For a student to take full advantage of the educational opportunities at Greer High, he/she should be in attendance each day. Regular attendance and achievement in school subjects are closely related. For this reason the following policies concerning attendance are deemed necessary.
The school year consists of 180 school days. To receive credit, students must attend at least 85 days of each 90-day course and at least 42 days of each 45-day course. Accrued student absences, either lawful, unlawful, or a combination thereof, may not exceed five (5) days in a one-unit course and three (3) days in a half-unit course. Any absence in excess of those numbers may cause the student to lose credit for the course.
All absences shall be approved or disapproved by the principal (or his/her designee) in accordance with the following guidelines:
Lawful Absences
1. Personal illness of a child shall be verified by a statement from the parent or a physician within two (2) days of the student’s return to school. Absences for chronic or extended illness will be approved only when verified by a physician’s statement.
2. Serious illness or death of an immediate family member shall be verified by a statement from the parent within two (2) days of the student’s return to school.
3. Absences for religious holidays shall be requested in advance. Such a request must be made to the principal in writing.
4. Absences for extreme hardships may be approved by the principal. Such approval should be prearranged when possible.
Unlawful Absences
Any student absence, with or without the knowledge of the parent, which does not meet the conditions for a lawful absence shall be counted as unlawful.
Procedures for Make-Up Work
Provisions for make up of school work missed during lawful absences shall be worked out with teacher(s) concerned at the earliest time possible, but the time should not exceed five (5) days after the student returns to school. Any work missed during unlawful/unexcused absences may not be made up.
1. It is the responsibility of the student to get homework assignments and future assignments when he/she is absent:
a. Students who have been absent are to immediately begin to make up tests and other missed work upon return to school. Reasonable consideration will be granted students, taking into account any special circumstances of the absence.
b. No make-up work for credit will be given for out-of-town trips (except in cases of serious illness or death in the immediate family) unless arrangements are made with the teacher at least one week in advance of the trip. The teacher may require the work missed to be made up either before or after the absence.
2. Absences from a class or classes for
a. Field trip and/or other off-campus school-sponsored activities must be substantiated with a written permit and signed by the student's subject teachers.
b. Other school-sponsored activities (on-campus participation during class time) must be arranged by the student with all teachers concerned; otherwise, the absence will be considered a class cut. The student is responsible for all make-up work missed during these absences.
3. Work missed due to suspension or class cutting may be made up.
4. In the event a student is truant from school all day or suspended from school for any reason, a parent or guardian must have a conference with a member of the administrative team. Students with repeated disciplinary violations may be suspended when, in the judgement of the administration, suspension seems the best means of correcting the problem.
5. Any student who leaves the campus without proper authorization may be given a minimum of 1 week after-school detention. Suspension may be given depending upon other circumstances regarding the student and the situation. In order to ensure the safety of Greer High students, this rule will be rigidly enforced.
6. Legal excuses for college visits made during school time will be arranged in advance. Upon the student's return to school, he/she should file with the attendance clerk a signed statement from the college verifying the date of the visit.
When You Return to School from an Absence
It is the responsibility of the student to secure an admission slip from his/her first period teacher. Each student must present a statement from a parent or physician verifying his or her absence. No student will be admitted to class without an admission slip.
Tardies to School and First Period Class
Students should arrive at school each day on time. Any student arriving after 9:00AM, will report to ISS for first block. Upon the second offense, the student will go to ISS for the day. Tardies and absences become a part of the permanent record and can reflect on a student's performance when considered by college or employment officials. Students who arrive after class begins are considered tardy.
Early Dismissals
During the 2012-2013 school year, Greer High School will continue to emphasize using instructional time productively. Our intent is to clearly establish teaching and learning tasks as priorities at Greer High School. This emphasis will mean that class interruptions must be limited only to emergencies.
Furthermore, in order for students to benefit from the strong emphasis on instruction, they must attend class regularly and be on time.
Please review the policy below:
1. All early dismissal notes must be received in the Attendance Office by 9:00 a.m. and should include the following information:
a. Student's name
b. Grade level
c. Phone number where parent can be reached so that the school official can confirm that the student has parental permission to leave school.
2. If the parent or guardian comes to the office to sign the student out, we cannot interrupt class to get a student, except in the case of a genuine emergency. Parents should take note of the time during which students may be dismissed for non-emergencies. No early dismissals allowed for lunch.
3. All requests must be verified. If the parent/guardian cannot be reached, the student will not be given permission to sign out early. If students and parents will use this procedure, we can avoid both unnecessary class interruptions and parents having to wait on students.
4. Students with early dismissals must leave campus promptly.
5. Students returning to school on the same day of an early dismissal must report directly to the Attendance Office to sign in and must resume their regular class schedule. Failure to do so is class cutting.