Attendance Policy

Wilkes County Schools Policy 4400 addresses Student Attendance. The Board of Education believes there is no substitute for the uninterrupted personal contact between students and teachers in the classroom, where teachers carefully plan learning experiences. Classroom attendance and participation are an integral part of the school experience. Regular attendance also develops patterns of behavior essential to success in later life, both personal and business. Even though students may make up work missed due to absences, they may never be able to replace the educational, cultural, and social contacts they would have experienced through face-to-face instruction and class participation. Accordingly, the Wilkes County Board of Education expects each student to attend every class. 

Absences: 

Regular attendance is essential to a student’s success in school.  Most subjects are taught in sequence, requiring the understanding of each concept in the order of its presentation.  Persistent absenteeism creates a genuine hardship for a student and is regarded as a very serious problem. Students are expected to be present and punctual for all classes throughout the year. When a student returns to school following an absence, please send a note from a physician or a parent/guardian to the classroom teacher stating the reason for the absence within 3 days.  Handwritten parent notes will be limited to 6. Once a student reaches 6 absences with handwritten parent notes, a doctor’s note will be required. If a child accumulates 10 or more excused absences, a school-based attendance meeting will be held to develop a plan to improve attendance. If the student fails to bring a note, the absence will be marked unexcused.  The following list contains the only lawful reasons for school absence:

Excused Absences:

The Wilkes County Board of Education shall excuse the temporary absence of a student upon showing satisfactory evidence of one of the following reasons:

1. Illness or injury 
2. Death in the immediate family
3. Medical or dental appointment
4. Court or administrative proceeding
5. Religious observance
6. Educational opportunity (Refer to WCS Attendance Policy)

A student must be present at least ½ of the instructional day to be counted present. Lunch is not counted as instructional hours in the school day. The importance of prompt and regular attendance cannot be overemphasized. A good attendance record is related to high student achievement.

Unexcused Absences:

According to the NC state statute, parents will be sent a letter when a student has 3, 6, or 10 UNEXCUSED absences.  If a student has more than six unexcused absences, a conference with the school attendance committee will be required. If a student has more than ten total unexcused absences, a second conference will be held and will include the district’s truancy officer. Office personnel, school counselors, school social workers, or teachers will call parents when there are questions or concerns about a student’s absences.  Students and their parents are responsible for knowing the attendance policy.

Tardies:

Tardies disrupt the instructional day. A student is tardy if they are not in the classroom, seated, and ready to begin morning work by 7:50 am. Tardies are noted on your child’s record.  Each instance in which a student is late to school or checks out early, whether or not the student returns, is counted as a tardy.  Tardies are coded as excused or unexcused based upon the same criteria as an excused absence.  It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to get the student to school on time and ensure they are not tardy.