STUDENT ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance is a parent/guardian and student’s responsibility. Students succeed in school if they attend school daily and on time. It is essential that students attend school on a consistent basis to ensure continuity of instruction. Therefore, for your child to participate in reward or incentive activities that celebrate attendance, the following criteria must be met:

  • Students are expected to enter the building at 8 am.
  • Any student arriving at 8:09 am or later will be marked late. Please arrive by 8 am.
  • If for any reason, your child leaves school before 10:30 am, they will be marked absent for the day.
  • Any student leaving before the end of the day must be signed out in the office. Due to end of the day procedures and generally busy office staff, students may not be signed out between 2:15 –2:40 pm unless there is an emergency.

Students are required to attend school every day unless excused in writing by a lawful excuse. Legal absences are the following:

  • death of immediate family member;
  • illness of the student;
  • court summons (for student);
  • observance of a religious holiday;
  • and appointment (for child) with a doctor.

Vacation to travel or see family on school days is not an excused absence and will be marked unexcused. Makeup work is not provided in advance.

Attendance is monitored each day by the teachers and the office staff. Parents of absent students receive district-generated phone notifications for confirmation of each absence. Parents are asked to call school for student absences and to provide a written note and/or medical note for all absences. Students who show a habitual pattern of lateness and/or absence will receive intervention services.

Unless there is an emergency, students may not be signed out between 2:15 pm and the end of the day. Teachers are delivering important content right up until 2:40 pm, and we don’t want your child to miss any instruction. The parent or person picking up the child must be on the Student Information Form and approved for pick up. Be prepared to present identification and follow these steps:

  • Report to the Office.
  • Sign the child out on the “Early Dismissal Daily Log.”
  • Wait for the child to report to the office

ATTENDANCE INTERVENTION PROTOCOL

Hampstead Hill Academy is committed to ensuring the academic success of all students and making sure that every student is in school every day is the first step in achieving that success. The following protocol aligns with BCPS Office of Enrollment, Choice and Transfer procedures and are designed to identify the support and resources necessary for all Baltimore City Public School students to attend school daily and arrive on time.

Regular student attendance is expected. If a student is not prompt and regular in attendance, proper measures shall be taken to encourage regular attendance. If such encouragement is not successful in improving the situation, a review of assessment of student learning shall be conducted and a range of interventions up to and including retention shall be instituted. The final intervention plan or decision to retain rests with the school administration.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

  • The homeroom teacher is responsible for taking daily attendance with the district-wide student information system.
  • The daily automated district system will phone the student’s parent/guardian each evening an absence occurs.
  • If a student is absent for a contagious illness, accident, or extended school absence of a medical nature, a doctor’s note may be requested. A certificate allowing a child to return to school may be required following an illness of three (3) consecutive school days for reasons of illness or injury.
  • It is important to note that all absences (excused or unexcused) count towards a student’s absenteeism rate.
  • The homeroom teacher will notify parents at two unexcused absences per month and/or five unexcused absences per quarter. Students may be required to serve after school study hall with his/her teacher to make up missed work.
  • If a student continues missing school at a rate of two unexcused absences per month and/or five unexcused absences per quarter, the attendance team will mail or email a letter to the parent/guardian. The parent will also receive a phone call as part of the Student Outcome Committee’s annual outreach. An administrative conference may be scheduled with the parent and administrator to discuss attendance.
  • If a student’s attendance rate does not improve, the attendance team will then conduct a home visit. During the home visit, HHA staff will take a holistic approach to supporting the family in finding a solution to the attendance challenges.
  • Truancy is a legal term used to identify students who have missed more than 10% of school days (18 or more days per school year) without a legal reason. If a student has missed 18 days of school, the school may refer the family to the district office. If the district determines that the school has made every effort to work with the family and offer support but that the student has continued accruing unexcused absences, charges will be filed against the parent or guardian in district court. For more information, visit www.baltimorecityschools.org/page/attendance.