Attendance Information

Keeping track of more than 500 students each day is a very important responsibility for us. The administration and faculty of Wellsville High School believe that they have an obligation to provide educational opportunities for every student and we expect that each student accept responsibility for his/her education. To ensure that each student actively pursues their learning and contribute towards the learning of others, each student must regularly attend school and be punctual.

The high school attendance system includes important roles for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. With your help, we can account for each student in our school. This is especially significant in the event of a home or school emergency. It is also important that our records of attendance for each student are accurate. Your calls and notes help to clarify and verify information. The following guidelines have been established in conjunction with regulations set forth by the New York State Education Department

A. Parents
On the day of an absence a parent or guardian should call the high school attendance office (596-2183) between 7:30 and 10:00 a.m. This ensures for accuracy of records and meets the NY State law requirements.

When calling, please give the students first and last name, who is calling and the reason for absence.

If no contact has been made with the Attendance Clerk, on the FIRST school day, and each subsequent day, following an absence, a student is to report to the Attendance Office with a written excuse or to obtain a temporary excuse. If a written excuse is not submitted by the end of the month, the absence will be recorded as an illegal/unexcused absence. Excuse notes are kept for 3 years and help prove absence.

Excuse Notes may be printed and submitted.

Notes are always needed:
• A note is required for all tardy, illnesses, appointments and absences (trips, sports tournaments, performances etc,)
• All notes should state the students full name (first and last), grade, reason for entering late or leaving early, and the parents signature.
• A student may enter the building or leave the building on their own if they have a note with the parents signature and reason for leaving.
• To allow a student to walk to his/her appointment the note must state that they have the parents permission to walk.
• Doctor and dental permits are obtained from the Attendance Office. Upon returning to school, the student is to surrender his/her permit, signed by the doctor or dentist, to the attendance person.
• Written parental permission to leave school during the day must be submitted to the attendance office prior to homeroom.
• All notes should be given to the Attendance Clerk when the student enters the building so that the appointments etc. can be entered in the morning bulletin for the faculty and staff, and into the students attendance record.
• Any notes without a reason given, will be considered an unexcused absence.

Excused Absences, as defined by the Attendance Policy, include:
• Sickness
• Sickness/Death in Family
• Required Court Appearances
• Scheduled Appointments with Physicians, Health Clinics, and/or Agencies
• Religious Observance / Impassable Roads / Quarantine
• Approved Work Program / Military Obligation
• Approved Externship/Internship/Volunteer Activity
• Counselor Endorsed College Visit
• Administrative excuse
Students are required to make up missed class time, lectures, information, and assignments in a timely manner.

Education law stipulates that parental consent for an absence does not preclude a district from taking disciplinary action when that absence violates the district's attendance policy.

Attendance Requirement in order to participate in School Activities:
Students are expected to be on time and in school for the entire day in order to be eligible to participate in any school function that day or evening. Students must be in attendance on Friday to participate in any weekend activities. Extracurricular advisors and coaches are responsible for checking the attendance of their student participants. Students who participate in and/or attend any extracurricular activities and abuse the attendance policy will face disciplinary action.

B. Homeroom:
Each student must report to his/her assigned homeroom at the beginning of the homeroom period every day for attendance purposes.
Students who arrive at school anytime during the school day after the homeroom period (7:55 - 8:00) must sign in immediately at the High School Main Office.
A student must report to the Attendance Office to:
1. turn in an excuse for a previous absence upon his/her return to school.
2. submit a written parent request to receive a pass for early dismissal. (This should be accomplished prior to homeroom)
3. contact a parent for early dismissal approval

C. Tardiness to School
A student who is not in homeroom at 7:55AM or who enters class late is considered tardy. Whenever a student is tardy to school, he/she must report to the Attendance Office immediately upon entering the building. When a student is tardy to school and doesn't have an excuse in-hand, an excuse must be presented on the FIRST school day following the tardiness. If a written excuse is not submitted by the end of the month, the absence/tardiness will be recorded as an illegal/unexcused absence.
Should a student be tardy to school 10 times, a notification letter will be sent home and a parent conference will be requested to determine the reason for the tardiness and to arrive at a solution.

D. Tardiness to Class
The classroom teacher will determine by his or her classroom rules when tardiness will result in teacher-administered detention. If the student, however, ignores the teacher's request to report after school, the matter will be referred to the Assistant Principal for appropriate action.

E. Truancy
Truancy is a violation of the education law that requires minors to attend full-time instruction. Leaving the school building without teacher supervision, prior written parental approval, and/or administrative permission during the school day is an act of truancy. A student will receive a zero for all work missed and face disciplinary action.
Parents will be notified every time a student is found to be truant. In repeated cases, court action may be pursued for pupils under sixteen years of age.
Any student cutting a class or study hall for the first time will receive a Saturday detention. Repeated class cuts will result in suspension. Students who participate in organized "skip days", with or without parental permission, will be recorded as truant.

F. Attendance related to Filed Trips
Each student must have written parental permission submitted a minimum of 24 hours in advance in order to participate in a field trip. Students are expected to attend school all day the day prior to, and following, the event. Failure to do so may jeopardize their participation in subsequent field trips.

G. Attendance Policy Related to Receiving Course Credit
The Wellsville School Board has adopted a comprehensive attendance policy that includes an established record keeping procedure. This procedure requires parents or guardians to notify the school in a timely fashion and in writing that they are aware of the absences and tardies of their child to school. This written record is then recorded and kept on file by the school's attendance officer.

In addition, the Wellsville School District and its Board of Education has adopted an attendance policy, upheld by New York State Education Law, which ensures that our students receive an education that prepares them to be successful and meet State Education graduation requirements. The Wellsville School District policy requires that a student attend at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the course student-teacher contact hours. The policy directs the school to provide written notifications to parents and guardians at three successive warning levels and a final notification for withdrawal from class(es) due to their child's attendance. A withdrawal from class can result in loss of academic credit.

H. Academic Responsibilities for Absentees
Students who are absent will be given reasonable time to make up assignments missed during their absence. Students should use study hall blocks or after school time to see teachers and complete assignments missed. Parents calling to collect missed assignments should allow the teachers 24 hours to organize the work.
If it is determined that an absence on the day of a final exam or midterm is illegal/unexcused, the student will NOT be given the opportunity to make up the test; a zero ( 0 ) will be assigned for the exam grade. In grades 9, 10, and/or 11, if a student fails English, Social Studies, or Physical Education and does not successfully complete a make-up in a duly authorized summer school, the student must retake the same course again the following year. Students are discouraged from "doubling-up" until the senior year in order to make up failed courses.

Attendance-related infractions, including tardiness to school, class cuts, and truancy and leaving school without permission, will result in appropriate disciplinary action plus suspension of the student's parking privileges.
Administrators may use their discretion when deciding consequences or subsequent attendance-related infractions.

You can download and print out an Absence/Late Excuse Note (click on "WHS Attendance Form")