All students are required to attend school unless otherwise exempted by law or meet the excused absence criteria as per Board Policy JED. Students should remain out of school only when necessary as missing school is missing out on learning. It is a student's responsibility to make up any assigned work when absent.

Research shows that students who miss more than two days of school per month are less likely to graduate. Our goal as a school is to get every student to attend 90% or more during the year. Missing more than 10% of school is considered chronic absenteeism. Regular attendance is the key to academic success. Students maintaining 90% or better attendance will have the privilege of attending semi-formal and formal events and dances such as Winter Formal and Prom.

Communication is important to successful attendance. If a student is absent/tardy for an "Excused Reason," to get it excuse the parent/guardian must contact the attendance office in one of the following ways:

• By Phone: Call the Attendance Line: (503-762-6138) to report an absence or tardy and request that it be excused. The attendance line is open to receive messages 24 hours a day.
• In Writing: When school is in building, and when the student's parent/guardian cannot call, they should write a signed note requesting that the absence be excused. Please include the student's full name, student identification number, day(s) and reason for request.
• By Email: An email can be sent to chsattendance@csd28j.org to report an absence or tardy and request that it be excused. The attendance line is open to receive messages 24 hours a day.

*If the parent or guardian does not speak or write in English, they may call or email the attendance line. When a parent or guardian is leaving a voice message in their language, the student should also leave a translated message in English as well. See table below for message contents.

Students may be excused from attendance for a period not to exceed five days in a term of three months or not to exceed 10 days in any term of at least six months. Students with excessive or irregular attendance may be required to provide documentation for an absence to be excused.

Notes/Calls MUST CONTAIN:

• Student's full name
• Student's identification number
• Reason for absence
• Date of absence
• Signature of parent/guardian
• Phone numbers for parent contact

Excused Reasons

• Absences will be excused for:
• Student illness including mental & behavioral health
• Medical/Dental appointments
• Family illness requiring a student's presence *Religious observances
• Legal or court appointment
• Death in the family, accident, medical or injury
• Approved school activity
• Prearranged absence
• Suspensions
• All other absences will be considered unexcused
  

Students who are absent from CHS must comply with the following:

1. Absence due to illness or emergency A student should have their parents contact the CHS Attendance Line. If the student is absent more than one-day, their parent or guardian should phone the school each day he/she is absent. Once the parent has contacted the school, the student will be excused if the reason meets the "Excused Reason" criteria. If a student is absent more than one-day, their parent or guardian will need to contact the school each day they are absent.

2. Other home and family related absences Known absences longer than two days must fill out the "Extended Absence / Early Semester Exam Request" form prior to the absence (See Appendix C). It will need to be signed by the parent/guardian, teachers and administrator prior to the absence in order to be excused. If the pre-arranged absence is for one day, a note from the parent/guardian a day prior to the absence will suffice and can be used for college visits or drivers’ tests. Each absence will be considered on an individual basis and surrounding the request. NOTE: Students will not be excused during the last week of a trimester except in cases of emergency.

Students have 48 hours after an absence to bring a note from a parent/guardian or they may call. Students who do not have a note, or a phone call into the Attendance Office within the two-day limitation will be marked as "unexcused," If you are unable to meet the two-day deadline, due to extenuating circumstances, you may appeal to the administrator in charge of attendance.

A recorded message will call the student's home for any unexcused absence. A parent may also contact the school for an attendance report. If the absences are unexcused, teachers may not allow coursework to be made up. It is extremely important that the school has a reliable phone number from the parent/guardians. Excessive absences may result with further school contact in order to assess the reasons for the student's absences, encourage better attendance, inform the parent/guardian of possible drop in grades due to excessive absences, and to request a parent/teacher conference.


 

When students are in building and have 10 consecutive absences in all scheduled classes, even planned/prearranged/excused absences, Oregon Law requires the school to drop students from enrollment.

