Attendance Policy

Students are expected to be present and engaged in learning every school day. Regular and on-time attendance is an important factor in student achievement and success. It is the obligation and responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure that every child 6 - 17 years old attends public school during each school year (C.R.S. 22-33-104).

Excused Absences

Students may miss school for illness or injury, pre-arranged absences that cannot be taken care of outside school hours, work-study programs, or a school-sponsored activity. A parent may excuse up to 10 school days without documentation. After a student misses 10 school days, documentation will be required to excuse the absence. If no documentation is provided, the absence will be unexcused.

Excused absences include:

• Illness, injuries
• Death in the family
• Bad weather (can cause transportation problems)
• Doctors, dentists, etc. appointments (please schedule these at times other than school hours if at all possible)
• Parent request submitted to the office prior to the absence. We ask that these be kept to a minimum, as attendance is directly related to academic success. Work may be given to the student to be completed before leaving.
• Emergency — unavoidable and critical
• School instigated absences — counted as if present in class. All work missed needs to be made up (i.e. field trips, athletic events, band, etc.)

If your child will be absent from school please notify the school in one of the following two ways:

• Preferred Method: Request absences via Campus Parent to notify school staff of an expected student absence. Select "More" from the navigation. Next, select "Absence Requests." Then, fill out the form and submit.
• Call the school attendance line at 970-686-8405. Please include the following information in your message: child’s name, teacher, date of absence(s), and reason for absence.

If the office has not been contacted about an absence, please send a written excuse with your student when they return to school. Parents of students who will be gone five consecutive days or more are encouraged to meet with the attendance administrator before the absence to discuss missing school work.

The responsibility for make-up work rests with the student. The teacher will set a deadline for make-up work to be turned in. Partial or no credit will be given for work turned in after the deadline date. Parents and guardians are encouraged to have their students communicate with teachers during this time. Students may need to stay after school to complete all of the make-up work. Parents and guardians are encouraged to check Campus Portal for more information on academics.

Unexcused Absences

A student with four or more unexcused absences from school in any one month or 10 unexcused absences during any school year will be considered “habitually truant.” We will notify the parents / guardians in writing of the absences, and, in partnership with parents / guardians, will develop a plan to address attendance issues and discuss consequences for further unexcused absences.

For more information on attendance, visit Board Policy JE.

The determination of an absence as excused or unexcused rests with the building principal, assistant principal, or designee. Unexcused is any absence other than excused. This includes students staying at home in the morning to "sleep in" because they are tired or staying at home to finish school work.

Parents will be contacted and an attendance letter sent to students with excessive absences. A doctor's note verifying an illness or other appropriate documentation may be required after 10 absences.

Tardiness

A child is considered tardy if they arrive after the scheduled start of the school day or class period. If a child is tardy, they must check in at the front office before going to class.