Attendance and Tardy Policy

Attendance and Tardy Policy

Education and learning enables and empowers all children.  With the help of the community, regular school attendance affords every child the opportunity to learn something new, to build self-esteem, to reinforce positive values, to interact with others and to become an effective, productive citizen.

Please call the office by 9:00 if your child will be absent or tardy past 9am.

Tardy Policy

Please come to school on time!  Classes start promptly at 8:30 for all grades.  Because we start our day together thoughtfully and lovingly, we don’t want your child to miss the opportunity to begin each day with the class.  If a child is late for school, parents must sign them in at the office and pick up a tardy slip.  When children in grades K-4 are late, parents will be asked to wait with their child in the hallway until the teacher indicates that they may enter the room.  Students in grades 5-8 are also asked to wait in the hallway until it is appropriate to enter.  Teachers will not let a student into class with out a tardy slip.  This insures that our attendance records will be accurate.  Thank you for your cooperation with this process.

The Village School works very hard to create a rhythm in the classroom that will lead to a successful day for each child.  The first half hour of the day provides transitional activities that prepare children for the rest of the day. The teacher meets each child and greets him and her personally.  The class then does opening exercises and uses movement and rhythm to awaken the body and mind and to integrate the individual with the group.  Children who start the day with this kind of engagement are less likely to retreat and are more likely to have a successful day.  If they miss this, children miss the opportunity to start the day on time and to engage with the group. 

What is considered an excused tardy?

• A doctor/dental appointment or illness
• Transportation problems
• Family emergency

All other tardies, such as oversleeping or running late, will be considered unexcused, even if the parent notifies the school or signs the student in.

Attendance Policy

Students who attend school on a regular and timely basis have greater opportunities for increased learning.  Especially at The Village School, where instructional materials are created by both the teacher and the students within an in-depth Main Lesson block, regular attendance becomes even more important. 

Excused absence:

• Illness:  The parent must call the school. on the day of the absence.  Whenever possible, medical appointments should be arranged before or after school.  If absent, students may be expected to make-up work.  Parents should check with the teacher regarding their child’s make-up work. 
• Planned absence:  Parents should make every effort to arrange vacations during school vacation time.  If a student must miss school, the parent will notify the school ahead of the planned absence.  Parents should arrange for the student to make up work missed.
• Other absence:  Please contact the office if your child will miss school for any other reason.

Unexcused absence:

ü  Any absence that is not excused by a parent on the day of absence or prearranged before the absence is considered unexcused. 

State law requires the school to contact students’ homes to verify absences.  Attendance and tardiness are monitored on a regular basis and maintained in a District-wide data base.  The Village School will notify parents when their child’s tardies or attendance problems become excessive.  Failure to resolve the problem will result in a series of interventions which may range from meeting with the Administrator to a truancy referral involving a Lane ESD officer .

Extended absence

State law requires schools to withdraw students who have been absent 10 consecutive days. If there is a wait list for the class of the withdrawn student, the vacancy will be filled to maintain funding. To avoid excessive absences, please schedule vacations during designated school vacations.  In some rare circumstances, if a student might must more than 10 consecutive days of school, some limited exclusions may apply.  A “Request for a Withdrawal Waiver” form must completed and given to the administration ahead of time. Teachers and administrators will meet to consider the request and will promptly notify the family of the decision.