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Absences

Absences

Regular attendance is essential to the learning process. Students who are absent from school miss a variety of educational experiences shared with their peers. The Campus Parent & Student Center (on Infinite Campus) is an effective resource for following the attendance record of students. Excessive absences can prevent a student from receiving a Georgia Driver’s License.

Students are required to provide an emailed excuse from their parent/legal guardian within three days stating the reason for the absence. Excessive absences and/or tardies will be referred to the administration for follow-up. Please notify your child’s teacher if your child has an extended illness.

  • An excused absence is considered to be one of the following: personal illness, serious illness, illness or death in the immediate family, recognized religious holidays, court mandates, and other conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to a students’ health or safety.
  • An approved absence should be pre-arranged through written emailed request to the schoolhouse Assistant Principal prior to the absence. Approved, pre-arranged absences shall be permitted for a travel opportunity with educational benefits, a graduation, or wedding of a close family members, a specialized educational experience, or an event mutually agreed to by the parent or Administrator. Approved absences are limited to six per year.
  • An unexcused absence is an absence from school or class for any reason other than those listed above. Students serving as pages in the Georgia General Assembly shall be recorded as present.

Make-up Work: Students will have the opportunity to complete their work asynchronously in Canvas and review Microsoft Teams synchronous class recordings missed due to an excused absence. Work missed due to absences must be submitted into the Canvas platform within the same number of days as the absence which was excused. (Being out two days means you have the two following days to return all missed work to the teacher.) Family trips will not be considered an excused absence. 

Tardiness to live synchronous classes: On time arrival to synchronous class is the responsibility of the parent(s) and student. Oversleeping is not a legitimate excuse for tardiness. An excused tardy would be due to illness, medical appointments, and other legal excuses mentioned above. Parents are requested to email the child’s teacher when tardy. If a student is tardy to class, it will be noted in Infinite Campus. Students with excessive, unexcused tardies will be referred to the school administration and social worker.

Early dismissal from live synchronous classes: If a student needs to leave school before normal dismissal time, an email from the parent or guardian requesting early dismissal should be communicated on the morning of the requested early dismissal.

FAVE Flex Learning Model live synchronous attendance: Please note that attendance to live, or synchronous, classes is required for all elementary school students. Middle school and high school student attendance is required for the first two weeks of each semester. Following those two weeks, if the student shows autonomy to perform in class asynchronously, or self-paced, the homeroom teacher and student may develop a plan which doesn’t require live participation in classes. Work submission and completion will be tracked for attendance. Please refer to the attendance policy in the handbook for additional details. Please refer to the school’s website for more information about the FAVE attendance policy. Students & Families / Attendance (fultonschools.org)

Driver’s License Certificate of Attendance: Students may secure the Certificate of Attendance form required for a driver’s license and permit by visiting the FAVE website. It is important for students to allow at least 48 hours before inquiring about their Certificate of Attendance.

Steps to Follow When Absent:

  1. Parent/guardian should write a note stating the child’s name, date(s) of absence(s), reason for absence(s), and parent’s signature. This must be emailed to for processing. The parent/guardian should email the teacher and copy the school counseling clerk within three days after returning to school. Email the note to FAVE@fultonschools.org
  2. A student is permitted and encouraged to make up work missed because of absences. It is the student’s sole responsibility to make contact with the teacher(s) to initiate all make-up work. The contact must be made within one school day of returning. If a teacher is not available, the student needs to inform the department chairperson to make up the missed work. The teacher will establish a reasonable schedule within which the make-up work will occur. The student will be given the same amount of time to make up the work as the student was absent.
  3. Students are encouraged to contact other students in their respective classes and check their Canvas course to get class assignments and homework on the first day of an absence. Students may also view the recording of the live synchronous mini-lessons for missed content located inside of their class Microsoft Team.
  4. Please present a note from the physician for all absences which exceed 10 consecutive school days in a school year, and for all absences that are due to communicable diseases or under other conditions deemed necessary by the principal.
  5. Work missed during the last week of semester must be completed within ten (10) school days of the semester immediately following the semester in which the absence occurred. Failure on the part of the student to submit the work at the assigned time will be treated as a missing assignment. This statement applies to all absences.
  6. Final course grades of students shall not be penalized because of absences. The grade should always reflect what a student has learned and understood.

If a parent has an inquiry regarding any class work or grade of his or her son or daughter, the following steps should be followed:

  • The request should first be made to the teacher. (Teacher email addresses may be obtained on the school web site)
  • After an email correspondence or telephone call to the teacher, a parent-teacher conference may be necessary. The teacher will confirm those meetings directly with the parents. Parent appointments cannot be promised on the day of the inquiry, but all will work together to find a mutually agreed upon time.
  • After meeting directly with the teacher concerned, if questions remain, the parent should correspond with the department chairperson.
  • If further assistance is needed following all steps outlined above, the parent may inquire to the counselor and/or the schoolhouse assistant principal.