Parents will be required to call the school office at 507-835-3000 before 9:00 a.m. on the day(s) a student is absent or leave a message on the answering machine which is available 24/7. All absences without explanation will be marked unexcused full day (UF). A school representative will call the child’s home if the school is not contacted about a child’s absence. Families without a telephone need to send a note indicating a reason for absence upon the student’s return to school. Please provide our school health technician or nurse any verification that your child has visited a doctor and parameters have been set about his/her attendance at school pertaining to an illness.

Expect to hear from school personnel in writing, and/or by phone, on or before your child’s 7th absence (excused or unexcused). After the 7th absence (excused or unexcused), you may be expected to attend an Attendance Review Board meeting involving the school Principal, Family Service Coordinator and Police Liaison. At the meeting, a plan will be developed to assist your child to attend school and class on time.

Upon the completion of an Attendance Review Board meeting and an Attendance Plan, any further absences may be coded as unexcused absences unless the family provides a note from a physician requesting that the child stay home or the student is seen by the school nurse/health tech and deemed too ill to be in school.

When the student reaches seven (7) unexcused school absences or accumulates a number of questionable absences, the student will be referred to the Waseca County Social Services for case review. If your child is 12 years or older, he/she will be referred to the Waseca County Court Services for a truancy hearing. The hearing consists of the student’s parent/guardian, Principal, School Counselor, School Police Liaison officer, a county social worker, and representatives from the county attorney’s office and court services.

WIS allows 4 tardies each trimester without any consequence. Therefore, any tardies beyond the fourth (4) tardy each trimester will result in a detention for the student. If tardies continue to be an issue, other behavior plans will be developed. 7 tardies will equal 1 unexcused absence. All students are expected to go from class to class in the time provided. Whenever a faculty member detains a student in their class, the teacher shall give that student a pass to his/her next class. The student’s next hour teacher must honor this pass. Students are also expected to enter the building in the morning directly after the first bell in order to be prepared and on time for their first hour class.

All vacation days need to be pre-approved by the Principal. Students in good academic standing, according to the Extended Release Rubric will be granted up to five days of vacation throughout the school year. Any vacation days beyond five will be coded (UF) Unexcused Full.

If your child arrives late or needs to leave early from school, he/she must document this information in the IS office on the sign-in/sign-out log. No student will be allowed to leave school without written permission or a phone call from his/her guardian. All students leaving early will be dismissed through the IS office and must sign-out.