Attendance Policy

Attendance is a critical part of the education experience; After all, it is a lot easier to learn when you actually show up for class! It is important that every student is present for the entire school day, and for as many of the 180 days as possible. At Davies, attendance is the responsibility of the student and parents/guardians. Davies seeks to develop a partnership with parents/guardians to help and encourage students to attend school regularly.

Parents/Guardians must call the Office of Student Management at extension 320 (available 24 hrs) to report an absence.  Please leave your name, your student's name, and a telephone number where you can be reached.
**For additional information on the legal obligations for parents/guardians and students, please read RI General Law 16-19-1 on page 60 of the Student Handbook.
 

Absences

Your responsibilities:

Show up! But if you cannot, excused absences include:

1. Medical appointment with doctor’s note (note must be given to the nurse);
2. Death of a member of the immediate family/funeral leaves;
3. Court appearance/ Legal appointment: must be verified by court paper, summons, subpoena, or written verification from the attorney;
4. Religious observance/practice - with written reason and verification from church official;
5. License/permit appointment (one-half day excused for road test with proof; student must report to school.
   Please note: license renewals/registrations are not excused);
6. Administrative action;
7. School approved activities - approval of administration is required.

Our responsibilities:

Unexcused absences are extremely detrimental to the learning environment. As such, Davies takes every unexcused absence from school very seriously. Davies’ procedures for notification of unexcused absences are as follows:

1. Students and parents/guardians will be notified through the automated voice messaging system on a daily basis, of unexcused absences and tardiness to school.
2. When a student has sixteen (16) days of unexcused absences the student and parent/guardian will be notified by a certified letter when a conference involving the Supervisor of Student Management, the Student Performance Liaison, and the guidance counselor and the attendance coordinator will occur.
3. In addition, as of the sixteenth (16th) day of unexcused absence, the student shall not participate in any student activities such as interscholastic sports events, class dances such as the prom, or at any activity in which the student represents the school.
4. Students who are absent from school may not participate or take part in practice sessions or activities or attend any school function on the same day they are absent unless they have received prior approval from the Office of Student Management.

Special Note on Truancy

Tardiness

Your Responsibility:
Be here on time! After 7:45 a.m., you are late to school. Whether you were in the building or not, you must sign in at the Office of Student Management in order to be admitted to your classes.

Mondays	Tuesdays - Fridays
Advisory begins at 7:45	Advisory begins at 7:45
Advisory ends at 8:05	Advisory ends at 7:55
1st Period begins at 8:09	1st Period begins at 7:59

Not resporting to advisory or not signing in at the Office of Student Management if you are late, violates school policy.

• 1st Offense:  Extended detention and                parent/guardian called.
  
• 2nd Offense: You will be assigned to the Resource Center.
  

Tardiness Actions
Daily notification will be provided to parent/guardina via the Alert Now voice messaging system.

# of Times Tardy	Action
5 Times	Letter to parents/guardians
10 Times	Parent conference with the Supervisor of Student Management, the Student Performance Liaison, and the Guidance Counselor.
15 Times	Extended detention
20 Times	Assignment to the Resource Center

            

Special Note: Students must be present for at least half a day to particpate in any after-school activities including athletic events, proms, and dances.  The half-day time is 11:00; that means the student must report to school by 11:00 and stay for the rest of the day.  If students arrive at 7:45, they must stay in school until at least 11:00 for their attendance to be counted as a half day.

Dismissals

On occasion, students may need to be dismissed from school.

Your Responsibility:
If a parent/guardian wishes to dismiss a student from school for a professional appointment (such as doctor, dentist, job interview etc.) it is considered an excused absence only if the appointment is verified with documentation upon the student's return. Forms of verification must be presented to the Office of Student Management before 8:00 a.m. on the day of the dismissal.

Our responsibility:
The school nurse may authorize dismissals from school due to an illness or injury during the school day. Such dismissal will constitute an excused absence. The nurse shall notify the Office of Student Management of the reported excused dismissal. Students are not to cell phones or school phones to call parents/guardians in order to be dismissed.  The nurse or the Office of Student Management will call if a stuent is sick or another emergency occurs.  Any student found using a cell phone to call a parent/guardian will receive an extended detention. 

Family Vacation Policy

Family vacations during scheduled school days will be considered unexcused absences. Students will be required to obtain the work from their teachers before they leave for vacation. They must have their work completed and submitted to their teachers the day they return from vacation. Tests may be made up when it is convenient for the teacher.

The Davies School strongly discourages the use of school days for family vacations.

Rhode Island General Laws Governing Education

If you would like additional information on the laws governing education in Rhode Island, you can find it in the following locations:

Online: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/statutes/statutes.html

Hard copy: Available for review in the Student Management Office
Davies’ Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Plan are also available for review in Davies’ Human Resources Office

§ 16-19-1 Attendance required. – (a) Every child who has completed or will have completed six (6) years of life on or before September 1 of any school year and has not completed sixteen (16) years of life shall regularly attend some public day school during all the days and hours that the public schools are in session in the city or town in which the child resides. Every person having under his or her control a child as described in this section shall cause the child to attend school as required by this section, and for every neglect of this duty the person having control of the child shall be fined not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day or part of a day that the child fails to attend school, and if the total of these days is more than thirty (30) school days during any school year, then the person shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months or shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both; provided, that if the person so charged shall prove that the child has attended for the required period of time a private day school approved by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education pursuant to § 16-60-6(10), or a course of at-home instruction approved by the school committee of the town where the child resides, or that the physical or mental condition of the child was such as to render his or her attendance at school inexpedient or impracticable, or that the child was excluded from school by virtue of some general law or regulation, then attendance shall not be obligatory nor shall the penalty be incurred. (b) Every child enrolled in school who completes or has completed sixteen (16) years of life and who has not yet attained eighteen (18) years of age shall regularly attend school during all the days and hours that the public schools are in session in the city or town in which the child resides unless the person having control of the child provides written permission to the school department of the city or town to terminate the child's enrollment. Provided, however, that nothing in this subsection or in subsection (a) of this section shall prohibit or limit cities or towns from enacting programs of early intervention and/or mediation in an effort to address the problems of students who are habitually late or absent from school. (c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or otherwise interfere with the rights of teachers and other school employees to collectively bargain pursuant to chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of title 28 or to allow any school committee to abrogate any agreement reached by collective bargaining.