Parents in every city in the U.S. want their children to do well in school but many don’t fully understand the connection between chronic absence and a student’s academic achievement. To address this discrepancy, the Claiborne County School System would like to engage parents in improving attendance by sharing some tips to assist them in increasing their child’s regular attendance at school.

Attendance Tips For Parents

Let Children Know that Good Attendance Is Important:

• Attendance is a parent and student responsibility. Let your child know that you think attending school daily is important. Show them you are interested in their school activities and tell them that you want them to do well in school.
• Good attendance habits start at an early age. Make sure your child goes to school regularly and on time. This helps them develop a positive view of school and the importance of attendance.
• Discuss with your student that arriving to school on time and to report to class when dropped off.
• Become involved in your child’s school life and school activities.
• Take an interest in your child’s school work. Check homework for accuracy and completeness.
• Read the school newsletter. Post the school calendar and notes on the refrigerator, or other prominent location to highlight school activities and important student information.
• Do not provide inappropriate excuses for your child to miss school. Do not let them take time off from school for minor ailments – particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work.
• Don’t expect or let older children stay home from school to babysit younger siblings.
• Set good examples and enforce rules. Speak well of the school and support school staff.
• Make a contract with your child to improve his/her attendance. Reward positive improvements.

Establish a Routine:

• Give yourself and children enough time to get ready. No TV on school mornings.
• Provide students their own alarm clock. Teach kids to set and use their own alarm clock or clock radio. · Set alarm clock 30 minutes earlier for students who need more time to get ready for school.
• Plan ahead the night before: such as identifying and pre-prepping breakfast, have kids choose clothes and shoes the night before, and pack their backpacks with completed homework and snacks/water. Parents can prepare for work the night before too.
• Set a regular bedtime schedule. Age should be a factor.
• Get proper rest and go to bed early.
• Have your child go to bed 10 minutes earlier and get up 10 minutes earlier.
• Have kids bath or shower in the evening.
• Help your child relax before bedtime with a story, instead of the stimulation of television.
• Have schoolwork and lunch ready and laid out, ready to go. Create a special folder for completed assignments.
• Provide regular study times and a quiet, clean area for doing homework.
• Have your child walk to school or the bus stop with another child who is always on time.
• Limit and balance extra-curricular activities.
• Have a back-up plan for cold weather for cars not starting.

Show Interest in Student’s Activities:

• Attend Parent Teacher Conferences
• Attend Back to School Night and Parent Meetings
• Volunteer in the classroom, on field trips or during school events.
• Make education a family priority.
• Encourage your child to get more involved with their school. Sign them up for extra-curricular activities they like or an after school program. Studies show the more involved a child and parents are with their school, the better their attendance and success is.

Keep Open Lines of Communication with your Children, Teacher, Principal and School Attendance Office:

• Let the school know in advance if your child is going to be absent or if you have concerns about your child’s attendance or school performance.
• Report all absences on the day the student will miss school by calling the attendance office or line.
• Provide doctor’s notes to the attendance clerk when medical verification is available for student’s absences.
• If your child does not want to go to school, find out why and work with your school and child to address concerns. Let our child know he/she must attend school.
• If you notice your child is avoiding a particular class or is having a difficult time in one subject area, discuss this with your child and his/her teacher. Offer extra support at home. This will prevent your child from developing a behavior of avoidance in school when things become difficult.
• Get to know your children’s friends and their families and make connections with other families that value school attendance.
• Contact your child’s school for help if it is needed to support your child or family.
• Ask teachers and staff at your child’s school and other family members for advice on how to keep your child going to school – on time, every day!
• Check your child’s backpack weekly. Occasionally important letters (such as a medical excuse for last Thursday’s absence) can become lost in a full backpack. Organizing its contents weekly improves your chances of finding these documents while they are still useful.
• Keep a school year calendar. This is an excellent way to track all of the important dates, holidays, and events at your child’s school. It is also a convenient place to document absences (who was absent, why and how you cleared it/date cleared), phone calls/conferences with school staff, and all of your other important school related information.
• Make sure your child knows you do not approve of him/her being late or absent. Talk to your child about issues that may be making them late for school.
• Help your child understand the state laws and school attendance policies.
• Do not let your child persuade you into making an excuse for him/her. Don’t give up. Reward good behavior and take it one day at a time.

