Attendance

Attendance Policy:

The attendance policy can be viewed in its entirety in the student handbook. 

• All absences must be reported within 24-hours of the absence.
• The first 9 absences of the school year do not require documentation as long as a parent calls. Students are permitted nine (9) call-offs in a year without supporting documentation. 

• Beginning with the 10th absence

  • Medical notes will be required to excuse additional absences.
  • The student will enter multi-tiered systems of support to address chronic absenteeism concerns.
• Student absences that are not reported will be considered a truancy and treated as such. 

Mental Health Days:

In 2022 the State of Illinois permitted mental health days to be an excused absence. Mental health days are NOT in addition to the nine (9) permitted absences.

Full Day Absence:

Any student who misses three (3) or more periods per day will be considered as a full day absence. 

Calling In A Full Day Absence:

It is the parent's/guardian's responsibility to notify the school of absences on the day of the absence. School personnel will determine the status (excused/unexcused) of the absence.

All absences (excused or unexcused) must be reported by a parent or guardian, preferably on the day of absence, by 3:00pm.  We recognize that emergencies may make it difficult, please call and leave a message on the 24-hour voicemail at your earliest availability. 

When calling in an absence please provide the following information: 

• Student’s Name
• Student’s ID Number
• Reason for Absence
• Date(s) of Absence
• Caller’s Name

If your child is running late, please call BEFORE they arrive. 

• North - 708-585-1007
• South - 708-585-2040
• Center - 708-585-9409

Early Release or Late Arrival:

Parent/Guardian must call the attendance line for all early release or late arrivals.

Going Home Sick:

Students who report sickness/illness must exit through the nurses’ office. 

In cases where the nurse directs the student to go home for the day the absence will be considered excused. 

Students who go home without the nurse’s permission will be unexcused-explained (UXP) until a medical note is received. However, if a student chooses to go home but does not have 9 absences, the absence will be considered excused. 

Excessive Absences:

Students who have two or more unexcused (UNA/UXP/TRU) absences a month will progress through the multi-tiered systems of support. Refer to Attendance Supports & Services for more information.

Our attendance team will attempt communication and interventions with the student and adults at home. Interventions are individualized, but may include - but are not limited to - parent calls, emails & texts; individual or group meetings with student(s); referral for additional supports from the PPS office; referral to outside mental health supports; detention; targeted in-school suspensions; home visits; parent meetings; and/or referral the regional office Truant Officer. 

Students who are consecutively absent without a parent call-off for fifteen (15) days will be dropped from enrollment. Re-enrollment will require an in-person parent meeting. 

Excused Absences (EXC):

The student is entitled to full make-up privileges for excused absences. The student must meet make-up deadlines established by the teacher. Approved school related activities are not considered absences (eg, field trips). 

Reasons for excused absences are identified by the State of Illinois: 

• Illness (including mental health or behavioral health of the student)
• Observance of a religious holiday
• Death in the immediate family
• Attendance at a civic event (one per school year by following the pre-arranged absence procedures)
• Family emergency
• Other situations beyond the control of the students as determined by the Board of Education
• Voting
• Circumstances that cause reasonable concern to the parent/guardian for the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or safety
• Other reason as approved by the Superintendent or designee
  • Hospitalization
  • Court dates
  • College visits – when Pre-Arranged Absence Procedures are followed

Unexcused & Truant Absences (UNA/UXP & TRU): 

When a student is called in, their attendance may reflect UNA/UXP or TRU. These are all considered unexcused absences. The student is NOT entitled to full make-up privileges for unexcused absences. Make-up work/assessments is at the teacher’s discretion. Students cannot attend school related activities the day of an absence.

• UNA- Unexcused absence. Used the day of an absence when an adult call has not been received.
• UXP - Unexcused absence. Used when an adult calls in, but the student is over 9 absent days or the absence is not an identified valid reason. 
• TRU - Truancy. Used when a student is absent and the absence is not confirmed by an adult.  Truancy indicates that neither the school nor the family knew where the student was.

In order to comply with School Code, the school reserves the right to determine if an absence is excused. The school considers the following to be absences without valid cause, thereby resulting in them being unexcused:

• Oversleeping
• Car trouble
• “Cutting” class
• Missing the bus
• Missing one class to study for another or make up test and quizzes
• Shopping
• Extending prom weekend
• Resting or preparing for special events
• Senior Ditch Day
• Vacations
• No reason given

Please note that the items above are examples of unexcused absences. They do not constitute a complete list of incidents. 

