Coronado High School

Attendance at Coronado High School is critical to student success. Regular and punctual attendance ensures continuity in learning, fosters academic achievement, and prepares students for future responsibilities. CHS also prioritizes being respectful; and, we expect our students to practice this value by attending each class and being on time.

 

To make reporting an absence easier, parents/guardians have several options:

 

 

Please recognize that it is the responsibility of parents/guardians to notify the school prior to or on the day of a student’s absence and provide an accurate reason for the absence. If a student’s absence (for each class period) is not reported by a parent/guardian, the absence will be considered a truancy.

 

 

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

 

CHS adheres to the attendance policies outlined in the California Education Code (EC), sections 48200-48208. These laws mandate compulsory education and outline the responsibilities of both parents/guardians and students regarding attendance.

 

Key elements of the California EC relevant to attendance at CHS include:

 

Compulsory Education: Every child between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend school full-time.

 

 

Unexcused Absences: All other absences are considered unexcused by California Ed. Code.

 

Truancy: California EC (48260) defines truancy as, “A student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof …”, and outlines procedures for addressing habitual truancy. 

 

Chronic Truant: Per California EC (48263.6), a student is deemed a chronic truant when, “… absent from school without a valid excuse for 10% or more of the school days in one school year, from the date of enrollment to the current date ...”.

 

Habitual Truant: Per California EC (48262), a student is deemed an habitual truant when, “ … reported as a truant three or more times per school year …”. 

 

CHS ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS

 

Students will attend all scheduled classes daily, arriving on time and prepared for learning.

 

Students will remain in the classroom during the entire instructional period under the supervision of a certificated teacher.

 

Students will have their Student ID card, or a photo of their ID, while on the CHS campus.

 

Students who leave campus (excluding lunch) during the school day will check out with the Attendance Technician. 

 

Parents/guardians will notify CHS of a student’s absence prior to or on the day of an absence.

 

If a student is absent for two or more consecutive days, each day of absence must be reported.

 

Call the Attendance Technician, Doris Ricks, at 619-522-8907 ext. 2094

 

Submit the Parent Attendance Verification Form (Google) 

 

Complete this form (PDF) and email to: chsattendance@coronadousd.net 

 

Hand-deliver a written note to the attendance desk located in the main office

 

If a student’s absence (for each period) is not reported by their parent/guardian, then the absence will be considered a truancy.

 

Make-up work for excused absences will be completed within a reasonable timeframe as determined by the teacher.

Students with unverified absences may be subject to consequences.

 

 

Teachers submit attendance daily for each class period within the first 10-15 minutes of class.

 

Parents/Guardians will be notified if their student is absent from class(es) during the school day and they have not already contacted the Attendance Technician.

 

An absence will be considered a truancy if it remains unverified by a parent/guardian within 24 hours. 

 

Illness (during the school day)

 

Students who feel ill during the school day will report to the nurse’s office. The Nurse will contact the parent/guardian and, if necessary, release the student to their care. In these instances, the student’s absence will be “excused.”

 

Release (during the school day)

 

Students who need to be released (e.g., medical appointment) during the school day will bring a note to the Attendance Technician before school. The note should state the date, time, reason for the release, and include a parent/guardian signature. Students will receive a pink “Release Pass,” which they will carry with them while they are off-campus. If students return to campus the same day, they will check in with the Attendance Technician upon arrival.

 

Parents/Guardians may also call the CHS main office (619-522-8907) and request the receptionist to prepare a release pass. Similar to the note, the receptionist will need to know the date, time, and reason for the release. Please be mindful that it may take up to 15 minutes to retrieve your child from class so provide ample time when making this request.

 

Absences associated with suspension or student disciplinary action will be treated as excused absences. Students will be provided with homework that they would otherwise have been assigned. 

 

The school monitors attendance regularly and intervenes early to support students with attendance issues.

Interventions may include meetings with counselors, administrators, parent conferences, and/or referral to support services.

 

Students who accumulate unexcused or unverified absences may be referred to the attendance review board. (California EC 48263)

 

The school works closely with families to address underlying causes of truancy and to support students in returning to regular attendance.

 

Attendance letters will be sent to parents/guardians per California EC. (See CHS TRUANCY/UNVERIFIED ABSENCE INTERVENTION CHART below) 

 

Students are expected to be in class on time, which CHS considers to be an act of respect for students themselves, for their peers, and for their teacher. In addition, students who are tardy deprive themselves of their own learning.  

 

The beginning of each class period is signaled by a first (warning) bell; students have five minutes to be in their assigned seat before the second bell rings, which signals the beginning of instructional time. 

 

Students are marked tardy if they are not in their seat (or their teacher’s pre-assigned area) when the second bell rings.

 

For students who arrive late, teachers may choose to either: (1) Invite the student to enter the classroom quietly and mark the student tardy during a break in the period; or, (2) Send the student to the front office so they are marked tardy but present. If option 2, students are expected to go immediately to the attendance desk, and return promptly and directly to their assigned classroom.

 

If students are marked absent as a result of a tardy, they should contact their teacher who will then communicate with the Attendance Technician to correct the error. 

 

Students should always check-in with their teacher at the end of the period to make sure that their attendance has been marked correctly. 

 

School counselors will work collaboratively with students who struggle with their attendance. 

 

 

Students with excessive tardies and/or truancies may receive consequences for their actions. 