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Getting ready for school and learning to read and write begins early in your
child’s development, well before kindergarten or first grade. The love and
guidance that you provide your child can set him or her on the way to many
years of success in school.
This booklet guides you through the process of sharing what you know about
your child with the kindergarten teacher who will be working with your child
in the new school year. It gives you the opportunity to pass on important
information about your child’s likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses and
any concerns that you may have. If your child is receiving any special services,
the information that you provide here can help to ensure that those services
continue without gaps into the new school year.

This booklet will work best if you review and discuss it with your child’s
kindergarten teacher during the first month of school. Taking the time to connect
with your child’s teacher will get the new school year off to a terrific start!

Please click the link below to acess the booklet.

transitioning_to_kindergarten_parent_resource_english

Stand in the Gap Coalition (SIGCO), Servolution and Omni Health Services have teamed up with area caregivers to provide a Caring for Kids resource day on Friday, March 22, 2019 at Servolution Health Services. There will be a wealth of knowledge shared about area resources and types of assistance available to citizens of the Tri-State area.  Representatives from several agencies throughout the Tri-state area will be present to educate and inform families about the opportunities and resources they can provide.  For more information, contact Pam Sulfridge, SIGCO Coalition Coordinator at 423-300-1302 or access the flyer at the link below.

Caring for Kids Event Flyer

Your child’s daily, on-time attendance is critical to their success in school. And while some challenges to your child’s school attendance are unavoidable, it’s important to understand the impact of each absence.

A student is considered chronically absent if they miss only two days of school per month(18 days in a year), whether the absences are excused or unexcused. This is true for children as early as elementary school, when they are at a higher risk of falling behind in reading. Even one year of chronic absence can cause a child to fall behind academically and decrease a child’s chances of graduating from high school, which can have long-term consequences on their financial independence, physical well-being and mental health.

The good news? Attending school every day increases a child’s chances of success in school and in life.

PARENTS PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO VISIT THE ABSENCES ADD UP HOMEPAGE.

Absences Add Up Homepage

                                                CLAIBORNE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

                                                                     ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance is a key factor in student achievement and therefore, students are expected to be present each day school is in session.

The attendance supervisor shall oversee the entire attendance program which shall include:
1. All accounting and reporting procedures and their dissemination;
2. Alternative program options for students who severely fail to meet minimum attendance 5 requirements;
3. Ensuring that all school age children attend school; 7
4. Providing documentation of enrollment status upon request for students applying for new or 8 reinstatement of driver’s permit or license; and 9
5. Notifying the Department of Safety whenever a student with a driver’s permit or license
withdraws from school.
Student attendance records shall be given the same level of confidentiality as other student records. Only authorized school officials with legitimate educational purposes may have access to student information without the consent of the student or parent/guardian.

