Attendance Policy and Procedures

Absence Reporting

When a student is absent from school, parents are expected to report their absence to the school office or the Attendance Hotline at 636-733-4215 or lsmsattendance@rsdmo.org. If we do not hear from a parent/guardian by 9:00 a.m., a phone contact attempt will be made.

All absences will be considered unexcused unless verified by a parent either by phone or in writing upon the  child’s return to school. Please refer to Rockwood School District Attendance Policy 2310 for additional information.

Absence on the Day of an Activity

Students who are absent from school for the entire day on the day of a music performance, drama performance, dance, or any other school-sponsored after school or evening event will not be able to attend or participate in the event without prior administrative approval. Students who are absent from school for a part of the day due to a doctor or dental appointment may attend and participate in activities with a written doctor or dentist note verifying the date and time of the appointment AND with administrative approval.

Early Dismissal

Attendance at school is a critical part of student success. For this reason, we encourage parents to make doctor, dental, or other appointments outside of school hours. If it is necessary to make appointments during the school day, parents should contact the school office with notification of the time and reason for early dismissal. The student will be issued a pass. The pass gives the student permission to leave the classroom at the appropriate time. This will facilitate students being in the office when parents arrive and will avoid interruption of classroom instructional time.

Late Arrivals

Students arriving late to school must sign in at the Welcome Center and receive a pass before reporting to the classroom. Students arriving late to school will be marked absent for the amount of time missed.

Tardiness

Unless given permission otherwise, students must be inside the classroom when the bell sounds to initiate class. Failure to do so will result in progressive disciplinary action as follows:

• 1st and 2nd Offense = Verbal Warning
• 3rd Offense = Communication with Home
• 4th Offense = Office Discipline Referral / Administrative Lunch Detention
• 5th and All Subsequent Offenses = Office Discipline Referral / After-school Detention

Make-Up Work

After an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to see teachers on the day of return to collect missed work. It is also the responsibility of the student to work with each teacher to determine due dates for any work that was missed due to an absence. When students know that they will be absent, they should contact teachers ahead of time to gather work to complete while they are absent.