Regina Roman Catholic School Division

Secondary Attendance Practices (August 2007)

 

Beliefs:

·         We believe that parents and guardians care about their children and desire for them the most effective education possible.

·         We believe that parents and guardians are the primary teachers of their children, and that their values and beliefs play a significant role in their children’s development.

·         We believe that a student who attends regularly benefits academically from direct instruction as well as from the interaction with his or her peers and teacher, especially in the social and emotional aspects of his or her development.

·         We believe that the interactive learning experiences lost due to an absence can never be replicated.

·         We believe that regular attendance and full participation in school activities helps to develop students into responsible, conscientious adults.

·         We believe that for every action, there is a consequence; negative actions result in negative consequences, and positive actions result in positive consequences.

·         We believe that every child has a story, whether positive or negative, and if we are able to learn that story, then we are better able to help the child succeed.

·         We believe that Catholic schools exist 1) to educate the children of Catholic ratepayers, and 2) to support the Christian faith development of a child in order to support the Christian faith system in the home.

·         We believe that a commitment to our Catholic philosophy by a student and his or her parent or guardian directly and positively impacts on a student’s attendance.

·         We believe that we must at all times support section 150 of the Education Act which makes it clear that “ . . . every pupil shall: attend school regularly and punctually; . . .(and) be diligent in his or her studies”

·         We believe that we must at all times support section 156 of the Education Act which makes it clear that “… every parent, guardian or other person having charge of a pupil who is of compulsory school age shall take all steps that are necessary to ensure regular attendance of that pupil”.

·        We believe all students can and will be successful in every class if they demonstrate the following:

o       Attend class regularly and punctually

o       Come to school each day with a positive attitude and a willingness to work hard

o       Complete every assignment to the best of their ability and submit all work by due dates

o       Study and prepare for all exams

 

Goals of Attendance Practices:

·        The purpose of the attached practices is:

o       to create a climate of high expectations for success,

o       to provide every opportunity to learn and student time on task, and

o       to develop quality relations between students, teachers, parents and guardians.

·        Integral to these practices is:

o       the desire to involve both the student and the parent or guardian in the academic, social and emotional development of the student,

o       the desire to provide quality feedback to both the student and the parent or guardian regarding the attendance of the student, and

o       the desire to create a fair and open process of intervention and consequences to deal with truancy and tardiness.

 

 

 

Secondary Attendance Practices

All secondary schools of the Regina Roman Catholic Separate School Division will be consistent in regards to student attendance, behavior, and success according to the standards provided below:

 

  1. To ensure the integrity of the curriculum being taught, all students must attend a minimum of 85% of any class for which they are registered in order to receive a final grade for the class.  Any student who is absent for more than 15% (15 periods – excused or unexcused – suspensions included) of any particular class will be dismissed from the class.
  2. In order to ensure the integrity of the curriculum being taught, all students must be punctual a minimum of 85% for each of their classes in order to receive a final grade for the class.  Any student who is tardy for more than 15% (15 periods – excused or unexcused) of any particular class will be dismissed from the class.)
  3. Absences and tardiness will continue to be monitored if a student transfers to a different school within our school system within the semester.  The attendance and tardiness records of that student will be sent to the new school providing the student is enrolled in the same classes as he or she was enrolled in from the school he or she is transferring from.   (In special circumstances this may not apply.)
  4. Any student who is dismissed from a semester one class because he or she is in violation of the attendance standards described in #1 and/or #2 above, will not have the option of repeating the class in semester two of that academic school year. The student’s options would be:
    1. To attend Summer School (if the class required is one of the last two 30 level credits necessary to graduate).
    2. To request registration in the class the following academic year.
    3. To challenge a Departmental exam if the class is the last credit he/she needs to meet Saskatchewan Learning requirements for a grade 12 diploma.

 

We believe that it is our responsibility to work with each student and his/her family to ensure that the student receives the best education possible, and we understand that positive attendance habits allow us to ensure the success of the student. Therefore, in instances where attendance has been identified as a problem for a particular student, each school will attempt to improve the student’s attendance with a number of the following interventions:

 

  1. Teacher, administrative, and automated phone calls to parents/guardians.
  2. Letters sent to parents/guardians.
  3. In-School Interventions (student conferences involving counselors and/or administration; parent conferences involving the student, counselors and/or administration; pull-out time from regularly scheduled classes to allow for assessment of potential problems that may be the underlying cause of attendance issues).
  4. Tutorial/Resource/Fast Track/Transition Room programs that assist students in meeting academic success in classes that they have fallen behind in or which they have repeatedly failed. When students are placed into this type of program, the success they experience tends to also result in improved attendance practices by the students.
  5. Renewable attendance contracts signed by students, parents/guardians, and school administration. Each renewal of the contract includes a meeting with the student, his/her parents, and administration with any successes being celebrated.
  6. Reduced/adjusted timetable that better meets the needs of a particular student.
  7. Recommendation for alternate placement (St. Luke (ENCORE, Quiet High), Alternative Education, Cornwall School, Home Schooling)
  8. Counselor/administrative interventions and referrals (anger management, personal counseling, drug and alcohol assessment, drug and alcohol counseling, academic testing, etc.)
  9. Out-of-School suspensions.

 

Where consideration has been given (through the use of some or all of the above intervention processes) and the school feels that it has exhausted its options in helping a student with his/her attendance struggles, the school administration will look at adhering to the above attendance practices in regards to students who go beyond missing 15% of their classes or who are unsuccessful in passing a class in semester one of any academic year.

Appeal Process

In the event that an extenuating personal circumstance occurs that results in a student accumulating more than 15 absences (excused or unexcused) such as a hospital stay, a death in the family, a serious illness, or other circumstances out of the student’s control, then parents/guardians must complete the following appeal application form to initiate a formal school review of their child’s situation.