Attendance & Grading

Attendance Procedures | Standards Based Grading | Grading Guidelines | Grading Scale | Receiving Credits for Courses

Attendance Procedures

Attendance is crucial to every student’s success at ALH. We expect students, when healthy, to be at school every day for the entire school day.

If your student is sick, please keep them home. We strongly recommend that you contact your medical care provider when your student is sick.

Absences

In the case of an absence:

1. Parents/guardians must call the school before 7:50 am to inform the school that their child will not be attending school. If you are unable to speak to someone at the front desk, please leave a message stating the student’s name, the reason for missing school, a phone number where you can be reached and a convenient time to call you.
2. Students who are absent or tardy due to medical appointments or illness must bring in a doctor’s note immediately following the absence/ tardiness to ensure the absence is classified as excused. This note should include the following:

• • Doctor’s letterhead
  • Student’s name
  • Date of the tardy/absence
  • Reason for the tardy/absence

3. Absent students should make every attempt to get their assignments for the day they miss by having someone contact the school to pick up assignments or by calling fellow students that evening. Due to our integration of Google Classrooms, many students may be able to obtain missed work via their Google accounts.
4. Upon their return, students should be prepared to hand in any homework or assignment(s) previously assigned or to take any quiz or test previously announced.
5. If students have an unexcused absence on the day of a school function or event, they cannot participate in that event or in any extracurricular activity that day. Please refer to the athletic handbook for additional information around attendance in reference to sporting events.

Excused Absences

Excused absences include:

• Medical Absence
  • To be considered for an excused medical absence, the student must bring a written note from a doctor on letterhead, with student’s name, excused dates and reason for absence.
• Non-Medical Excused Absence:
  • To be considered for an excused non-medical absence, a parent/guardian must provide a signed written note stating the reason for the absence. The Principal/ principal’s designee with sole discretion, may request additional information to verify the reason for the absence. Missing too many classes jeopardizes a student’s chance of promotion. Non-medical excused absences include:
    • A death in the family (parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin)
    • Court appearance
    • Medical or psychological tests with note from test provider
    • Religious holy days as defined by a religious calendar
    • Other extraordinary situations approved by the Principal

Chronic Absenteeism

Students that are absent 2 or more days per month or are present less than 90% of the year are considered chronically absent. Students that are chronically absent are less likely to graduate high school. We understand that absences do occur, however we expect parents/guardians will notify the school each time their student is absent. Administrative interventions may be taken to address students that are chronically absent. These interventions may include, meetings with the parent and student, home visits, or referrals to county services.

Early Dismissal

We realize that students have doctors’, dentists’ and other appointments. Every effort should be made to schedule these appointments during vacation days or other times when the student is less likely to have school. Missing too many classes may jeopardize a student’s chances of promotion.

Students will be granted early dismissal only when the school has received a signed note from the student’s parent/ guardian. The note must state the reason for the early dismissal and a phone number where the parent/guardian can be contacted. The Main Office may call the parent/guardian to verify every note. Exceptions for phone call permission in emergency situations will be granted when the parent/guardian provides the password that they submitted with the early dismissal form.

A student who would like to leave because she is not feeling well cannot obtain permission from any school employee. A student will only be dismissed if parent/guardian (or a designee as documented on the student’s Blue Card) signs out the student.

If students are chronically dismissed early without legal excuses, administrative interventions may be taken to ensure that the parents/guardians understand the significant negative impact such absences can have on academic performance. These interventions may include, meetings with the parent and student, home visits, or referrals to county services.

Skipping Classes

Skipping class is an egregious offense at ALH. If a student skips a class OR is intentionally late in order to miss the class, her family will be contacted, and the student will be administered progressive disciplinary action by the Principal/ principal’s designee. If a student exhibits a pattern of habitually skipping class or intentionally missing class via tardiness, a student will be administered more intense disciplinary action by the Principal/principal’s designee.

Tardiness

Students arriving after 7:50 am are LATE but will be allowed entry into their first period class. Students who arrive to school after the late bell will be charged with an unexcused tardy unless they have medical note or note that falls under “non-medical excused absences.” Please note that any students who are chronically late to school, or any classes, will be administered progressive disciplinary action by the Principal/ principal’s- designee.

Absent / Tardy Verification

ALH will make daily absent calls and tardy calls via our One Call System to parents/guardians of students that are absent or arrive to school late. These calls are typically made to parents/guardians that do not inform the school of a student’s absence or lateness. If you receive a call and you believe your student is present in school or was on time to school, please call ALH at 518-694-5300.

*Please refer to the 2019-2020-Student Code of Conduct and Parent Handbook for more information about attendance procedures

Standards-Based Grading

ALH has adopted a research driven, Standards Based Grading system, which is based on determining standards-aligned content knowledge and skillsets and measuring student proficiency therein.

Standards-Based Grading provides students with a score by standard for each assessment. Students will receive their overall course grades via eight Periods of Progress, or POPs, every five weeks. A final year long (Y1) grade will be calculated at the 8th POP.

Throughout the year, teachers will provide support to students based on targeted course standards through intervention periods, spiral review, and flex time (after school). Advanced students will be provided opportunities to enhance course grades by tutoring peers in structured learning environments and/or completing extension activities.

STANDARDS ARE:

• Aligned to each course
• Research & evidence based
• Clear, understandable, & consistent
• Aligned with college & career expectations
• Based on rigorous content & the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills
• Built upon the strengths and lessons of current state standards
• Informed by top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society