Attendance Information
To report an absence, please call the attendance line at:
(563) 332-0201
Attendance Policy
Our attendance policies are designed to promote academic achievement and student responsibility, in addition to providing for the safety and protection of each individual. Regular attendance, regardless of your age or academic placement, is the surest avenue toward well-rounded development in three crucial areas: academic growth, social growth, and emotional growth. School attendance is the responsibility of the student and his/her parents or guardian and the school. The school expects that a student will be in school every day and that planning ahead and keeping school attendance as a high priority can minimize most absences.
Absent & Late Students - Safety Procedure
If your child is going to be absent or late, please call the school attendance number (563-332-0201) with the following information:
In the event of illness:
- Your child’s name.
- Your child’s teacher’s name.
- Reason for absence.
- Please state 2 symptoms describing your child’s illness. This is in accordance with Scott County Health Department (SCHD) requirements. All schools in Scott County keep track of illnesses and report them every week to the SCHD. A student’s name is not used when the information is reported. This information is collected to look for changes in types of illnesses and the number of cases reported for the county. This information is reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health who looks for changes in illnesses reported in Iowa. The information is then passed on to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) so they have an accurate picture when identifying health threats like yearly influenza.
In the event of a doctor appointment, please have your doctor’s office provide the following:
- Your child’s name
- Date of appointment
- Time of appointment
- Authorizing signature
You need to call every day your child is absent or late and state the reason for your child's absence or tardiness. If some unusual and unavoidable circumstance makes it impossible for you to contact the school, you will be called at home or work for the purpose of determining your child’s absence. In cases where telephone contact cannot be made, the student must bring in a written excuse stating their absence, signed by at least one parent or the student’s guardian, on the first day back to school.
Students will be counted absent for one-half day if they miss more than 50 percent of the one-half day session.
For truancy purposes, every three late to school tardies will equate to one day of absence.
Attendance Philosophy
School attendance is the responsibility of the student, his/her parent or guardian, and the school. The Pleasant Valley Community School District expects students to be in school every day. Under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), each school is expected to maintain, at a minimum, a 95% average daily attendance throughout the year. Achieving this goal requires planning ahead and keeping school attendance a high priority. With this goal in mind:
- Doctor and dentist appointments should be made outside the school day whenever possible.
- Family vacation trips taken during school days are discouraged.
Attendance Policy
- Six days absent during a school year will result in a personal contact with parent/guardian to discuss solutions for improving attendance and or sending a letter of concern.
- Nine days absent during a school year will result in a follow-up letter and/or a personal contact to develop a plan for improved attendance. Medical documentation may be required in order for future absences to be considered ‘excused’.
- Fifteen days absent during the school year will result in a parent conference to review the previous interventions to improve attendance. Included in this meeting will be a discussion of possible legal procedures if attendance does not improve. A letter for documentation will also be included in this step.
Note: For truancy purposes, three late to school tardies will equate to one day of absence.
You must have been in attendance for half of your regularly scheduled classes during a school day to participate in after-school or evening events. Administrator approval will be needed to participate in events if more than half of a school day is missed.
Excessive Absences
Any student not in attendance for fifteen consecutive days (without a valid excuse) will be dropped from the rolls of Pleasant Valley Community High School. Pleasant Valley High School will enforce all attendance requirements as outlined by state law. Students with six (6) or more unexcused absences in a semester may result in the student being removed from the class (Iowa Dept. of Education Attendance Policy Guidelines)
Arrangements For Make-up Work
When you are absent, you will need to email the teachers for the work you miss. Otherwise, get it the next day from the teacher.
Extended Trips/Pre-Arranged Excused Absences
It is our policy to discourage family vacation trips except during school vacations, as students almost invariably show a decline in content knowledge and grades when an absence lasts beyond three days. Students will be given a pre-arranged excused form, which they will promptly show each teacher during non-instructional time. ALL WORK IS TO BE MADE UP BEFORE THE TRIP, UNLESS THE STUDENT AND TEACHER MUTUALLY AGREE ON A LATER DUE DATE. Where it is determined that such a trip is in the best interest of the student by the family, the school requests that a written request to be absent, signed by a parent or guardian, be presented to the Dean of Students or attendance secretary no fewer than five (5) school days prior to leaving. This allows students and teachers to prepare as much advance make-up as possible.
Approved Absences
Personal illness, death in the family, religious holiday, or extreme emergency are acceptable reasons for absence. A valid excuse, written by a parent or guardian and presented to the Dean of Students or attendance secretary upon the return to school, or a phone call from a parent or guardian on the day of absence, documenting the reason for absence entitles the student to make up all work missed. For a definition of a 'valid' excuse, see the following section of Excused and Unexcused Absences.
Example of Excused Absences: (Notification must be given within 48 hours of occurrence):
- personal illness
- death in the family/funeral
- religious holiday
- educational trips accompanied by parents
- emergency work necessary to the family welfare
- emergency in the family
- medical appointments as long as a Dr.’s note is provided.
Examples of Unexcused Absences:
- "Got in late, needed to sleep..."
- "Had to finish my homework..."
- "Car wouldn't start..."
- “Car had a flat tire…”
- "I missed the bus."
- Leaving building/campus without first receiving permission from a school official.
Ultimately, excused and unexcused absences will be determined by the building administrators.
Truancy
Any student absent from school and/or any class without the knowledge and consent of the parent and approval of the school administration will be considered truant. To be reinstated, a conference may be required during regular school hours, among the parents and the school administration. Students must make up work missed as a result of an absence or receive no credit for assignments. For truancy purposes, three late to school tardies will equate to one day of absence.
Leaving School
You must have written permission from your parents or guardian to leave school at any time. No one may leave the school grounds during the school day without permission from the principal or dean of students. You must sign out in the office and indicate the departure time and destination. When returning to school, you must sign in at the office. If you want to ride home on someone else’s bus, a parent or guardian must write a permission note. This note must be initialed in the office before the end of first period.
Tardiness
It is your responsibility to get to school and to each class on time. Failure to follow through with this responsibility will result in disciplinary procedures (separate form to be filled out) being initiated in accordance with the school’s discipline policy. The first two tardies will result in a warning. The third and fourth tardies will result in lunch detentions. The fifth and sixth tardy will result in one-hour after-school detentions. The seventh tardy will result in a one-hour after school detention and a parent/administrator conference. Remember, when you are tardy you affect not only your education, but also the education of your classmates.