Absences shall be classified as either excused or unexcused as determined by the principal/designee. Excused absences shall include:
1. Personal illness;
2. Illness of immediate family member;
3. Death in the family;
4. Extreme weather conditions;
5. Religious observances;
6. College visits;
7. Pregnancy;
8. School sponsored or school endorsed activities
9. Summons, subpoena, or court order;
10. Circumstances which in the judgment of the principal create emergencies over which the student has no control.
The principal shall be responsible for ensuring that:
1. Attendance is checked and reported daily for each class;
2. Daily absentee sheets contain sign in/sign out sheets and indicate students present or absent for the majority of the day;
3. All student absences are verified;
4. Written excuses are submitted for absences and tardiness;
5. System-wide procedures for accounting and reporting are followed.
TRUANCY
Truancy is defined as an absence for an entire school day, a major portion of the school day or the major 15 portion of any class, study hall or activity during the school day for which the student is scheduled.
Students who are absent five (5) days without adequate excuse shall be reported to the director of schools who will, in turn, provide written notice to the parents/guardians of the student’s absence. The director of schools shall also comply with state law regarding the reporting of truant students to the proper authorities.  If a student is required to participate in a remedial instruction program outside of  the regular school day where there is no cost to the parent(s) and the school system provides transportation, unexcused absences from these programs shall be reported in the same manner.
The Board shall determine annually and include in the school calendar a plan for using three (3) abbreviated school days and the procedures for making up missed instructional days. In addition, the Board shall determine annually whether to use flexible scheduling for kindergarten students.
Students participating in school-sponsored activities whether on- or off-campus shall not be counted absent. In order to qualify as “school-sponsored,” the activity must be school-planned, school-directed, and teacher-supervised.
MILITARY SERVICE OF PARENT/GUARDIAN
School principals shall provide students with a one-day excused absence prior to the deployment of and a one-day excused absence upon the return of a parent or custodian serving active military service.  Principals shall also allow up to ten (10) excused cumulative absences per year for students to visit a parent or guardian during a deployment cycle. The student shall provide documentation to the school as
proof of his/her parent’s/guardian’s deployment. Students shall be permitted to make up schoolwork missed during these absences.
MAKE-UP WORK 
Make-up work will be provided for those students who miss assignments due to absences. The following conditions apply to make-up work:
1. Arranging to make up work missed is the responsibility of the student.
2. All requests for make-up work should be made to the teacher within five (5) days of return from the absence.
3. Tests missed during absences will be taken during the regularly scheduled class time or another time agreeable to the teacher and the student.
4. A zero (0) may be recorded for all work a student fails to make up.
STATE-MANDATED TESTS/END OF COURSE EXAMS
Students who are absent the day of the scheduled End of Course Exams must present a signed doctor’s excuse or must have been given an excused release by the principal prior to testing to receive an excused 18 absence.

Students who have excused absences will be allowed to take a make-up exam that will count as 25% of their grade. Excused students will receive an incomplete in the course until they have taken the End of Course Exam.

Students who have an unexcused absence shall receive a failing grade on the course exam which shall be averaged into their final grade at 25%.
Students in grades 3-8 who take the TN Ready Assessment must have the scores count as 15% of the second semester average in the appropriate classes. For elementary students who are absent and unable to make up the TN Ready Assessment, an excused will be exempted for this score and an unexcused absence will count as a zero.
CREDIT/PROMOTION DENIAL
Credit/promotion denial determinations may include student attendance, however, student attendance may not be the sole criterion.  However, if attendance is a factor, prior to credit/promotion denial, the following shall occur:
1. Parents and students shall be advised if a student is in danger of credit/promotion denial due to excessive absenteeism.
2. Procedures in due process are available to the student when credit or promotion is denied.
DRIVER’S LICENSE REVOCATION 
More than ten (10) consecutive or fifteen (15) reported unexcused absences by a student during any 36 semester renders a student ineligible to retain a driver’s permit or license, or to obtain such if of age.  In order to qualify for reclaiming a driver’s permit or license, the student must make a passing grade in at least three (3) full unit subjects or their equivalency at the conclusion of a subsequent grading period.
ATTENDANCE HEARING
Students with excessive (more than 5) unexcused absences or those in danger of credit/promotion denial  shall have the opportunity to appeal to an attendance hearing committee appointed by the principal. If the student chooses to appeal, the student or their parent/guardian shall be provided written or actual notice of the appeal hearing and shall be given the opportunity to address the committee. The committee will conduct a hearing to determine if any extenuating circumstances exist or to determine if the student has met attendance requirements that will allow him/her to pass the course or be promoted. Upon notification of the attendance committee decision, the principal shall send written notification to the director of schools/designee and the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student of any action taken regarding the excessive unexcused absences. The notification shall advise parents/guardian(s) of their right to appeal such action within two (2) school days to the director of schools/designee.
The appeal shall be heard no later than ten (10) school days after the request for appeal is received.
The director of schools/designee shall ensure that this policy is posted in each school building and disseminated to all students, parents, teachers and administrative staff.