Attendance

Parents must call the Chatfield High School attendance office at 303-982-3556 no later than 24 hours following the beginning of the absence. Only phone calls from a parent or guardian can excuse an absence. Notes or emails are not acceptable. If the school is not notified within 24 hours, the absence will be unexcused. Calls made after noon may not be recorded and may result in a call from the computerized notification system.

Students need to complete a prearranged absence form for any absence that will cause them to miss three or more school days (such as family vacations, college visits or other extended absences). Forms must be signed by teachers and submitted to the attendance office at least three days prior to the scheduled absence.  Forms are also available in the attendance office.

Students who leave school due to illness must sign out in the clinic for the absence to be excused.

A computerized phone notification system will call the homes of students who have an unexcused absence.

Parents should call at least 24 hours in advance to notify the school of appointments. Students will need to pick up their pass in the attendance office before the appointment time and meet parents outside.

We understand some appointments may be scheduled at the last minute. Please give the attendance office a one-hour notification before the appointment. This will give the office time to get a pass and information to your student. You will meet your child outside of the building.

Students who leave school due to illness must sign out in the clinic for the absence to be excused.

Students should return to the attendance office the following day to provide confirmation of appointment for single/partial-day absences.

For attendance purposes, any absence from school resulting from suspension will be considered an unexcused absence. Such absences due to suspension, however, shall not be counted in the total of unexcused absences when determining if a student is habitually truant or the 90% policy.

Students must complete all assignments that were missed according to the rules that apply for unexcused absences. Teachers may require students to make up previously announced tests or major long-term assignments or papers on the day the student returns from suspension. If a student has multiple tests to take, the teachers must work together to schedule makeups.

Excused

It is the responsibility of the student and parent or guardian to initiate requests for and pick up makeup work on the day they return to class from an excused absence.

• Makeup work should reflect class assignments missed during the absence.
• Time allowed to make up work is twice the number of classes or days missed (two days allowed for makeup work for each day of absence); however, an extension of this time limit may be approved by the school administration.
• Students who complete makeup work within the required timeline will receive full academic credit earned for the makeup work. 
• If a previously assigned assignment or assessment is due the day of the excused absence, the assignment is due upon the first day of return to class; an assessment should also be taken the first day of returning to class. Teachers can then implement their late policy if this is not completed by the student.

Unexcused

Classroom instruction and interaction with teachers are essential to a student's education. Because of the importance of classroom instruction and learning, students with unexcused absences will be expected to complete classroom assignments to demonstrate their learning on content standards and to meet the academic expectations of the teacher.

• Makeup work should reflect class assignments missed during the absence.
• If a student misses class on a day when an assignment is due, a previously scheduled assessment is to be taken, or a previously scheduled presentation is to be given, the assignment, test or presentation is now considered late and the teacher can enforce the late work policy in their class as stated in the class syllabus.
  • The expectation is that the student will submit the missing assignment, take a test or give a presentation the first day they return to class (and the late work policy can be applied at that time). 
• If the student’s unexcused absence causes them to miss an in-class assignment or unannounced assessment, the student shall have two days to make up the missing work before it is considered late work.
  • If this is the student’s first or second unexcused absence from that class, the work will receive a one-letter grade reduction for the makeup work completed.
  • If this is the student’s third or more unexcused absence from that class, they will receive a two-letter grade reduction for the makeup work completed.
  • If the work is turned in more than two days after the absence, the teacher can enforce their late work policy.
  • If the missed classroom work cannot be duplicated through a simple assignment, the teacher may elect to request that the student create a method for demonstration of the learning or the teacher may elect to assign specific work to demonstrate the learning. If the student fails to complete the work, no credit will be given.
• If an assignment or test date is assigned while the student is absent due to an unexcused absence, and the due date is not the following day, the expectation is that the student will have the same due date as the rest of the class.
• If an assignment is due or a test is to be taken on the first day the student returns from an unexcused absence, and that assignment was not assigned the previous day, the student is expected to abide by the original due date. Failure to do so will result in the application of the late work policy.

Unexcused absences will subject the student to appropriate consequences, including school sanctions and the imposition of academic sanctions for classes missed. At the senior high school level, persistent unexcused absenteeism may, in the judgment of the teacher and school administration, result in a failing grade.

Excused

If a student has accumulated more than 10 days of excused absences, the school may require medical documentation to continue excusing absences. Parents will be notified via a medical letter sent to the family’s physical address.

Unexcused and truancy

If a student is absent without a parental excuse (or in some instances, a written medical excuse from a medical source) or if the student leaves school or a class without permission of the teacher or administrator in charge, the student shall be considered truant. A “habitual truant” shall be defined as a student of compulsory attendance age who has four unexcused absences from school in any one month or 10 unexcused absences during any school year.

After the initial referral to the dean of students, successive unexcused absences will result in an increase in the level of consequence including:

• Student conference with dean or counselor (including parent contact)
• Placement on attendance contract
• Loss of off-campus privileges (including lunch and all other periods)
• Lunch detention
• Assignment to before or after school detention or community service
• In-school suspension or alternative (community service)
• Parent conference/home visit
• Loss of privilege to attend school athletic and social functions
• Referral to Student Intervention Team (S.I.T.)
• Referral to alternative educational setting
• Referral to Dropout Prevention Office
• Truancy notice
• Filing in Juvenile Truancy Court

Almost all tardies, except those caused by school bus transportation problems, are avoidable. Students must be responsible to be on time for each class. Missed classwork due to tardiness may require students to make up an assignment or be given an alternate assignment according to unexcused absence policies.

• Parents cannot excuse tardiness other than the first period or when returning from an appointment.
• No more than three tardies per semester for the first period will be excused.
• For every fourth tardy to first hour (excused or unexcused), students will be issued a lunch detention.
  • If students do not attend the assigned lunch detention, they will serve in-school suspension for the remainder of the day.

Because of the disruptive nature of tardiness and the detrimental effect upon the rights of non-tardy students to uninterrupted learning, consequences shall be imposed for excessive tardiness. Consequences may include detention, community service, or in-school suspension. 

First-hour tardy process 

• Deans will be checking in students who come in after the final 1st hour bell (8:05 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and 8:55 on Tuesday, Thursday).
• Every student gets three excused first-hour tardies per semester.
• On every fourth tardy, the student will be assigned a lunch detention (4, 8, 12, etc).
• Missing lunch detention will result in an in-school suspension.
• Excessive tardies may result in further consequences (in-school suspension, etc.)
• Know that on late starts students do not have a full hour to sleep in. The parking lot will be congested, so they should give themselves enough time to get to school and to their first-period class on time.