***If a student is absent because of a doctor or dentist appointment, a doctor’s note is required to excuse the absence. Notes can be faxed to (316) 747-3359 in the event that you forget to request one during the appointment.

5. Skipping school, with or without parental approval, will be considered an unexcused absence, and the student may face further disciplinary action. 

6. Work missed for excused absences may be made up, but the student and his parents should realize that any absence is a detriment to the student’s progress.

7. A student will be counted absent from school if he is not present for regular class schedule except when on activities sponsored by the school.  
8. If a student is going to be home for an extended number of days, please inform the teacher in advance. 

9. The principal will contact the parent when excessive absences occur.  Failure to respond to corrective measures, as mandated by the law, will result in reports being filed with the DCF. State law requires schools to report students as truant if they have excessive absences and/or when a student has unexcused absences three days in a row, five days in a semester or seven days in a year.

10. Excessive tardies and absences could cause a student not to be promoted.

11. The state considers any student who misses 10% or more of the school year for any reason to be chronically absent and requires that we report them.

MAKE-UP WORK--DUE TO ABSENCES The office receives many calls during the course of the year for work that is missed due to student absence.  If a student is only going to be absent 1 day, homework will be given to the student when they return to school.  When a student misses two or more days and homework is needed, please call the office by noon.

PERFECT ATTENDANCE & OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE RECOGNITION Students with perfect or outstanding attendance will be recognized during semester assemblies. A positive incentive activity will be planned to celebrate students’ effort to attend school regularly. Perfect attendance awards will be given to students who attend every minute, every day that school is in session.  Outstanding attendance awards will be given to students who miss no more than 2 days a quarter. The school day runs from 8:10 a.m. – 3:20 p.m. If a student receives a tardy, absent, or must leave early for any reason (even excused), they will not receive a perfect attendance award. This includes students who leave school for appointments and return afterwards. Students with perfect attendance will receive a certificate and incentive reward by the principal at the end of the school year.