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Coronado Middle School

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Attendance, Saturday School, and Other
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Coronado Middle School Attendance

Attendance Forms, Saturday School, and Additional Resources

 
Each CMS student and parent is responsible for understanding and complying with the policy. Any questions about this policy should be directed to Mrs. Akisha Chaney, CMS Registrar/Attendance, at 619.522.8921 x3096 or CMS Assistant Principal, Brooke Barto at  619.522.8921 x3096.
 

REPORTING ABSENCES

 
If your son or daughter is absent (or tardy beyond 30 minutes) from school, the parent or guardian is obligated report the absence or tardy to the school site.  In order to ensure the safety of your child, we are asking parents and guardians to report all absences immediately - this will support our efforts in reporting timely and accurate information back to you regarding your child’s whereabouts. All absences must be excused within 24 hours by calling our attendance line (522-8921 x 3096) the morning of the absence or by written note. After 24 hours, all absences will be coded as unexcused. 
EACH consecutive day of absence must be called in and excused. 
 
Coming Soon! Saturday School dates for 2024-25 (8:00 am to 12:00 pm): 
 
 
There have been adjustments to the reporting and recording of student attendance policies and practices that will impact our school district. As a result, we are encouraging our parent and student community to become familiar with the mandated policies that govern attendance law (CA. Ed Code), support our obligation to comply and enforce attendance policy, and understand how adhering to our district attendance procedures will support our efforts to maintain a safe, supportive, and rigorous experience for each child in our care.
 

Excused Absences

 
  • Our attendance policy (in accordance with Ed. Code48205) stipulates that absences can only be excused for the following reasons: personal illness; health department quarantine;  medical, dental, optometric or chiropractic appointments; attendance at  funeral services for an immediate family member; any court ordered appearance such as a subpoena; exclusion for failure to present evidence of immunization; observance of a religious holiday; attendance at a SART or SARB (Attendance Review) hearing.
  • Our attendance policy (in accordance with Ed. Code48205) stipulates that tardies can only be excused for the reasons listed in #1 above. Therefore, an unexcused tardy is the same as an unexcused absence.
  • Students who plan to leave campus for a medical or court appointment must follow proper procedures or risk being marked truant. Students are required to bring a note signed by a parent to the attendance office.  A pass will be issued to the student’s classroom before their leave time. They may then be signed out by the parent, someone on their emergency card or someone with written permission. Any student leaving campus must report to the office FIRST.
 
  • When a student has had 10 daily EXCUSED absences in a school year, any further absences for illness must be verified by a physician with a doctor’s note, or they will be unexcused. Note: Being absent from school for a full day. 
Students attending CMS-sponsored activities, field trips, or sporting events are excused with permission of each individual teacher whose class the student will miss. It’s the student’s responsibility to communicate with teachers, when able to, in advance of such an absence and plan for tests, projects, and assignments scheduled for that day.
  • Students must attend at least 4 periods of classes in order to participate in any school related activities. 

Unexcused Absences

 
Any absence, for any reason other than those listed above in #1 under Excused Absences, is considered unexcused. An excused absence that is not properly reported (or verified by doctor’s note if needed) within 24 hours will be considered unexcused.
Unexcused Absences/Truancy: Education Code Section 48260 states “Any pupil subject to full time education who is absent from school without a valid excuse three (3) days or tardy without a valid excuse in excess of 30 minutes on each of more than three (3) days in any one school year is a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or the superintendent of the district.”  
 
  • This classification and referral helps emphasize the importance of school attendance and is intended to minimize interference with instruction.
 
Notification Letters
 
In addition to the reporting requirement, the law states that the school district must notify the parent or guardian of a truancy by the most cost-effective method possible, and that the notification must include specific information related to the student's unexcused absence. Please review this sample letter (First Letter)
If the attendance pattern continues and after a student has been reported as a truant three or more times, he/she will be referred to the Student Attendance Review Team regarding the excessive absences and/or tardies. In addition, the school district must attempt to meet with the student and a parent or guardian.  Please review this sample letter (Second Letter)
 
The law further requires that after a student has been reported as a truant three or more times in one school year and after an appropriate school employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at least one meeting with the parent and the student, the student is deemed a habitual truant. Please review this sample letter (Third Letter/Habitual Truant)
 
The CA Child Welfare and Attendance service have revised the reporting and recording of student attendance in an attempt to prevent chronic absenteeism. A "chronic absentee" has been defined in California Education Code (EC) Section 60901(c)(1) as "a pupil who is absent on 10 percent or more of the school days in the school year when the total number of days a pupil is absent is divided by the total number of days the pupil is enrolled.”

SATURDAY SCHOOL

 
Students with 2 or more UNEXCUSED absences or excessive tardies may be assigned Saturday School to make up the time. Each class period of absence counts as one unexcused absence; for example, if the student misses an entire day and has six classes, that is equivalent to six unexcused absences. The attendance record begins on the first day of school, and continues until the last day of school (i.e., there is no “clean slate” at the semester break). (See “attendance matrix” for more information.)
 
