TARDIES:

• Promenade Elementary has three morning bells. The first bell rings at 8:15 a.m. students are escorted to the playground from the cafeteria if they joined us for breakfast. The back gate is opened for breakfast and 100 Mile Club at 7:45AM. The second bell rings at 8:25 a.m. This bell is a warning to students to line up for class. Teachers will then escort their students to the classrooms. The third bell rings at 8:30a.m. The expecation is that instruction starts at 8:30AM.  Students should be in their seats and ready for instruction.
• Our back gate is shut and locked after the 8:25 a.m. bell.
• Students, who arrive late, after the 8:30 a.m. bell, must check-in at the office for a late pass. Students arriving late (not through the gates and in their seats or with their teacher at 8:30 a.m.) must stop at the office upon arrival and attain a late pass before going to class (this will eliminate any further disruption to instructional time).

ABSENCES:

Parents are required to notify the school of all absences. Please call 358-1650 anytime your child is absent. This has proven to be a more efficient way of keeping accurate records. Please do not assume that the teacher will notify the attendance clerk of the absence. You must notify the office yourself. If calling in an absence, please use the phone number above. Parents may send a written note upon the student’s return to school. The note/message needs to state the reason for absence or it will remain uncleared. PLEASE NOTE: Any absence left uncleared for more than 72 hours, automatically becomes a Truancy after that 72 hour period. 

California's State Education Code provides specific guidance that must be followed at every public school. Ed Code has been implemented and is as follows:

Unexcused absences

• Going to work with a parent or other family member
• Going to the beach, lake, river or mountains
• Going to a concert
• Getting ready for visitors
• Babysitting or taking care of other family members
• Personal problems
• Repairing the car
• Waiting for service or repair people to come
• Shopping
• Camping
• Studying
• A sick sibling
• Going to a sporting event
• Parent’s schedule Convenience
• Vacation
• Other reasons not listed but included can be found in the California Education Code, Section 46010 and 48205.

Please refer to the district calendar while planning any extended trips.  Schedule any trips when school is not in session.

If student must be absent for an extended period of time, please call our office. 

Justifiable absences:

• Court appearance
• Religious Holiday, ceremony or retreat

Excused Absences:

• Illness or injury (of student)
• Medical, dental appointment with a doctor note (Student only; please request a note at every visit when the student is missing school)
• Funeral service of immediate family member (mother, father, sibling, grandparent) 1 day – California, 3 days out of state.
• Exclusion for lack of immunizations (5 days max)
• Quarantine – with doctor note

The following comes from our Parent/Student Handbook and may repeat some of the information above. If you have any questions, please contact our attendance clerk at (951) 358-1650.

ATTENDANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

All students are expected by state law to attend school every day unless they are ill. Dental and medical appointments should be scheduled after school or during non-school days. Students must not only attend school daily but they must arrive on time. All students must be on campus when the first bell rings at 8:25 a.m. Please send a note or call the office with the reason for absence or tardy the day of or the day after the absence. If your child arrives late or tardy, your student must check in with the office and pick up a “Tardy Turtle.”

Late means the student is not with their class and teacher after the bell rings at 8:30am. Tardy means the student arrived at school 30 minutes after the 8:30am bell. The expectation is that all students are in their seats and ready to learn at 8:30am. Please take into consideration the travel time between drop off location and the classroom line.

Perfect attendance means: student is in school every school day, student arrives on time every school day, student remains in school for the entirety of the school day. Late arrivals and early dismissals will affect student attendance.

When a student arrives at school late, he/she disrupts the instruction already in progress and causes an unnecessary distraction to the class. Furthermore, students who arrive late to school often feel embarrassed for showing up late. They also miss valuable instructional time. Arriving late or tardy will affect the student’s attendance record. We ask parents to please do their part to avoid students arriving late or tardy to school.

Early Departure (CA Ed Code 48200)

Children may not leave campus during the school day without special permission. If you must take your child out of school for the day, please check in at the office. Your child will be called and you must sign him/her out. Students will not be called to the office until the parent or guardian is in the office. If it is within 10 minutes of dismissal, students will not be called to the office and parents will be asked to wait for their child at the regular dismissal location due to the difficulty of disrupting the dismissal process. Some parents pick up their children early from school frequently. These are logged and counted in your child’s attendance record.

Even though we prefer dental or medical appointments be scheduled outside of school hours we understand that sometimes this may not be possible. If your child is leaving early for an appointment, bring a medical or dental note upon returning to school as required in order to excuse the early departure.

Early departure causes a disruption to the educational process and should be avoided. Early departure will affect the student’s attendance record. Thank you for doing your part to ensure that your child is in school for the entire school day.

Excused Absences (CA Ed Code 48205)

Absences must be verified as required by state law. Please send a note to the teacher or call the school office to give the reason for your child’s absence. We can only excuse absences due to illness, doctor appointments or bereavement of an immediate family member. All other absences are considered “unexcused.”

When students who have been absent return to school, they shall present a satisfactory explanation verifying the reason for the absence. Absences shall be verified by the student’s parent/guardian, other person having control of the minor, or the student if age 18 or older. (Education Code 46012; 5 CCR 306)

When a student has had 10 absences in the school year for illness verified by methods noted above, any further absences for illness must be verified by a physician or school nurse (the school will ask for a doctor’s note). After 10 absences, the absence will be considered “unexcused” unless verified by a physician or school nurse.

When a student is absent and the school receives no notification, the absence will be unverified. Unverified means there has been no communication from home to school regarding the absence.

Excessive Absences (CA Ed Code 48263.6)

Absences of over 10% (about 18 school days) are considered excessive and deemed chronic truant. We understand that some students may have medical conditions that require time out of school. Two absences per month may not seem like much, but with approximately 10 months in the school year, two absences add up to a total of 20 absences. This is beyond the 18 school days, which is considered and deemed chronic. On average, a month has 20 school days.

Truancy (CA Ed Code 48260)

On the 3rd unexcused absence, you will receive a truancy letter. Letters will continue to be sent home for continued unexcused absences and by the 7th unexcused absence, the student may be declared as “habitual truant.” After the 5th truancy the family may be referred for site-based interventions (Student Attendance Review Team Meeting) and, subsequently, intervention by the district (Student Attendance Review Board) and possible legal action.

Vacations

Vacations are unexcused absences and should be planned during scheduled school breaks. See the District Calendar for scheduled breaks.

Excessive Tardiness

Students who are late disrupt the classroom and their own education. Being tardy 10% or more of the time is considered unacceptable. The school will work with parents to identify the problem and how the family will rectify the situation. In addition, the office will maintain a tardy log in order to better track students who are often late. Being tardy will affect school attendance.

Short-Term Independent Study Contract

Short-term Independent Study Contracts are available for students that are not able to physically be in school due to any reason other than an illness, doctor appointment or bereavement of an immediate family member.

A Short-Term Independent Study Contract must be agreed upon by the school and parent/guardian. A meeting will be held with site administration as part of the approval process. The Short-Term Independent Study Contract must be for at least 5 days and is limited to 10 days per school year. An agreed upon and completed Short-Term Independent Study Contract does not have a negative Impact on a student’s attendance record.