STUDENT ATTENDANCE
We encourage each student to attend school each day. If a student has been absent from school a written excuse from the parent or guardian must be presented to the first period teacher on the first day of school following the absence. (Notes regarding absences, or tardiness due to visits to medical facilities should be accompanied by a statement from the doctor.) The note should include the date, the student’s name, the date(s) of absence, and the reason. Please refer to the Code of Student Conduct for valid reasons for student absences. An absence will not be recorded as excused unless explanation is received within 2 school days following a student’s return to school.
The first period teacher will provide a student with an admit slip which the student must present to each teacher to be signed throughout the day. It is the responsibility of the student to ask for make-up work within two days upon returning from an excused absence. The teacher will not be obligated to issue make-up work after the two-day period.
If a student is absent from a class without prior approval, that student will be referred to the Administration. If a student wishes to be excused from a class, a special request signed by the teacher in charge of the activity is to be presented BEFORE the intended absence.
Pasco Middle School has a closed campus. Once arriving on campus, a student may not leave the school grounds before dismissal time without permission from the Administration. Unauthorized departure from campus shall be considered skipping, a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
When parents or guardians pick up a student before dismissal time, they must come to the Main Office or to the Clinic Office to sign the student out.
Release of a student to someone other than a parent or guardian requires written permission from the parent and proof of identification for the person taking the student. Without such evidence, a student shall be released only to properly identified persons listed on that student’s emergency/authorized student pickup card.
TARDIES TO SCHOOL
Tardies to school present barriers to successful achievement, and students are encouraged to be on time everyday. Tardy problems, we feel, can only be solved with the cooperation of parents, and our plan emphasizes this cooperation and support. The following list describes the sequence of interventions employed when students are tardy to school:
1st Tardy = Warning Issued.
2nd Tardy = 1 day of lunch detention.
3rd Tardy = 5 days of lunch detention.
4th Tardy = After-School Detention (Parent Contact).
ABSENCES FROM SCHOOL
School District policies excuse student absences for personal illness, major illness or death in the immediate family, religious holidays and trips that are pre-arranged. Parents should be aware that attendance is critical to successful learning. Trips and vacations should not be scheduled during school time except in the most unusual of circumstances. And unless administrative permission has been given, students who are gone for more than a week will be withdrawn from school. It is absolutely essential that non-emergency student trips be approved by the Principal, in advance. If prior permission has not been granted, the absence will be recorded as unexcused.
Special Note: A student who has achieved the age of 14 who is absent unexcused for 15 or more days during any 90-day period is subject, by state statute, to denial of driver’s license issue at such later time during which application for one is made.
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Perfect attendance is defined as being present every day of the school year for the entire day without being tardy to school or without being checked out early from school.