Extended Illness/Medical Procedures:

A medical statement from a licensed physician must be submitted to the attendance office if a student is absent for five (5) or more consecutive days due to an illness or medical procedure. 

In some cases of extended illness Homebound Services may be appropriate. Contact the building social worker for more information.

• North - 708-585-1007
• South - 708-585-2040
• Center - 708-585-9409

Planned Absences:

A planned absence may be organized for medical procedures or other reasons a student may be absent for five (5) or more consecutive days. Call the attendance office to begin the process for a planned absence

Parents are to communicate with the SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER in cases of extended illness to determine if Homebound Services are warranted.

Planned absences for vacation will be honored, however, absences may be considered unexcused and student may not be eligible to make up work or assessments. 

Homebound Services:

Upon approval of the assistant principal for pupil personnel services, instruction may be provided through homebound tutoring in cases of extended illness. Homebound tutoring will constitute continuous instruction.

Excessive Absences and Medical Documents:

Excessive absence is defined as more than 10 days per semester. The school administration may require excessively absent students to provide medical documentation indicating the nature of the illness and specific dates to be excused. Failure to provide medical documentation will cause the student to be considered truant. See "Truancy Consequences." Student will be placed on the appropriate step. (Step III, IV or V)

What happens if my student misses more than two days per month?

Our attendance team will attempt communication and interventions with the student and adults at home. Interventions are individualized, but may include - but are not limited to - parent calls, emails & texts; individual or group meetings with student(s); referral for additional supports from the PPS office; referral to outside mental health supports; detention; targeted in-school suspensions; home visits; parent meetings; and/or referral the regional office Truant Officer. In some cases of excessive absences a student may be dropped from enrollment due to poor attendance & lack of academic progress. 

Students who are consecutively absent without a parent call-off for fifteen (15) days will be dropped from enrollment. Re-enrollment will require an in-person parent meeting. 

Truancy

Students are expected to remain in the building during their regularly scheduled school day. Under no circumstances are students to leave the building without the permission of the dean or school nurse. TO DO SO WILL BE TREATED AS TRUANCY. If a student becomes ill during the school day and receives permission from the nurse to go home, he or she will be given a pass from the nurse. This pass should be turned in to the Attendance Office before leaving school. Students will be released to the custody of their parents or guardians in the Attendance Office. If no parents or guardians are available, permission must be received from an assistant principal before the student is released.

Requests to leave school for other reasons must be verified by a telephone call from the parent/guardian, and official, written verification that the appointment occurred (e.g. doctor/dentist note, verification of court date or college visit). An excuse from school will be granted by the deans for only those matters that cannot be scheduled at any other time than during the school day.

Truancy is any day or period of non-attendance which is determined by school personnel as unexcused.

Single Period Truancy

The first single class truancy starts the student at Truancy Step 1. Each subsequent infraction moves the student to the next step. Students accumulating 6 unexcused absences to a single class period may be dropped from class for truancy with a failing grade (Subject to the approval of the principal).

Full-Day Truancy

Full-day truancy is defined as absence without excuse from three or more periods. A full day truancy will start on Truancy Step 2. Students accumulating 10 or more full day truancies per semester will be considered chronic and habitual truants and may be asked to make a decision about withdrawal from school. In addition to the following truancy consequences, police issuance of a municipal citation for truancy may be issued to the parent/guardian.

Punctuality is a student's responsibility. Failure to enter the classroom prior to the final ringing of the tardy bell will be recorded as a tardy or as stipulated in writing by the teacher and signed by all students as classroom procedures.

The building administration may prohibit student admission to class when a student is tardy. Such a measure may be necessary either on a selected or continuing basis to ensure that tardiness does not disrupt the educational process.

Students detained by a teacher must obtain a pass from that teacher before attempting to be admitted to their next class. Students may not leave a class to which they are tardy in an attempt to solicit a pass.

Multiple tardies to any class will result in disciplinary action. The Deans' Office, Nurse/Clinic, Guidance Office, and Bookstore do not issue excuses for tardies.

All tardies will be reported to the Deans'/Attendance office on the day of the tardy. Students accumulating multiple tardies, per class, per semester, will be counseled and/or disciplined at the indicated levels.