Attendance

Our staff works hard to provide meaningful instruction every hour of every day. We expect our students to have good attendance so they may participate fully in the learning process. 

Reporting an absence

For full-day absences, parents/guardians should submit absence requests via ParentVUE. 

For partial-day absences, parents/guardians should email attendance with the full name and grade of their student, date/times they will need to be absent from school, and reason for the absence to the following email addresses based on the student's last name:

Students with last names A-L: Williamsk2@district279.org 

Students with last names M-Z: Mayerl@district279.org 

 

Appointments

If your child must leave school for an appointment during the day, please send a note on that day and have the student give it to the attendance office personnel before 7:30 a.m. to obtain a pass to leave school.

Attendance procedures

School attendance is a joint responsibility to be shared by the student, family and school personnel. Students 18 years of age must follow the same attendance procedures as all other students.

• Student responsibility: Students are required to attend school each day school is in session and to attend all scheduled classes and/or required programs. 
• Family responsibility: It is the responsibility of the family to ensure the student attends school, to inform the school in the event of a student absence, and to collaborate with the school to address student attendance concerns that may occur.
• Teacher responsibility: It is the teacher's responsibility to maintain accurate attendance records, start and end each class on time, and communicate attendance concerns with students, families, attendance personnel, and administration.
• School responsibility: It is the responsibility of the school to inform the family of the student's attendance concerns and to collaborate with the family to interrupt patterns of student absences. Final decisions regarding excused/unexcused absences are made by building administration.

Procedure for excusing a student’s absence

In order to excuse all or any part of a day, parents/guardians should notify the school on the day of the absence via email, phone call or written note. If a parent/guardian is unable to notify the school on the day of the absence, attendance personnel may call the parent/guardian to verify the student’s reason for absence.

Students are to clear missed classes due to appointments, partial-day absences, or full-day absences on the day of the absence or on the following day. Failure to do so may result in an unexcused absence. An absence not cleared within five school days is recorded as truancy. Students 18 years of age must follow the same attendance procedures listed here.

Prearranged absences

If students plan to be absent for more than five consecutive days on a family trip, prior approval of an administrator is required for the absence to be excused. The final decision as to whether or not absences are excused rests with school administration.

Procedures for leaving the building

The student shall present a note or have a parent/guardian call the attendance clerk asking that the student be excused and giving the reason (i.e. doctor's appointment, family illness, etc.). If a note is sent, the student must bring it to the attendance desk before 7:30 a.m. on the day of the absence. Students with appointments (medical, dental, etc.) may be requested to bring verification of the appointment (upon return) to the attendance desk. If the note is brought in after 7:30 a.m., students with appointments may be requested to bring verification of the appointment, upon return, to the attendance office. Failure to follow these procedures may result in an unexcused absence for the classes missed.

If a student becomes ill during the day or an emergency situation arises during the day, they must have the approval and "Leave School Permit" from the nurse or an administrator before leaving. Failure to follow these procedures may result in an unexcused absence, a truancy, and/or disciplinary action.

If a student leaves the building without permission from a staff member or without an excused pass and returns to the building, the student will not be allowed to return to school for the remainder of the and/or is subject to a search. 

Excused absences

• Illness
• Religious instruction (not to exceed three hours a week)
• Family vacations provided prior approval has been obtained
• Serious illness or death of a family member or close relative
• Appointments that cannot be scheduled outside of the school day, provided prior approval has been obtained
• Approved school activities
• Family emergencies
• Court appearances
• Administrative dismissal or suspensions

For a single-day absence, students are responsible, upon their return, for being prepared for all class activities and assessments assigned by their teacher prior to their absence. Students are responsible for being proactive in their absence by monitoring Schoology, contacting their teachers or communicating with classmates.

For multiple-day absences, students are responsible for completing all assessments within five school days from the date of the student’s return to school. This also applies to assessments assigned during the absence. Upon their return, students are expected to communicate with their teacher regarding class content missed during the absence.

Unexcused absences

• Absences without family permission and/or administrative approval
• Arrival ten or more minutes late to class
• Oversleeping or missing the bus
• Failure to follow the proper procedures when leaving the school building
• Work at home or at a business, except under a school-sponsored work-release program
• Any other absence not included under the attendance procedures

Final decisions regarding excused/unexcused absences are made by school administration.

Students who accumulate unexcused or excessive absences can expect to have interventions put in place. These interventions are assigned in an effort to improve student attendance; they may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

• Meeting with the teacher, counselor, or administrator
• Loss or restriction of school privileges
• Student Attendance Review Team meeting with parents/guardians and the creation of an attendance agreement
• Referral to Hennepin County Attorney’s Office

Tardiness

Students are considered tardy any time they are not in the assigned area when the bell rings to begin the class period. Teachers will communicate and enforce their tardy expectations; chronic tardiness may result in a referral to administration. Excused tardies are any for which the student is excused in writing by a staff member.

Every three tardies results in one Oriole Hour. This is applied in addition to any classroom-level consequences for recurring tardiness to a particular period of study.

Hall sweeps

Hall sweeps are performed regularly to ensure students arrive to class on time. Students caught in a hall sweep are subject to administrative consequences, beginning with phone calls home and the assignment of after school reflection time.

Truancy

Truancy is defined as an absence of one or more entire class periods without the approval of building administration. An unexcused absence becomes a truant absence in Synergy after 24 hours. In many cases, these two terms are used interchangeably. The authority to decide whether an absence is excused or unexcused rests with the school administration.

Attendance and extracurricular activities

1. If a student is unable to remain in school because of fatigue, ill health or injury, they will not be allowed to participate in the activity that day, except under the conditions stated below in item number five.
2. School-initiated absences will be accepted and participation permitted.
3. A student may not participate in an extracurricular activity (practice or meet/game) if they have an unexcused absence for any class during the day.
4. If a student is suspended from any class, they may not participate in an extracurricular activity that day.
5. If a student is absent from school due to medical reasons, they must present a medical statement from a physician, school health service specialist or an administrator clearing the student for participation that day. The note must be presented to the coach/advisor before the student participates in the activity.
6. If a student does not satisfactorily complete or misses their scheduled after school reflection time, they cannot participate in any after-school activities for that day.

State tournament absences

For all state tournament events where Osseo Senior High School teams or individuals are participating, procedures for excusing absences will be communicated to students. Students are excused for these events only if they follow the communicated procedures. No phone calls to excuse students for tournament absences will be accepted.