WRCC Attendance Policy

Parent/Student Handbook

Rationale for 2022-2023 attendance procedure

 

Attendance is an integral part of the 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 or has an appointment or commitment that cannot take place outside the school day.

It is important that students and families understand the importance of building work readiness skills during the time that students are attending the Windham Regional Career Center.  Part of work readiness is being in class on time each day as these are some of the most desired skills identified when we survey area employers.  If a student is going to be late or absent the following steps should be taken.

Students are expected to attend and participate in every class in which they are enrolled at Windham Regional Career Center. Further, the WRCC faculty and administration believe it is the individual student’s responsibility to get to classes on time. Absenteeism and tardiness of a few students can impact instruction for all the students that do attend a given class and do arrive on time. Teachers and administration are committed to providing essential basic education, as well as the most varied and challenging courses possible.  We believe that students who miss class cannot expect to achieve at the same level as if they were present, particularly  classes which incorporate daily participation into the course grade.

“Participation” grades for missed classes are nearly impossible to make up and this should be a topic of conversation between a student who really must miss some classes and the teacher of the missed classes.  Written work must be made up according to a schedule agreed to by the student and the teacher. It is the responsibility of the student to complete missed assignments.

When students take responsibility for making up work they miss during an absence, teachers will help them depending on the teacher’s availability and the guidelines and limits in each course syllabus and/or published course requirements.

The school will notify parents/guardians when a student has reached 7 non-school sponsored absences in a class.

Tardy:

  1. The student should let their 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 the 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 tardy is excused.
  3. The student should check with the instructor to identify any work that needs to be made up.

The first 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.  If there is an issue that needs to be addressed the teacher will contact the student’s guidance counselor at WRCC or BUHS and the student’s parent or guardian to set up a plan to address and resolve the issue.   

If a student has been tardy by more than 15 minutes without reasonable explanation (weather, construction, car issues), or 5 times overall in thirty calendar days the student’s teacher 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 students sending district or other service providers those agencies 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.  

The student is responsible for making up any missed work. 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 more than 3 times.

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 for the student to learn 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 time to make up any missed work without consequences that impact their grade on the assigned work. If a student misses 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, 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 3 times in 30 calendar days or 7 days in a semester the student’s teacher 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 absent 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 students sending district or other service providers those agencies will be contacted by sending school personnel.

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.  After the first meeting, the student’s counselor or case manager will take the lead in scheduling meetings.  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 only 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 that fails their WRCC class first and second quarter will be removed from the class in order to reduce credit loss.  If the student is able to improve their grades (75%+) and attendance 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 absent 

Students must be present at the beginning of Block 2 and attend their classes the remainder of the day 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, tests, quizzes or work due that day). 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 and send an office referral. If a student cuts repeatedly, the teacher will 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.

Students dropped from courses due to cutting may have their schedules changed and be required to leave school after their last class or when they have no scheduled class. Transportation in such cases is the responsibility of the student and family. 

Attendance and cuts in Windham Regional Career Center courses will be dealt with by WRCC staff and administration in accordance with WRCC policies and procedures.

Truancy

We want all students in school to receive an education as required by Vermont Law on compulsory attendance. When a child (ages 6-16) 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 by phone calls, letters, and meetings when students are absent and, if truant, to follow the state truancy laws and send the truant 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 here. 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

Tardiness

When 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. If there is an issue that needs to be addressed the teacher will contact the student’s guidance counselor at WRCC or BUHS and the student’s parent or guardian to set up a plan to address and resolve the issue.

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.

The student is responsible for making up any missed work with the teacher’s support. Students will be given twenty-four hours to make up missed work.

Absenteeism

Each time a student is absent (excused or unexcused) it is the responsibility of the teacher and the student to work together to complete any missed assignments or for the student to learn missed concepts. Students will be given two days for every day they are absent to make up any missed work without consequences that impact their grade. If a student misses lab time the student and the teacher should work together to ensure the student is able to make up any missed learning. The teacher should also check in with the student to try to ascertain if the student needs supports 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 3 times in 30 calendar days or 7 days in a semester the student’s teacher 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 absent causes learning loss or becomes habitual. If the student is absent due to an issue that can be resolved with the supports of others within the students sending district or other service providers those agencies will be contacted by sending school personnel.

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. After the first meeting, the student’s counselor or case manager will take the lead in scheduling meetings. 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 only 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. If the student is able to improve their grades (75%+) and attendance during the second semester they are encouraged to reapply to the Windham Regional Career Center for the next year.