Approval for Late Arrival/Early Dismissal is based on the following criteria:

• Only Juniors and Seniors on track to graduate may qualify for Early Dismissal/Late Arrival.
• Students need to complete a Late Arrival/Early Dismissal form available in the Counseling Center/Main Office.
• Students on Early Dismissal/Late Arrival should arrive and exit school property within 10 minutes of their scheduled class. Use of the library will be permitted, but all regulations must be observed.
• Students must always have their Late Arrival/Early Dismissal Pass in their possession and be able to provide school identification when entering and leaving. The pass is issued in the assistant principal's office.
• Parent/guardian, counselor, and administrator must approve the application and arrangements must be made several weeks before the beginning of each trimester. Transportation to and from school is the responsibility of the parent/student.
• School administration reserves the right to modify any student's schedule (grades 9-12) and assign Early Dismissal/Late Arrival as needed. Early Dismissal/Late Arrival status may be revoked by the administration for violations of this policy.

We encourage appointments to be made after school hours but understand this may not always be possible. Take the following steps to insure you are on time and properly excused.

• Please give Centennial High School a minimum of one-hour notice that a student needs to leave for an appointment, as it may be difficult to retrieve students on short notice while in building.
• Students may bring a note to the attendance office in the morning or between classes prior to the appointment, or parents or guardians may call the attendance office. Include the time the student is leaving and a description of the appointment.
• Receive an "off campus" pass from the attendance office.
• When you return to school following the appointment, it is necessary to check back in at the attendance office with the "off campus" pass.

When in the building it is mandatory for students to check out with the attendance office during the school day for any reason. If a student leaves without checking out with the attendance office or arrives without checking in, the absence is unexcused.

Attendance and punctuality are integral to Student Success in Centennial High School. It is everyone's responsibility, both Students and Staff, to work together to ensure that students are present and class is starting at the bell. For students to be successful they need to attend all classes on time. Tardies become an unexcused absence after class has been in session 25 minutes or longer. Students who accumulate excessive tardies will be held accountable and interventions will be used, which could include exclusions from extra-curricular activities. The Tardy Policy includes the following:

Excused Tardies: A tardy is excused when a student brings a note from a parent, teacher, counselor, administrator, nurse, or other staff member excusing the tardiness to class.

Unexcused Tardies: A student is considered tardy to class if they are not in the room when the tardy bell rings and does not have a note excusing the tardy. Multiple tardies may result in disciplinary action up to and including:

• 1st Tardy:
  • Teacher discussion.
• 2nd Tardy:
  • Teacher discussion.
• 3rd Tardy:
  • Teacher Discussion with student and parents about the student's tardy status and possible future consequences.
• 4th tardy
  • Minor referral for lunch detention.
  • Parents notified and possible Dean of Students notification.
• 5th Tardy & Beyond:
  • Referral for lunch detention.
  • Possible loss of student privilege.
  • Community service assigned.

SKIPPING
While at school the expectation is for students to be in class and learning. Class cutting or skipping school is defined as any unauthorized absence from school or class. Skipping is considered an unexcused absence, work during these absences may not be made up. Students who skip or cut class will be held accountable, which may include Lunch Detention, ISS, Suspension from extra-curricular activities, events, and loss of parking privileges, etc.

Skipping Accountability:

• First Occurrence:
  • Staff conferences with students and notifies parents.
  • Staff defines and teaches what skipping is, and what next steps will be in the process.
  • Staff will send the skipping team an email notification with the student name.
• Second Occurrence:
  • Placed in Room 103 for the rest of the period (security keeps list.)
  • Family contacted by The Dean of Students.
  • Attendance Improvement Plan will be created by the student, family, Dean of Students (and counselor when appropriate) then shared with teachers.
• Third Occurrence:
  • Student goes to Room 103 for the rest of the period.
  • The student is assigned ISS for the following day.
  • Check-in Check-out sheet process with Dean for 5 days.
  • Community Service assigned.
• Fourth Occurrence:
  • Assigned ISS for the rest of the period, parent contact, review/revise contract.
  • 2-week suspension of privileges, (Off Campus/Parking pass etc.) and community service assigned.
• Fifth Occurrence:
  • ISS for the rest of the day, parent and student will be contacted.

Alternative options may be explored.

A student who misses an entire day of school without a valid excuse is considered truant. Missing three or more periods is considered a full day absence. A repeated pattern of truancy will result in a referral to a team to assess reasons for truancy and develop appropriate supports and interventions to increase student engagement in school.

Please see District Policy JEA