 

Progressive discipline may include, but is not limited to: 

 

Detention

 

Campus beautification / community service

 

Tutoring / study hall

 

Meeting with a school administrator (Mr. Kusserow)

 

Attendance at Saturday Enrichment

 

Loss of extracurricular activities

 

Detention (or an alternative consequence) will be assigned at every 5th instance of tardiness to a period class. (5 tardies = 1 detention)

 

Students who fail to attend assigned detention (or an alternative consequence) in a timely manner will be subject to additional disciplinary action as determined by the CHS administration.

 

Students whose absences are considered truancies will meet with school administration. 

Detention (or an alternative consequence) will be assigned at every 3rd instance of truancy from a period class. (3 truancies = 1 detention)

 

 

Parents/guardians of students who accumulate a total of 9 instances of truancy (or unverified absences) will receive a “Letter of Concern'' from CHS. Parents are encouraged to speak with their student about these unverified absences from class(es) and are welcome to contact their student’s counselor for support. If parents have more pressing concerns or need additional support regarding their student’s attendance, please contact Assistant Principal Tim Kusserow.

 

Parents/guardians of students who accumulate a total of 15 instances of truancy (or unverified absences) will receive a “Warning Letter” (Letter 1) that further intervention is needed.

 

Parents/guardians of students who accumulate a total of 24 instances of truancy (or unverified absences) will receive a School Attendance Review Team (SART) Invitation Letter (Letter 2). A parent/guardian will be asked to contact the school and verify receipt of the letter. In addition, they are welcome to schedule a SART meeting with their student, counselor, and a school administrator, where a SART contract will be generated to better assist the parent/guardian in monitoring their student’s daily attendance for each class.

 

Parents/guardians of students who accumulate a total of 40 instances of truancy (or unverified absences) will receive a “Mandatory SART Letter” (Letter 3). The school will contact the parent/guardian to schedule a SART meeting with the student, a parent/guardian, CHS administrator, and school counselor. The CHS administrator will facilitate the SART meeting and identify strategies, set realistic attendance goals, and establish fair consequences for students as it relates to their school attendance. 

 

Parents/guardians of students who accumulate a total of 72 (or greater than 10% of the school year) instances of truancy (or unverified absences) will receive a “SARB Letter” (Letter 4). CHS will contact the parent/guardian to schedule a Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) meeting. The SARB is a multidisciplinary panel composed of CHS administrators, faculty/staff,  agency partners, and/or community-based organizations that works to address attendance and/or behavior problems. The intent of SARB is to resolve school-related issues through the use of available school and community resources. Failure to meet with the SARB or follow its directives can result in a referral to the District Attorney’s Office for truancy mediation and/or prosecution. (California EC 48260, EC 51101)

 

 

 

 

CUSD attendance policy enables students to receive and complete work so that they do not fall behind in their academic work due to absences. 

 

If your student will be missing school due to illness or planned absence that does not qualify for an Independent Study Contract, we encourage your student to speak to their teachers about class work and/or assignments that they will be missing and how best to keep up.  

 

Teachers are not required to accept work or provide makeup assignments, quizzes, or tests for students who missed class due to tardiness, unexcused absences, and/or truancies (unverified absences).

 

In most cases, students must be present in their assigned classes to be eligible for extracurricular activities on the same day. Students with any unverified period absences on the last school day prior to a weekend event may be ineligible to participate.

 

Students who have a planned absence of 5 (or more) consecutive days of school due to illness, travel, or other reasons may complete an Independent Study Contract with the prior approval of a CHS administrator. The parent/guardian must complete the “Request for Independent Study” form (available in the front office) prior to the absence date. Instructions for completing the Independent Study Contract are on the form.

 

Students who experience chronic or serious illness that requires excessive absences, please contact your counselor.

 

Students who have certain types of unexcused absences (e.g., family event, college visit, non-CHS sports event) may use a Weekend Makeup Day to “make up” the missed time.  California EC (37223; 35330) allows for Weekend Makeup Days to extend to any CHS extra-curricular activity spanning four or more consecutive hours on a Saturday or Sunday, under the supervision of a CHS certificated employee. This includes academic activities (e.g., Final exam review), community service activities, performances, sports events, or any other 4-hour activity under the supervision of a CHS certificated teacher.

 

Weekend Makeup days may not be exchanged for Saturday Schools assigned for disciplinary reasons.

 

Weekend Makeup Days can only be used for a previous, not a future, student absence.

 

Saturday Enrichment 

Students who wish to make-up any type of absence are invited to attend Saturday Enrichment held on specified Saturdays throughout the school year, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and supervised by a certificated teacher. 

 

Students may use the time to work on school assignments. 

 

CHS teachers may also offer four-hour classes ranging in topics from the Arts, Ceramics, Woodshop, Athletics, etc. Students must attend all four hours to receive credit. 

 

Students who have excessive tardies and/or truancies (unverified absences) may be assigned to Saturday Enrichment by a school administrator. Failure to attend Saturday Enrichment may affect the student’s ability to participate in CHS extracurricular activities and result in progressive consequences.

 

Saturday Enrichment may also be utilized to reduce/satisfy detention hours that have been assigned.

 

Coronado High School values the partnership between home and school in promoting regular and punctual attendance. By working together we ensure that every student has the opportunity to achieve academic success and personal growth. If students/parents/guardians have extenuating circumstances, please contact the student’s counselor and/or CHS assistant principals. We are here to support you!

 

For additional information about CHS attendance policies, please contact the Attendance Technician, Doris Ricks (doris.ricks@coronadousd.net; 619-522-8907, x2094 or Assistant Principal Tim Kusserow (Timothy.Kusserow@coronadousd.net; 619-522-8907, x2070.

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