Attendance & Tardy Information
- Students may be eligible to receive a withdraw fail if they do not attend 85% of their scheduled classes and this is determined by counseling and administration.
- For a semester course, students may not have more than 7 days of absences; this includes unexcused, parent excused & pre-arranged absences due to travel. It does not include sports or school-sanctioned activities (Model UN, FBLA, etc.)
- The maximum number of unexcused absences a student may incur is 4 days in a month or 10 days during the school year.
- Students are required to arrive to class on time.
- If a student arrives to class 10 minutes late, they will receive an unexcused absence due to their truancy.
- A student will receive a tardy if they are late to a class (1 minute to 9 minutes late).
Attendance Administrative Assistant - Fernanda Stear, fstear@aspenk12.net
You may also leave a message by calling the High School Attendance Line 970-925-3760 and follow the prompts.
Aspen School District tracks daily attendance on its Power School computer system. Teachers can see their class rolls in an electronic format and mark the attendance for students at the beginning of each class.
At Aspen High School the automated attendance system will call parents to inform them of their child’s unexcused absences.
It is important that parents call in to excuse absences for their child as early as possible in the school day to avoid having students charged with an unexcused class absence.
From Aspen School District Administrative Policy: STUDENT ABSENCES AND EXCUSES Policy JH
One criteria of a student's success in school is regular and punctual attendance. Frequent absences may lead to poor academic work, lack of social development and possible academic failure. Regular attendance is of utmost importance for school interest, social adjustment and scholastic achievement. No single factor may interfere with a student's progress more quickly than frequent tardiness or absence. According to state law, it is the obligation of every parent/guardian to ensure that every child under their care and supervision receives adequate education and training and, if of compulsory attendance age, attends school... For at least these reasons, the Administration believes that a student must satisfy two basic requirements in order to earn full class credit: (1) satisfy all academic requirements and (2) exhibit good attendance habits as stated in this policy… Each unexcused absence shall be entered on the student's record. The parents/guardians of the student receiving an unexcused absence shall be notified orally or in writing by the district of the unexcused absence. Students are required to attend at least 85% of their scheduled classes. Students who are chronically absent are at risk of not passing a course and not receiving credit due to the amount of lost class time.
Attendance Policy & Procedure at AHS
Tardy Policy & Procedure at AHS
Entering or Leaving Classes in Session
Early Dismissal:
Students who need to leave classes early are required to bring a note to the front office from their parent or guardian. The note should state the reason for dismissal and the time the student needs to be dismissed. This note will be kept in the office as an official record and the student will be issued a school dismissal note to be given to the appropriate teacher. In lieu of a note, parents may call the attendance assistant with the information. However, students must still report to the office to pick up a dismissal note to give to the classroom teacher.
Late Arrival:
Students who will be entering a class after it has begun are required to bring a note to the front office from their parent or guardian. The note should state the reason for their being tardy. This note will be kept in the office as an official record and the student will be issued a school admittance note stating the reason, whether the admittance is excused or unexcused and the time the student checked in at the main office. In lieu of a note, parents may call the attendance assistant with the information. However, students must still report to the office to pick up a class admittance note.
Excused versus Unexcused Absences and Course Credit Issues
Students are required to be present in each of their courses each semester for 85% of the time in order to receive credit for the course.
If a student misses more than 7 classes in a given course during the semester, he/she may lose credit for that course.
Even though a parent may excuse a student from a class, it still counts towards a loss of credit for the class.
The ONLY absences which do not count towards loss of credit are:
1) an absence verified by an official note from a doctor
2) an absence for a death in the family verified by a parent/guardian
3) an absence for a school-sponsored activity
4) a pre-arranged absence(see the section on pre-arranged absences)
Pre-arranged Absences
Students who will be absent more than 5 days in a row due to a family or athletic committment should connect with the Assistant Principal to ensure an academic plan is in place because of the amount of class time missed.
Any work noted by teachers is required to be made up by the student within a timeframe equal to that of their absence. Students (NOT TEACHERS) are accountable for the made-up work. If work is not made up in the appropriate timeframe, teachers are not required to extend the time or give credit for the missing work.
School Sponsored Activities
Parents do not need to notify the attendance assistant of their child’s absence due to school-sponsored activities. The school’s athletic director or teacher leading the activity will provide the attendance office with a list of students who will be missing classes. These will be entered in the attendance system appropriately. Students are responsible for class work and homework assigned during the activity absence.
Illness During the Day
If your child becomes ill during the school day they must report to the office and receive an official school slip to go to the nurses’ office. The nurses will assess the situation and if necessary will contact parents to have their student dismissed/picked up. The nurses will notify the main office if a student is dismissed. If a student is cleared to return to class, they need to stop back at the main office to receive a school admit slip to return to class.
Doctor’s Visits
We recognize that during the course of the school year students may become ill from time to time. We encourage students to practice good health habits (i.e. plenty of sleep, good nutrition, wash hands frequently, not share water bottles or utensils, etc.). However, if your child has an extended absence (more than 2 days) due to illness we encourage you to see a doctor and have the doctor provide you with a note documenting your child’s absence. When we receive a copy of this note all related absences are noted as “doctor verified” absences. These absences do not count toward potential loss of credit for your child. Again, students are responsible for making up missed work in a time frame equal to that of their absence.