WRCC Attendance Policy

Rationale for 2025-2026 attendance procedure

WRCC Attendance Policy

Definitions and Understandings
“Tardiness” means arriving to class without a pass verifying that the student was meeting with an administrator or case manager, or arriving late to school without a documented excuse.
“Absence” means missing more than half of the scheduled time of any class for any reason. Documented absences or absences for school-sponsored activities are excused but students are required to make up all missed work.
“School-sponsored” activities include such things as school trips, school athletic contests, school activity trips, documented college visitations, school music auditions and festivals, restorative justice meetings, required testing, student council events, and other special events advocated or required by approved school activities.
“Documented Absences” would include documented illnesses (requires a doctor’s note), a death or other tragic family event, a medical appointment, a court appearance, or those days associated with a religious holiday not recognized by the school calendar. Even in cases of documented absences, missed class “participation” may affect the grade earned and awarded for the day. Teachers do their best to allow students to make up missed class participation but sometimes that is not possible. Absences considered “unexcused” would include such things as sleeping late, family vacations, private or non-school concerts/performances, non-school sponsored athletics, shopping trips, preparing for non-school sponsored activities, and undocumented and repeated illnesses. Students are expected to make up all missed assignments but will lose participation points for the day. Suspensions are neither excused nor unexcused, but will result in the loss of all participation points for that period of time. Absences based upon a request to participate in a family vacation are strongly discouraged. Students must talk with their teachers to get an understanding of the coursework they will miss before their departure. It must also be understood by students and parents that teachers will not be expected to provide advance work assignments to students who will be missing classes if that work is not yet available for students who will be in attendance.
Rational
*Attendance is an integral part of the in-depth, experiential learning process at WRCC and much of the learning cannot be made up or duplicated. Daily attendance is the expectation for all students, but we do realize there are going to be times when a student is ill, has an appointment, or commitment that cannot take place outside the school day.
*Attendance and being on time are one of the most important skills employers look for in employees.
*Students are expected to earn Industry-Recognized Credentials and/or Dual Enrollment Credit in all classes and must be present to learn the required skills.
*The school will notify parents/guardians when a student has reached seven non-school-sponsored absences in a class.
Tardy:
1. The student should let the instructor know as soon as the student is aware that they are going to be late. This can be done a day or two before if the student has an appointment, or via phone or email in case of an unexpected event. The student should give the instructor some idea of when to expect them
2. If a student is tardy due to an appointment, the student should bring a note from the service provider so the tardiness is excused.
3. The student should check with the instructor to identify any work that needs to be made up.
Each time a student is tardy, the teacher will have a conversation with the student to attempt to evaluate if there is a way the teacher can support the student in being on time and to reinforce the importance of being on time.
If a student is tardy more than 5 times, the teacher will contact the student’s guidance counselor at WRCC and the student’s parent/guardian to request their assistance in supporting the student being on time.
If a student has been tardy by more than 30 minutes five times without a reasonable explanation (weather, construction, car issues), the career center staff will schedule a meeting with the student, parent or guardian, guidance counselor, center director, and other team members. The goal of this meeting is problem-solving and addressing the situation before being tardy causes learning loss or becomes habitual. If the student is tardy due to an issue that can be resolved with the support of others within the student’s sending district or other service providers, those parties will be contacted by sending school district personnel. If the student continues to be tardy, the team will continue to meet to attempt to address the situation with the support of staff from the sending district and the career center. Students will be given twenty-four hours to make up missed work. The student’s weekly participation grade will be impacted when a student is tardy.
Absent:
1. The student should let their instructor know if they are going to be absent as soon as they become aware.
2. The student’s parent or guardian should contact the Windham Regional Career Center attendance person to let the school know that their student will be absent.
3. Absences for health-related appointments, court, and sending school activities are excused with either a note or with permission from the sending school.
4. The student should check with the instructor to identify any work that needs to be made up.
Each time a student is absent (excused or unexcused), it is the responsibility of the student to complete any missed assignments or to learn the missed concepts. A student’s participation grade is impacted on days that they are absent because they are not present for group work, class instruction, or experiential learning. Students will be given a reasonable amount of time to make up any missed work without consequences that impact their grade on the assigned work. If a student missed lab time, the student and the teacher should work together to ensure the student is able to make up for any missed learning. If a student is out for an extended period of time, the instructor, student, parent/guardian, and director will develop a plan to address how the student will build the skills missed due to the absence once the student returns. The teacher should also check in with the student to try to ascertain if the student needs support to address barriers to school attendance and work with the sending school district to establish those supports. When a student is absent from school or class more than ten times, the student’s teacher will work with the WRCC counselor and administrator to schedule a meeting with the student, parent or guardian, guidance counselor, center director, and other team members. The goal of this meeting is problem-solving and addressing the situation before the students’ attendance causes learning loss or becomes habitual. If the student is absent due to an issue that can be resolved with the support of others within the student’s sending district or other service providers, those agencies will be included in the meeting or contacted. If the student continues to be absent, the team will continue to meet to attempt to address the situation with the support of staff from the sending district and the career center. The teacher will be responsible for tracking the student’s attendance and reporting that and missed assignments to the student’s counselor or case manager. A student will be removed from their CTE pathway for absenteeism or tardiness if their grades would make it impossible for them to reasonably pass the class at the end of the year. A student who fails their WRCC class for the first and second quarters will be removed from the class in order to reduce credit loss. If the student is able to improve their grades (75%+)and attendance at their sending school during the second semester, they are encouraged to reapply to the Windham Regional Career Center for the next year. After-school participation on days students are (unexcused) absent, students must be present and attend their classes in order to participate in any school-sponsored activity scheduled that same afternoon or evening. If a student cuts a class on a Friday, he/she may not participate in any school-sponsored activity on a Saturday. If they have an excused absence on a Friday, they can participate in a school-sponsored activity on a Saturday.
Class Cuts
A class cut is a conscious decision to miss more than half a class without an acceptable excuse. Each class cut will result in:
*A zero for the class (participation and any work done in class). For the purpose of remaining current in the class, the student should request assigned work and hand it in for feedback.
When a student cuts a class, teachers will contact a parent by phone or email and send an office referral. If a student cuts repeatedly, the teacher will work with the WRCC counselor and administrator to schedule a meeting with the student, their parent or guardian, the WRCC guidance counselor, the WRCC director, and at least one representative from the student’s sending school.
Attendance and cuts in Windham Regional Career Center courses will be dealt with by WRCC staff and administration in accordance with WRCC policies
Truancy:
We want all students of school age to receive an education as required by Vermont Law on compulsory attendance. When a child (ages 6-17) is enrolled in school and fails to attend without sufficient reason, that child can be considered truant under Vermont law for compulsory attendance. Part of that responsibility is to follow up with phone calls, letters, and meetings when students are absent and, if truant, to follow the state truancy laws and send the truancy officer to the student’s home.
Sending School Releases or Activities Impacting Career Center Attendance, students are encouraged to behave in a manner that demonstrates an appropriate commitment to the workplace and career success. Stated more directly, WRCC is like work, and students need to be present. To eliminate confusion and provide some consistency, the following guidelines will be implemented at the WRCC. When a sending school district has a half-day or early release (other than a school closing):
*If the sending school provides transportation for the day students are to attend their career center program
*Students are strongly encouraged to attend even if their sending school does not provide transportation on a half-day or early release.
*Students should not attend if their sending district has a weather-related cancellation.