  • If assigned, Saturday School attendance is MANDATORY. If the student has a compelling need to reschedule, he/she must speak with Administration, prior to the scheduled date, to arrange a different date. Not showing up for Saturday School may affect the student’s ability to participate in sports, activities or other school events.
  • Students assigned to Saturday School will be issued a contract (signed by students and parent/guardian and turned in at Saturday School) and must plan and bring four hours worth of school work to be completed.
  • Saturday School is held monthly, on the CMS campus from 8a.m. to 12p.m. and is proctored by CMS teachers.
  • Saturday School may be assigned as a consequence for behavior in accordance with the District’s Discipline Action Guide.
  • Students can voluntarily sign up for Saturday School to clear a planned absence not excusable under Ed. Code (see #1 above), but approved by administration. 
 

Independent Study Contracts

 
Students who will miss five or more consecutive days for reasons other than illness may complete Independent Study in lieu of attending school, with the approval of CMS Administration. The parent must submit a request via an Independent Study Contract which can be found here or picked up in the CMS office. All contracts must be submitted to the attendance clerk at least 5 days prior to your trip. Student work must be turned in to teachers immediately upon returning to school.
 
 

Tardy Policy

 
Students are to report to each of their classes on time. If you arrive to school after the final tardy bell (7:58 a.m.) you must report to the office to receive a tardy pass before going to class. Note: an unexcused tardy over 30 minutes is equivalent to an unexcused absence.
Tardy Consequences: (per grading period)
 
1)  First Tardy - Warning
2)  Second Tardy – Second warning and teacher contact to parents
3)  Third Tardy – Teacher contact to parents and citizenship grade reduction.
4)  Fourth Tardy – Referral to Assistant Principal and mandatory lunch detention
 
Parents will be notified of cumulative tardies of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 which will result in a MANDATORY Friday detention 
Note: Persistent tardies will result in further disciplinary action
 

Detention

 
Students who receive teacher referrals for being tardy may be required to attend lunch detention or after-school detention. If the scheduled time presents a conflict for the student, he/she must reschedule prior to the assigned time. 

Weekend Make-Up Days

 
Students who request an absence for any reason other than listed in “Excused Absences” may use Weekend Makeup Day(s) for the planned absence with approval from administration. Weekend Makeup Day contracts are available below.
 
  • California Ed. Code (37223; 37330) allows for Weekend Makeup Days to extend to any CMS curricular activities spanning four consecutive hours or more on a Saturday or Sunday, under the supervision of a CMS Certificated employee. These may include: CMS Band/Choir weekend field trips and competitions; ASB activities (excluding time and attendance at a dance, for example); Saturday School; CMS community service events; CMS curricular field trips.
  • Students making up a voluntary absence with Saturday School or an approved CMS weekend activity will be required to fill out the Weekend Makeup Class Agreement below with verification from the sponsoring CMS Certificated staff member and parent and submit this to administration. Weekend Makeup Days MAY NOT be exchanged for Saturday School assigned as a consequence for unexcused absences/tardies, and do not clear such absences/tardies.
 
 
ATTENDANCE IS STATE LAW AND FINANCIAL NECESSITY FOR SCHOOLS
 
Dear CMS Parents,
 
I want to take this time to share with you the need for students to attend school every day. While I understand that illnesses and emergencies occur, when a child misses school they miss valuable instruction time that truly cannot be replaced. More so than last year, we are experiencing a higher rate of absenteeism among our student population. This includes un-excused as well as excused absences. Many of these absences are due to vacations that our families take during the regular school year. With advanced planning, it’s my hope that we can increase our students’ opportunities to learn and decrease our absences.
 
Brooke Falar,
CMS Principal
 
Every-day is a Learning Opportunity and Financial Necessity! 
  • Did you know that the state of California no longer recognizes an "excused" absence? In order to get our daily attendance funding, the student must be in school on a given day. We do not get funding when a student is home ill.
  • Did you know that our average daily attendance at CMS is only 97%? That means that on any given day an average of 22 students at CMS are absent. That also means roughly a loss of $1,320 per day or a loss of $237,600 per school year to CMS in state funding.
  • Did you know that every day your child is away from school, the school district loses about $60 for that day of non-attendance?
  • Did you know that if your child attends school for part of the day, we do get credit for that attendance? So if your child has a doctor's appointment during school hours, he/she still needs to attend school for the remainder of the day.
  • Did you know that we have a goal at CMS of increasing our average daily attendance by 1% this year? If we do that, we will have an additional $56,700 in state funding.
  • Did you know that if your child must be away from school for five days or more, we can issue an independent study contract, and if your student completes the work for that contract, then we can claim funding for those missed days? The state will not allow us to do independent study contracts for absences fewer than five days.
  • Did you know that our student absence rate escalates on the day(s) right before and right after scheduled school vacations? You can help us by using only the scheduled school holidays for your family vacations.
  • In this time of budget shortfall, we need every dollar. Having your student in school every day will help us maximize our state funding allocation.