Attendance Office
Erica Murphy
Attendance Secretary
Phone: 302-449-3629
Fax: 302-376-8954
The New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District requires that every parent, guardian, or other person having legal jurisdiction of a student send such student to school. School attendance is mandated by rules and regulations of the State Board of Education. District staff have determined there is a direct relationship between good attendance and good student success in school and in employment following graduation. Designated school staff will make an effort to contact the parent or guardian when the student is absent from school.
Parent Responsibilities
- Provide written requests for early dismissal.
- Provide written explanation for student absence within two(2) days of return to school.
- Provide written excuse for late arrival at time of return to school.
- Attend conference at school to discuss attendance problems.
- Telephone the school on the day of the absence.
Student Responsibilities
- Attend school regularly except when student remains home for legal absence as defined in policy.
- Be responsible to ask teacher to provide make-up for all assignments or tests missed due to absenteeism.
- Provide written parental excuses when absent or tardy to school. Regardless of time of late arrival, students must sign in.
- Must be in assigned class unless student receives prior approval to be in another teacher’s classroom.
Teacher Responsibilities
- Keep accurate daily attendance records on each student and check daily absenteeism form to determine class cuts.
- Provide “cut” data to student advisor on “cut” referral form.
- Check periodically with attendance office to compare student attendance record with central attendance record.
- Document class absences on interim reports and report cards.
- Attend conferences to discuss absenteeism and provide necessary data to appropriate personnel.
- Count as excused absences participation in approved school related activities such as sports, VICA, honor society, state or district testing programs, and student council, which are encouraged by the school; but when these activities infringe on the given class, then the teacher of that class will advise the student and sponsor of that activity that the student’s grade will be affected.
- Obtain prior permission from the teacher whose class the student should attend before detaining a student for any reason.
- Cooperate with homebound instructor in providing the necessary assignments for the student when requested.
Excused Absence
An excused absence is an absence for one of the reasons as listed below. Following such an absence, the student will be allowed to make up all work missed, to take tests which were missed, and to submit any assignments which became due during the absence. The time allowance for talking tests or turning in assignments shall be equal to to the number of days missed due to absence. A teacher may extend the time allowance for making up work missed if the specific circumstances of the situation merit such action. The time allowances should not exceed more than double the days the student was absent. The responsibility for initiating make-up work and Turing in assignments rests with the student.
Acceptable Absence Reasons:
- Illness of student, if necessary. attested by a physician’s certificate.
- Contagious disease within home
- Death in immediate family
- Legal business
- Observance of religious holiday
- Remedial heath treatment such as medical or dental appointments
- Pre-arranged absence to visit college or university
- School sanctioned activities
- Emergency situations as determined by principal
Unexcused Absence
Students should be held accountable for all assignments or tests missed due to excused or unexcused absences from school. Full or partial credit for assignments or tests missed due to unexcused absences will be approved at the discretion of the instructor and/or administration. In the case of vocational skills or labs missed due to an absence, the instructor may substitute an alternative assignment at equal grade value.
The time allowance for requesting the instructional materials or assignments from teacher shall be equal to the number of school days or number of class meetings missed due to the absence. A teacher may extend this time allowance if the specific circumstances of the situation merit such action.
Pre-Arranged Absence
A pre-arranged absence is a student’s absence from school or class for one or more days to visit a college or university or or other educational activities approved by the principal. The Absence should be pre-arranged by writing the principal, giving full sought, where practical, at least one week prior to the date of which the absence to occur. Upon the development of a plan by the student and teacher for making up the assignments to be missed, the principal may then define the absence as “excused”.
Truancy
Truancy is defined as an absence from school or class not necessary or legal (Delaware Code, Title 14, chapter 27). Parents who allow their children to be truant are subject to a fine or, in default of payment of the fine, imprisoned for not more than two days for the first offense and not more than five days for each subsequent offense. Students truant from school will be referred for disciplinary action.
A student is not considered truant if a parent, to ensure safety and welfare of the student, refuses to send the student to school.
All absences are recorded as days missed from school.
Parents and students should refer to he individual attendance policies of Delcastle, Hodgson, Howard, and St. Georges, wich are supplements to this handbook.
Late Arrival
All students are expected to be punctual to school. Students who arrive after the bell are tardy. A student who is tardy or late to school should present a written explanation for the tardiness.
An excused tardy is given when the student provides, at the time of tardiness, a written note of explanation from the parent/guardian for reasons such as personal illness, medical appointments, or appearance in court. Students should recognize that a written explanation from home does not automatically cause the tardy to be “excused”. An unexcused tardy will be given for such reasons as car trouble, personal business, heavy traffic, child care, needed at home, etc. Students tardy for unexcused reasons will be referred for disciplinary action.
Students who do not attend at least half of the periods on a given day will be marked absent for the day
Late to Class
Students late to class should report to the teacher with whom they are scheduled for admittance to class. The teacher will determine the validity of the excuse and shall require written verification when appropriate. If a student is late to class three or more times without sufficient reason, the teacher will issue a detention. Lateness of more than fifteen minutes shall be counted as an absence; in addition three lates of fifteen minutes or less shall be counted as an absence.
Early Dismissal
An early dismissal is the release of a student when requested by a parent or guardian for an absence of less than a school day for reasons deemed by the school to be necessary and legal. Such dismissals shall count as absences from the class or classes missed. Such written request should be presented to the attendance monitor immediately upon arrival at school, but preferably a day in advance of the anticipated dismissal. The student will be allowed to make up any work presented on the excused day(s). The school reserves the right to refuse a request for an early dismissal.
Cuts
A student is considered to be “cutting” class if he or she reports to school but does not attend a class which they are scheduled and does not have permission from either that subject teacher or other school personnel to be excused from that class. Students identified as “cutting” class will be referred for disciplinary action.
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