Tardies

Students who are not in their assigned area within the school building at the beginning of the school day, within the designated time (8:00am), are tardy. Students will need to sign in and obtain a late pass from the main office. 

Students who are not in their assigned area are marked tardy after the first five minutes of a class start time. If the student is still not in their assigned area after the first five minutes of a class starting, the teacher will mark the student absent. Students who arrive late to class are expected to remain in class for the remainder of that period.

Excused Absences Vs. Unexcused Absences

Excused absences are those absences that both the school and the parent/guardian approve. Absence because of illness or appointments which cannot be made outside the school day may be excused if a parent calls requesting this absence be excused. Minnesota State law allows school personnel to request medical verification of a child’s condition when absences are due to alleged illness or medical condition. The school must be notified by phone or written note the day of or day following the absence. The school has the right to accept or deny an application for an excused absence.

Examples of Excused Absences:

• Sickness 
• Doctor’s visit
• Religious holiday
• Extreme family emergencies (i.e. death in the family, hospitalization of family member, house fire, etc.)

Examples of Unexcused Absences:

• Missing the bus
• Transportation problems
• Oversleeping
• Personal reasons
• Staying home to babysit
• Work or rest because of work
• Needed at home
• Keeping a lonely parent/guardian company
• Travel not previously approved by the Director
• Lack of required immunizations
• Absences in which the student failed to provide documentation that would establish a valid reason for absence
• Leaving the school at any time without notifying the main office
• Any unexcused tardiness which results in a student missing more than 15 minutes of the period will be reported by the teacher to the main office as unexcused
• Any absence the Administrator feels would be clearly detrimental to the continued education of the student 

Pre-Planned Absences

Absences of one day or more which are pre-planned (i.e., college visits, vacations, family need, educational experiences) should be pre-authorized through the Attendance Office. Parents/guardians can do this by sending in a note or for grades K-6 call the Elementary School (612-260-2662 or email k6attendance@afsak12.com) or grades 7th-12th call the High School (651-209-3910 or email hsattendance@afsak12.com). 

Arrangements should be made far enough in advance (one week or more) so that students can collect any work that they may miss and complete it prior to leaving or while they are gone. It is the student’s responsibility to collect makeup work and attendance verification from teachers prior to departure. 

Leaving During the Day

If a student’s becomes ill during the day, or if they must leave school for any reason, they must receive permission from the school nurse and/or administration. If a student is being picked up during the school day, the responsible adult must report to the main office so the student can be signed out. 

Students are not allowed to sign themselves out of school. If a student leaves school for any reason without notifying the main office, the absence will be regarded as unexcused.

Appointments During the Day

If at all possible, doctor and dental appointments should be arranged outside of the school day. We request parents report the appointment to the Elementary School for students in grades K-6 (612-260-2662 email k6attendance@afsak12.com) and the High School for grades 7-12 (651-209-3910 email hsattendance@afsak12.com) at least 24 hours prior to the appointment. Verification of the appointment from the doctors’ office, dentist’s office, etc. must be presented upon return to school. Most offices have official forms available by request for appointments during the school day.