Fort Dodge Community School District

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Senior High Attendance Procedures

The Attendance Office tracks attendance of all students at Fort Dodge Senior High, providing plans and offering support to help students get to school on a regular basis. 

School Hours: Classes at FDSH begin at 8:00 a.m. on regular days and will dismiss at 3:00 p.m. 

Student Absence Notification: Parents/guardians are to notify the school on the first day of a student’s absence, as early in the morning as possible. Please call the Fort Dodge Senior High Attendance Office at 574-5798 or 574-5800 to report absences for a high school student. 

Student Attendance: Administrative procedures for implementing Board policy on Regular Student Attendance (Policy 501.3) are based on the following beliefs: 

  • Daily attendance is directly related to school success. 
  • Knowing District expectations is essential for the parents/guardians and students. 
  • Understanding attendance-related terminology is necessary. 
  • Knowing the consequences of poor school attendance and punctuality is important. 

Good attendance and punctuality are indicators of responsible, well self-disciplined students. They are traits that are also good predictors of success in school, employment and life. Students who attend regularly and are on time help their own growth and do not interfere with the potential progress of other students. 
 
Students who, due to irregular attendance or frequent tardiness, are unprepared for class often create the need for unnecessary  re-teaching and cause interruptions to class progress. 
 
The successful implementation of school attendance-related policies and procedures is founded on fostering good communication between the home and school, providing the school information on all student absences, supporting the strong relationship between regular attendance and academic success, establishing increasingly higher expectations for school performance of students, and shifting the responsibility for school success from the family to the student as he/she progresses through the system. 
  
Some absences are unavoidable and to help compensate for the instructional time missed, make-up work may be assigned. While it is impossible to completely compensate for absences in class, make-up work may be required for all absences. At times, school officials may determine that the problems associated with absence from school are outweighed by the advantages of an activity in which the student participates and they may endorse or sponsor trips for an activity. Absences due to attendance of such approved trips and activities will not be considered an absence from school, but will require a student to make-up work missed.

ATTENDANCE DEFINITION OF TERMS: 

ATTENDANCE INFRACTIONS 

Senior High Attendance Office Staff

To report absences, call Jolene Pace in the Senior High Attendance Office at 574.5798 or 574.5800

For questions or concerns about your student's attendance, contact Erik Hoveland, Student Services Liaison, at 574.5375

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