Derrick Meador, M.Ed., is the superintendent for Jennings Public Schools in Oklahoma. He previously served as a school principal and middle school science teacher.
Updated on February 01, 2019Attendance is one of the biggest indicators of school success. Students who attend school regularly are naturally exposed to more than those who are routinely absent. Furthermore, absences can quickly add up. A student who misses an average of twelve days a year from kindergarten through twelfth grade will miss 156 days of school which nearly translate to an entire year. Schools must do everything within their limited power to compel parents to get their children to school. Adopting and maintaining a strict school attendance policy is a necessity for every school.
Because we are concerned about your child’s safety and well-being, we ask that you notify the school by phone the morning the student is absent by 10:00 AM. Failure to do this will result in the student receiving an unexcused absence.
Types of absences are:
Excused: An absence due to illness, doctor’s appointment, or serious illness or death of a family member. Students must go to the teachers and request make-up work immediately upon their return. The number of days absent plus one will be allowed for every consecutive day missed. The first five absences will only require a phone call to be excused. However, any absence after five will require a call and a doctor’s note upon the return of the student to be excused.
Explained: An explained absence (not an absence due to illness, doctor’s appointment, serious illness, or death of a family member) is when a parent/guardian takes the student out of school with the principal’s prior knowledge and approval. Students will be required to obtain assignments for classes to be missed and an assignment form completed before leaving the school. The assignments will be due on the day the student returns to school. Failure to follow this policy will result in the absence being recorded as an unexcused absence.
Extra-Curricular Activity Absences: Students are allowed 10 activity absences. Activity absence is any absence that is school related or school sponsored. Extra-curricular activities include, but are not limited to, field trips, competitive events, and student activities.
Truancy: A student who leaves school without parental consent or is absent from school on a regular basis without school authorization, or has a high rate of absenteeism shall be reported to the County District Attorney. Parents/Guardians are compelled to send their child to school and could incur legal liability for failure to do so.
Unexcused: An absence in which the student is out of school that does not qualify as excused or explained. The student will be brought to the office for disciplinary action and will receive no credit (0’s) for all class work missed. When a parent does not call to report an absence by 10:00 AM the morning of absence, the school will attempt to reach the parents at home or work. The principal can determine or change an absence from excused to unexcused, or from unexcused to excused.
Excessive Absences: