Attendance Policy

FLHMS ATTENDANCE POLICY

Chronically Present (90%+ attendance) is the minimum benchmark for staying connected to learning. Attendance every day is required for students’ academic success. Perfect attendance is the goal. Having 90% attendance means a student is missing 18+ days over a school year – a month of instruction! — and at risk of not meeting the standards for promotion to the next grade. With regular attendance, students learn the skills and habits to succeed in their academic and social lives.

Students who are Chronically Present:

stay engaged in learning and make steady academic progress,
build the knowledge and skills needed to graduate prepared for college, careers and life,
develop meaningful friendships and positive relationships with caring adults,
build confidence, independence, and a strong sense of belonging,
explore academic, artistic, athletic, and career opportunities that match their interests,
and participate in field trips, clubs, performances, sports, leadership opportunities, and other enriching school experiences.

Every Day Matters, and we're here to partner with you to help your child be Chronically Present—attending school consistently so they can learn, build relationships, and thrive.

Attendance is a required, legal record

By law, schools must take attendance to show whether a student is in school or not by marking them as P for present or A for absent. A child who does not attend school must be marked absent, even if the absence is excused. Excused absences are still absences!

We are partners!

Regular communication between our school and your family helps ensure students stay connected.

We will notify you when your student is absent or arrives late to school. Please are encouraged to let the school know the reason for the absence so staff can provide appropriate support and maintain accurate attendance records.

To help us reach you:

Make sure your contact information is up to date in your NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) and on your child's Blue Card, including your phone number, email address, and home address.
Send a message through Dojo, email Brenda or Cilmi, or call the main office at 718-319-7270
If your contact information changes during the school year, notify us as soon as possible so you continue receiving important updates.

ALL ABOUT ABSENCES

What counts as an absence?

A student who is not in school for at least one instructional period is marked absent for the day.

Excused Absences

Excused absences still count as absences.
Excused absences will not be counted when attendance is calculated for school attendance recognition, or for eligibility in sports (PSAL) or other school activities. However, the attendance team will follow up with families about recurring attendance issues, including recurring absences that may be considered excused.

What counts as an EXCUSED absence?

Illness/injury: When a student is unable to attend school due to illness or injury, a document or notification (call or note from the family or doctor) is required to indicate it as excused.

If an accommodation is required to return to school (cast or medication) families must call the main office and speak with Brenda, Cilmi, or Nathalie about 504 plans or Medication Administration Forms. If families fail to seek the necessary accommodation plans, any continuing absences due to illness or injury, including asthma-related absences, may be considered unexcused.

Religious observation: When a student is unable to attend school due to religious observation,the family’s request in writing is required to indicate an excused absence. Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A-630.
Family emergency: When a student is unable to attend school due to a death or an emergency, notification and documentation by the family is required to indicate an excused absence.

If a student requires supports to return to school (transportation, counseling, supplies), the family must call the main office and ask for Nathalie or Erica to discuss their needs.
Absences to attend funerals outside the country will not be excused.

Pre-arranged appointments: When a student is unable to attend school due to appointments with the court, social services, or other city agencies, notification and documentation by the family is required to indicate an excused absence.

Whenever possible, families are expected to schedule appointments, including school visits and doctors’ visits, outside of regular school hours, or to schedule appointments so the student does not miss an entire day of school.
Prior to scheduling medical appointments, check with the School Based Health Clinic.

What counts as an UNEXCUSED ABSENCE?

Unexplained absence: Families are expected to notify the school whenever a student is unable to attend school, either in advance of the absence (preferred) or following the absence. Without explanation of a reason, the absence(s) are considered unexcused.
Immunization exclusion: When a student is unable to attend school due to lack of appropriate immunizations the absence(s) are considered unexcused. Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A-701.
Family vacations or travel: Families should plan vacations and trips when school is not in session. If students do miss school, families must work with the school to develop plans for take-home and make-up work.
Any unexcused absence in a course/periods is a cut.

What if my student needs to be ABSENT?

It is the family’s responsibility to call the Main Office or message on Class Dojo before 8:15 am to inform us of the reason for any absence. When a student returns from a full-day absence, they must give their teacher or the office a note or documentation. A record of the absence (excused or not) will be shared with all of the student’s teachers.
If there is an emergency or reason for an absence that will be multiple days, the family must contact the Main Office or the school through Class Dojo to schedule a meeting
Remember we have an on-site health clinic for appointments so students don't have to miss school to be seen!

What if my student needs to leave school early?

All students who need to leave school early MUST be picked up and signed out by a person identified as able to do so on the blue card. We cannot make exceptions to this. If there is someone you’d like to be able to pick up your child, please make sure they are on the blue card and it is marked that they are able to pick them up and sign them out of school.
Families will need to come to the 5th floor office to sign out their child.

We will need to check to make sure that the person’s ID matched a name on the blue card.
We will get the child and have them leave with you.
Students are at lunch and activity period from 1:00 - 2:00pm. During this time, there will be delays in getting the student for early dismissal. Please expect to wait. We recommend picking up by 12:30pm or after 2:15pm to reduce delays. If you need your child to be ready between 1:00pm and 2:00pm, please let us know by 9:00am so we can make appropriate arrangements.

Please try to avoid students missing school by making appointments after school, during school vacations, and on weekends! Missed class time adds up!

Making up Missed Work

All students are responsible for asking the teacher for their missed work and making it up for credit.
We recommend having a class buddy to collect work for you if you’ll be out so that you don’t miss any important assignments!

