Attendance Information 

In an effort to meet the challenge of education and prepare our students for the workforce, we encourage all students to attend school on a daily basis. Absences should be for the following reasons: illness of student or immediate family member; medical appointments or other anticipated circumstances which have been approved by the administration; religious holidays of the student’s specific faith; approved field trips or school-sponsored functions on or off campus; subpoena by law enforcement agency. Parents, it is important that we check the Driver License of anyone picking up your student early from school. This will be done to ensure the safety and well being of your child.   Please call (386)258-4674 Ext: 54616 or 54630 before 11:00 A.M. to excuse absences and provide the following information:

1. Student’s name and

     AID letters

2. Date of absence

3. Brief reason for absence

This will ensure an accurate attendance report and alleviate problems with make-up work.

NOTE: The Florida Legislature has enacted requirements that schools report to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) the names of those students who fail to satisfy the attendance requirements. Specifically, this refers to those students who accumulate 15 unexcused absences (excluding out-of-school suspension) within 90 calendar days or who have withdrawn from school under one of the state designated dropout codes. The legislation further provides that those students who FAIL to satisfy attendance requirements will be INELIGIBLE for driving privileges.

A few helpful hints:

• Please read STUDENT ATTENDANCE POLICY in the Code of Conduct manual that is in this student folder.

• Please have your student’s Alpha Code available when calling. We will always ask when you call in regard to attendance as this is how we identify student’s.  Leave the student’s name, alpha code, your name and the reason for the absence, tardy or checkout.

• Please understand that we do need some time to get your student for you. Please allow at least 30 minutes. We do require that you or the person that you designated to pick up the student present themselves in the attendance office to sign the student out.

• When a student has missed 15 or more full days of school, the state requires that we send a letter stating that further absences cannot be excused without a doctor note. This means that even if you call to excuse the absence, you will still get a call that night until we are able to document the absence with a doctor note.

• Students are not excused for being late from lunch unless they have an official note ex: court paper, doctor, dentist etc.

• It is always a good idea when going to the doctor to get a note to cover the absence. That way, if absences accumulate, you are already covered for earlier days.

• The attendance office does not assume the parent is aware of the child not being at school. You are to call school on the same day of the absence so the student is not considered truant. This also applies to late arrivals.

• Freshman and students who did not qualify for lunch privileges cannot go off campus unless the parent comes into the attendance office and signs the student out.  

• Pinnacle information: Some parents have requested e-mails sent by Pinnacle. We understand that these various notifications come at different times of the day. Please understand the attendance office does not send those e-mails out.

• Student attendance is entered by the end of the school day. If you do not get an automated phone message that night, an excused absence has been entered into the computer for your student.

• Absences should be for the following reasons: student illness, family emergency, death in the family, medical appointments, and religious holidays. If students are not checked out through the attendance office, the student will not be excused.

• To avoid multiple classroom disruptions. We will limit the delivery of parent messages for students to the first and last five minutes of the class period. If there is an emergency situation that needs immediate attention, please state clearly the nature of the emergency to the receptionist  and it will be delivered without delay.