Parent Resources

It is recognized that good attendance at Shaw Heights Middle School is necessary to promote success in learning. Frequent absence of students from regular classroom learning experiences disrupts the continuity of the instructional process. The benefits of regular classroom instruction are lost and cannot be entirely regained, even by extra after-school instruction. Consequently, students who miss school frequently experience great difficulty in achieving the maximum benefits of schooling.

Students are expected to be in attendance in all classes each day. Only students who are ill, have a medical appointment that cannot be scheduled at another time, or who have a family emergency will be excused. Phone calls to verify absences for students will be accepted only from a parent or legal guardian. Phone calls must be received by 10:00 A.M. on the day of the absence. For convenience in calling, voice mail answering is available outside of regular hours at 303-429-2201 to record student absences. If no call is received the day of the absence, a student may be considered unexcused and truant. Parents without phones should make personal contact with the school during registration or prior to the start of school. Written notes will be accepted only in these situations. If a student must bring a note, it will be the student’s responsibility to bring it to the office

It is necessary for every child who has attained the age of seven years and is under the age of sixteen to attend school (Colorado Revised Statute 22-23-104). Adams County School Dist. 50 School Board, as directed by (Colorado Revised Statute 22-23-107), defines a habitually truant student as “a student has four (4) unexcused absences in any one month or ten (10) unexcused absences from public school during any school year. ” Absences due to the suspension or expulsion of a child shall be considered excused absences. An unexcused absence, which may be from a single class or multiple classes, is one that the school does not approve. Examples of absences that are unexcused include babysitting, oversleeping, working, missing the bus or ride, “ditch days,” or being gone ten minutes or more from an assigned class. Shaw Heights Middle School’s discipline procedure for unexcused absences (truancies) is as follows:

First truancy – student can be suspended pending a parent conference and placed on an attendance contract. The student will make up class time missed before school, after school and/or during lunch detentions.

Additional truancy – all additional truancies may result in suspension, referral to Adams County Juvenile Court, expulsion or other terms agreed to in the attendance contract.

Tardy Policy

A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in the classroom, ready for instruction when class begins. Students who enter late with a written excuse from a teacher, counselor or administrator will not be considered or marked tardy. Late students will be counted as such and not sent to the office for a pass. Each teacher will handle the first four consequences for students’ tardies. Teachers will refer students with five or more tardies to the Student Support Center (SSC) for escalating consequences. More than five tardies may require a conference with the parent, teacher, student and administrator to develop strategies to resolve the tardy problem. 

 
Tardies are considered a discipline problem. Each teacher will establish and communicate expectations and consequences to students. Excessive tardies necessitate administrative intervention. Tardies could result in a building level attendance contract.
 

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities: Phone calls from a parent or legal guardian are required to verify absences for students. 

     *       Phone calls must be received by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence to be verified

     *       For convenience in calling, voice mail is available outside of regular hours at 303-429-2201 or 303-428-9533 to record student absences.

     *       Parents without phones should make personal contact with the school during registration or prior to the beginning of the school year to establish a process for staff to make parental calls.

     *       If no call is received the day of the absence, a student will be considered unexcused and truant. Disciplinary action will be taken for all unexcused absences.

     *       An Attendance Improvement Plan will be required for students with excessive absences.

     *       Exceptions may require a personal parent/guardian conference with attendance staff and/or administration.

     *       Students absent from school will be allowed to make up work. Students have two days for each day of absence to accomplish this. 


Consequences Resulting From Absenteeism:  Students who are absent from school more than four periods on the day of a school activity will not be allowed to attend or participate in the activity. Any variations from this policy must be approved by the administration in advance.   

Homework Requests: If a student is absent for three or more days, parents should request assignments by calling the attendance secretary. Assignments can be picked up 24 hours after the request is made.