Getting to School On Time!

Being at school on time is important, but it is always better to come to school late than to miss the whole day.

Breakfast is offered from 7:45am - 8:15am in the cafeteria.
Attendance is taken upon arrival to the cafeteria and then again at first period.
Students who arrive after 8:20am are considered late.
Phone calls are made for late and absent students each day. If you want to avoid getting calls about late students, encourage students to arrive to school on time.
Students have class each period! Being late means that you might miss a whole class period impacting your child’s ability to achieve important standards for the year in that subject area.
Lateness may be considered excused for the same reasons provided above for absence (Illness/injury, religious observation, family emergency, pre-arranged appointments) or school bus delays or documented MTA delays.

Lateness due to routine delays in public transportation are not considered excused. Students and families need to allow ample time for travel and monitor MTA reports. There are no exceptions for inclement weather, and families are advised to leave extra time.

After 8:25am the arrival door on BOONE AVE. will be CLOSED and students will enter through the MAIN ENTRANCE on JENNINGS ST.

Attendance and Course Grades

No number of absences can prevent promotion to the next grade or graduation. However, it is more likely that a student who misses school will have lower grades, test scores and may not meet the academic standards for promotion or graduation.
Lateness to subject class may result in a lower class average due to the loss of instructional time in activities such as: classroom participation, examinations (quizzes/full period exams), discussions, speeches, group work, lab work, etc.
Students are not required to make up the exact hours of missed instruction; however, students may need to make up assignments that require in-person learning and/or demonstration. To aid students and families in keeping up with coursework missed due to absences, the school will offer times after-school and on Saturdays for this purpose. Missed work that required in-person instruction and/or demonstration will not be able to be made up during class time as all students need to continue to move through the curriculum at an appropriate pace to meet end of year goals and grade-level standard expectations.
Homework is shared via NYCPS Messenger and posted on Class Dojo for families to access assignments throughout the year. Homework assignments are intended to support the practice and revisiting of learning to promote long-term memory of skills and concepts being taught. As such, it is not practical for students to make up all assignments at once and students are expected to make up any missed assignments within a timely manner but not more than two weeks after the due date and return to school.

Attendance and Participation in School Events and Activities

Field Trips are considered extensions of learning and culture building activities in the classroom. Students are expected to either attend the field trip OR the learning in the building for that day (aligned assignments will be provided for the day). Field trip days are NOT allowable absences.

Only students who are in school on the day of after school activities (dances, clubs) can participate in after school activities.
Only students who are in school and not more than 30 minutes late can participate in sports games. In addition, students on sports teams must maintain a 90 percent attendance counting unexcused absences only.
FLHMS Star Lounge: Each month students who have 100% attendance for that month (not including excused absences after review) will be invited to join the monthly celebration at Star Lounge for their grade.

Monthly Attendance Events: Each month, students will get to engage in attendance events such as the FLHMS Cafe (at breakfast), the Swag Shoppe and Bodega purchasing, and other month-specific events advertised in the monthly student calendar! Students can use scholar points earned each day at these events.

Frequent Absences and/or Latenesses: What Happens?

The school ensures that appropriate outreach and guidance interventions are provided for students who exhibit attendance problems, including arriving late, leaving early, or cutting. Admin staff, guidance counselors, teachers, social workers, or other school staff can all be involved in facilitating attendance resolutions.

After five absences, excused or not, a guidance conference will be scheduled to understand the reasons and set up an intervention plan.
After 10 absences, excused or not, students complete a contract with steps for mitigating the reasons.
Whenever students miss ten days in a row, outreach to the family is required to understand and try to resolve the reasons for the absences. For students in grade 8 and under, such outreach is also required when the students miss 20 days within three months.
For continued unexcused absences (or lateness, leaving early or cutting), students appears before the Student Success Team to review the results of conferences and the contract and to make further recommendation that may include:

“Success mentor” or peer buddy and daily check-ins; Home visit or family conferences to better understand causes; Change in academic program or schedule; Detentions or loss of school privileges;
Home visits as an intervention;
Family coaching or individual counseling on time management or managing family issues;
Referral to ACS preventive agency services to address underlying reasons;
Special education assessment or revision to IEP or BIP;
Connection to outside agency or program for additional services;
Family Assessment Program for truancy and potential PINS (Person in Need of Supervision) petition;
Alternative setting/program, if applicable.

Disciplinary responses to "Infraction A01/B01 Unexcused absence from school" cannot exceed a family conference, i.e., cannot result in exclusion from activities or removal from class.
Disciplinary responses to "Infraction A03/B04 Being late for school or class" or "B03 Cutting classes" cannot exceed an in-school action, i.e., can result in exclusion from activities or communal lunchtime, but not in removal from class.

Special Circumstances

Hospitalization or treatment: Admission to a private, acute, in- or out-patient program generally includes a consent to educate agreement with tutoring services at the facility. With this documentation, absences are considered excused. The school maintains the student on the school’s active register or the student is discharged to hospital instruction and the family helps with the education and transition plans. For long term treatment, families may consider if home instruction, hospital instruction, or a ReStart Academy is an appropriate option. Admission to a NYS Dept. of Mental Health Treatment Facility is a discharge.

School Calendar

The school calendar is shared on Class Dojo and posted on the NYCPS website: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/calendar
Monthly calendars are mailed home and shared with students with all school dates and events and are posted in the main office.