[BHS Etree] ADMIN: BHS Attendance Policies

BHS Etree bhs at lists.lmi.net
Wed Aug 9 13:30:39 PDT 2023 

Please do not reply to this email, if you have questions contact
cassandratesch at berkeley.net.

Dear Families,


We are excited to welcome you all to the 2023-2024 School Year. My name is
Cassandra Tesch and I am the Dean of Attendance.  This email includes
important information about attendance, including who to contact in the
event of an absence. If at any time you have questions about our attendance
policies and procedures you can visit our website
<https://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/parents/attendance/>.


The mission of Berkeley High School is to educate and inspire all students. We
expect all students to attend every class, every day, on time.  We also
know that students may need to be absent from time to time for
appointments, illness or emergencies. It is vital that guardians clear all
absences through attendanceoffice at berkeley.net


We encourage families to closely monitor student attendance and academic
performance on Infinite Campus
<https://berkeleyca.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/parents/berkeley.jsp>.
Need help with IC? Please call (510) 644-8524

___


EXCUSING ABSENCES

Guardians have 5 days to clear attendance by emailing
attendanceoffice at berkeley.net OR leave a phone message to your attendance
technician based on your student’s last name (chart below) within five
school days of the absence. Please do not turn in paper notes.  You may
email a photo of the paper note that includes the following information:

• Your child’s full name

• Date & periods of the absence

• Reason for the absence

• Your name and relation to the student

• Your daytime telephone number


Student’s Last Name

Attendance Technician

Phone Number

A-Gl

Sakuntala Yaramala

510-644-6341

Go-N

Claudia Hernandez (Spanish speaking)

510-644-6194

0-Z

Sandra Guzman (Spanish speaking)

510-644-6209

What if there is an Attendance ERROR?

If your child was marked absent or tardy due to teacher error, do not
contact the Attendance Office. Instead, please contact the teacher so it
can be corrected. Absences due to Athletics are cleared through the
Athletic Director's Office. Please contact them at
athleticdirector at berkeley.net.


What is an EXCUSABLE Absence? When a student is absent from school, their
guardian must verify the reason for the absence by explaining the reason
for the absence. This is required from California Education Code Section
46012.

California Education Code is explicit in differentiating between what is an
excused absence and what is an unexcused absence. The following types of
absences are either excusable as long as guardians notify attendance office
within 5 days:

   1.

   Illness
   2.

   Mandatory quarantine under the direction of a county or city health
   officer.
   3.

   Medical appointments
   4.

   For the purpose of attending funeral services
   5.

   For the purpose of jury duty in the manner provided for by law for
   students 18 and over.
   6.

    For justifiable personal reasons, including, but not limited to, an
   appearance in court, attendance at a funeral service, observance of a
   holiday or ceremony of the pupil’s religion, attendance at a religious
   retreat, attendance at an employment conference, or attendance at an
   educational conference on the legislative or judicial process offered by a
   nonprofit organization, when the pupil’s absence is requested in writing by
   the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or a designated
   representative pursuant to uniform standards established by the governing
   board of the school district.
   7.

   For the purpose of spending time with a member of the pupil’s immediate
   family who is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined
   in Section 49701, and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has
   immediately returned from, deployment to a combat zone or combat support
   position. Absences granted pursuant to this paragraph shall be granted for
   a period of time to be determined at the discretion of the superintendent
   of the school district.

2. Absence due to illness or medical appointments:

a. If a student missed 3 consecutive days due to illness, or 30 periods in
a semester, you must provide a medical note.


b. A medical note must be provided for all absences due to medical
appointments (this includes, but is not limited to doctor, dental, vision
appointments). Absences will be cleared as unexcused “UXI” if no medical
note is provided.


3. Students 18 years and older may clear their absences for excusable
reasons by completing a clearance slip in the attendance office.


Extended Absences


4. Family Vacation/trips: We encourage families to utilize school breaks
and holidays for vacation time and travel. However, we understand that
sometimes there are family necessities that require students to miss a few
weeks of school due to travel. Students are eligible to enroll in Short
Term Independent Studies for up to 3 weeks per year.  A student must go to
the attendance office in the main office and pick up the STIS form at least
one week prior to departure, fill it out and have all teachers fill it
out.  Students must show proof of completion of work to the attendance
office upon return to have absences verified during that time period.
Students who do not fulfill the obligations of  Short Term Independent
Studies will be placed on the truancy list.


5. Long term trips or absences: Students who need to be out of school for
longer for 3 weeks for reasons that are not medical in nature, should
enroll in Independent Studies. Students contact their school counselors to
initiate that process.


6.  Home and Hospital Instruction: Students who need to be out of school
for more than 20 school days for medical reasons documented by a physician
must enroll in Home and Hospital Instruction.  HHI is provided by the
district of the medical facility. If a student will be under the care of a
medical facility outside of the city of Berkeley, then they must enroll in
HHI in the school district where the medical facility is located. For more
information about HHI please contact bis at berkeley.net


Consequences for unexcused absences


Truancy letters: When a student has 3 or more unexcused period absences,
guardians will receive a letter in the mail as a courtesy reminder to
ensure that they monitor and clear unexcused absences.  When a student has
30 unexcused period absences, the family will receive a 2nd notice. When a
student reaches 36 unexcused absences, the family will receive a final
notice. The Dean of Attendance reviews student attendance data and reaches
out to families to meet and collaborate on ways to improve student
attendance. For students on the truancy list who do not improve their
attendance, they are referred to the district for a SARB attendance
hearing.

Out of district students: Students who are out-of-district and are on the
truancy list may lose their abilities to attend BUSD if they do not attend
school regularly.


Berkeley High Consequences: Students with 30+ unexcused absences or 2+ cuts
on their attendance records will not be eligible for school wide
activities, prom or work permits.   They may be assigned to Saturday
School. Students do have the ability to make-up unexcused absences by
attending after school tutorials.  They can make up 12 hours per month
through attending tutorials in the CCC, black scholars, or individual
teacher tutorials.

Need additional support?

Please contact the Dean of Attendance, Cassandra Tesch  at 510-644-8741 or
cassandratesch at berkeley.net for further support, concerns, or questions.

------------------------------------

Nicole Chee, Chaghig Walker, Charlotte Le Liboux, and Shirley Hudacko are
the parent-volunteer facilitators of the E-tree; please direct any
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