ATTENDANCE:
The following are general guidelines for the various aspects of attendance.
- Excused Absences
Daily attendance shall be kept for each student by both the office and the classroom teacher. Students arriving after the 8:00 AM bell shall be required to sign in at the office. A parent, guardian, or another designated person other than the student, will sign their child(ren) in. A written excuse shall be handed in at the office for each absence or tardy. The student will be given a slip to carry to class to give to the classroom teacher.
For doctor appointments or any other reason that a student needs to leave school early, a parent, guardian, or another designated person other than the student, will be required to sign the student out at the office as described above.
The following guidelines will be used in keeping attendance:
Students arriving:
- After 8:00 AM and before 9:30 AM shall be counted tardy.
- After 9:30 AM and before 12:30 PM shall be counted ½ day absent.
Students arriving at school between 8:00 AM and 9:30 AM shall be considered tardy. Students shall be given an opportunity to make up work missed due to tardiness. Parents shall be notified when a student accumulates three or more tardies.
Students leaving:
- After 11:45 AM and prior to 1:15 PM shall be counted ½ day absent.
For doctor appointments and other appointments the following apply:
- 1.5 hours or less shall be counted as a tardy.
- More than 1.5 hours and less than 3 hours shall be counted ½ day absent.
- More than 3 hours shall be counted as a 1-day absent.
Excused Absences
- The following are absences that are considered excused:
- Personal illness
- Death in the immediate family
- Quarantine
- Pre-approved educational travel
- Impassable roads and other urgent reasons. The term urgent is to be strictly construed as primarily affecting the pupils themselves, rather than some member of the family.
- Local school district does not provide transportation because of inclement weather.
- Special Excusals
Requests for dismissals for medical or dental appointments should be limited to those that cannot be made other than school hours. The parents requesting dismissal should send written notes, and they should deliver and pick up the child at school.
- Educational Travel – 1 per year
Upon receipt of a written request from the parents, students may be excused from school attendance to travel when such a trip is judged to be of educational value. The request for such excusal should be submitted at least two weeks (2) in advance and should include a proposed itinerary. Educational travel forms may be secured in the school office. Only one educational tour or trip per year is permitted. Forms should not be used for one-day trips unless the student has already used his/her discretionary days.
- Discretionary Days
The School Code strictly defines legal absences as “illness or other urgent reasons.” However, the School Code does not provide for any action by the school district until a student accumulates three unexcused days of absence. Therefore, students may use these three days on a discretionary basis. If a need or opportunity arises during the school year to miss a day of school for other than “legal reasons,” parents may opt to allow their child to miss school without penalty by using one of these three discretionary days. (i.e. farm show, one day trip, family visit, etc.).
- Farm Days
Students needing to help on the family (immediate) farm may be excused from classes; however, a form must be obtained at the MCDS office, or the Manheim Central District Office, and turned into the District Office for approval. A copy of the approved request must be turned into the MCDS office. It is expected that the parent will inform the teacher prior to each absence.
- Excuse Forms
A written parental excuse with the reason for absence stated would be required of students who have been absent from school when they return to school. If you do not have an excuse form, you may send in a hand-written note stating the date(s) the child was absent, the reason for the absence and include the parent signature. Excuse forms may be obtained from the school secretary.
- Tardiness
Students who are not in their classes by 8:00 AM will be considered tardy. Students who arrive between 10 AM and 12 PM will be counted a half-day absent. Any absence that goes beyond 12 PM will be counted as a full day absent. When a student accumulates three (3) tardies within one marking period, a notice will be sent to the parents. If the problem persists, time lost may be made up at the teacher’s discretion, and parents will be notified.
- School Dismissal
Whenever a child will not be released “as usual,” the parent must send a note to the child’s teacher. This note is required if the child is to ride a different bus home, if the child is to walk home instead of riding the bus, or if the child is to be picked up by someone other than the parent or guardian. Please be aware that a child may be denied permission to ride another bus if that bus is already filled to capacity. If you have any questions about this, please call the school before making alternate arrangements for your child’s dismissal.
NOTE: These guidelines have been based on the guidelines of the Manheim Central School District, to whom MCDS is responsible. Slight adaptations have been made to best suit the needs of MCDS.
