Reporting Attendance

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REPORT AN ABSENCE

Please report your child's absence by 9:00 am. If a parent fails to contact the school, the absence will be marked unexcused. You may call 423-652-9445 and leave a message 24 hours a day or email [email protected] (Crystal Powers) our school secretary.

Please leave your:

1) child's name

2) child's grade

3) child's teacher

4) reason for the absence


ATTENDANCE

The Bristol Tennessee School System stresses the importance of regular, on-time attendance throughout the school year. Children must be in their classrooms when the 8:10 a.m. bell rings to be counted as "on time."

All students are expected to be in school each day unless an illness makes it impossible for them to attend. Appointments should be scheduled for after school hours if possible.

Parents should refrain from signing their child out early except for medical reasons or other school-approved reasons. A record of all tardies and early withdrawals will be kept for attendance purposes.

SCHOOL DAY

Our school day begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 3:10 p.m. Children not in attendance a minimum of 3 hours and 35 minutes will be counted absent for the entire day.

MAKE-UP WORK

Following an absence, it is the responsibility of the student or parent to contact the teacher and complete all work missed. On the second consecutive absence, the parent may request any missed assignments be sent to the office for pick-up after 3:00 p.m. This allows the teacher time to organize your child's assignments while preserving valuable instructional time.

LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY

The parent or authorized person should enter the front door during the regular school day and report directly to the office. Only authorized and custodial parents can sign a student out unless permission is granted from the parent or legal guardian.

The student will remain in the classroom until the office notifies the teacher to release the student. Parents are discouraged from signing a student out early except in an emergency situation.

Students who are not signed out prior to 2:45 p.m. will not be allowed to leave early. This helps us prevent additional traffic from backing up during dismissal.

ILLNESS

When should I send my child to school?


We believe that student success begins with attendance; however, there may be times when it's in your child's best interest to stay at home. Your child is considered contagious if they experience any of the following: fever, vomiting, diarrhea, conjunctivitis (pink eye), or head lice. Your child should be fever free and/or symptom free for 24 hours without medication before coming back to school.

Children with head lice are permitted to return to school once treated.

If your child is at school and the nurse determines he / she has a temperature over 100 degrees, you will be notified to pick up your son / daughter.

Please note: Written instructions to the school from a student's medical provider will take precedence over the above guidelines.

EXCUSED ABSENCES

Excused absences include:

  • A child's personal illness
  • Death in the family
  • Required court appearance
  • Family illness requiring the child's assistance at home
  • Religious holiday
  • Approved School Related Activities
  • Approved Family/Cultural Leave

Please note that absences due to Family/Cultural Leave are excused only with principal approval prior to the absence. All absences not meeting these conditions will be considered unexcused.

PARENT REPORTED ABSENCES (5 days accepted)

A total of 5 absences will be excused based on parent notification via call-in, email, or note (this means a doctor's note is not required). Once the 5 day limit has been reached, parents will receive a letter requiring a doctor's excuse for future absences. After 5 parent excuses (notes, phone calls, or emails), the student's absence will be recorded as unexcused unless a doctor's note is turned into the office. If the student has a doctor's excuse, the absence does not count as a parent excuse. There is no limit on absences with a doctor's excuse.


UNEXCUSED ABSENCES

Once your child accumulates 5 unexcused absences,a letter will be sent from the Bristol Tennessee School System Director of Attendance, Scott Latham. At that time, we will seek assistance from the court system to improve your child's attendance. If the absence is an unexcused absence, any make-up work will be credited at 80% of its value.

TARDIES & EARLY DISMISSALS

It is important that students arrive on time for school and remain at school the entire day. Excessive tardies and / or early dismissals will affect a student's school success. Students are expected to arrive in their homeroom no later than 8:10 a.m. Students arriving late for school are to report directly to the office to sign in and obtain a tardy slip. Students not in their classrooms when the bell rings will be sent to the office for a tardy slip. Consequences will be applied for excessive tardies at the principal's discretion.

EXCESSIVE ABSENCES / TARDIES

Excessive absences and/or tardies will be reviewed regularly by school personnel. Students with excessive absences may be required to present a doctor's excuse for all absences. This issue could be grounds for denying transfer or tuition requests and may result in a referral to the juvenile court offices.

FAMILY / CULTURAL LEAVE & EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES(3 days maximum)

Students may be excused from school to participate in family cultural and educational activities. The following guidelines shall be used by school principals in approving cultural/educational activities.

  • A maximum of 3 days will be available for family cultural/educational activities, annually. Forms are available in the office and on our website under the "Parents" tab.
  • Cultural leave days will not be approved during state testing dates.
  • Cultural leave will not be granted if a child has 3 or more unexcused absences.
  • Cultural leave will not be granted if a child is failing any of his / her classes.
  • A written request for the absences to be excused must be completed by the parent/guardian only and filed with the principal prior to the activity. A request will not be approved after the activity has occurred.
  • If a request for more than the maximum days allowed is submitted, the first 3 days of absence will be considered as cultural leave if approved by the principal.
  • Make-up work is the responsibility of the student and parent. School/classroom policies on make-up procedures will be followed.
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