Tennessee High School

Preparing students for post-graduate success

THERE ARE NO SENIOR, JUNIOR, ETC., “SKIP DAYS.” Students who skip will be disciplined per the Discipline Chart.

Attendance Procedures

Parents are expected to contact the school on the date of or prior to the student’s absence at 652-9499. This number will have a 24-hour recording device that you may use for reporting absences. Students who are eighteen years old or older MUST have parental permission for absences and withdrawals if they reside with their parents. The maximum number of excused absences, supported by a parent note(s) or phone call(s) only, is five (5) days per year. Contact will be made to notify the parent on the date of each student absence.

A parent/ guardian may call and request their child’s missing and/ or make-up assignments. When a parent/ guardian calls the school to request make-up work and/ or daily assignments, a form requesting assignments will be placed in the mailbox of the student’s teachers. Requests for assignments should be made by 8:00 am on the day of the request. Assignments may be picked up in the Main Office between 2:45 - 3:00 p.m. For health reasons, students who are too sick to attend school should not attend after-school functions.

Late Arrivals

All students arriving after 7:30 a.m. are required to sign in at the Main Office and receive an admit slip to class.

Early Withdrawals

Early withdrawals must meet the criteria for excused absences. Under no circumstances can a student leave campus without parent/ guardian permission, school authorization, and proper sign-out. Early withdrawal will be counted like tardies, so students will be allowed five (5) parent call-ins each semester for withdrawals. All students who have already used the five (5) parent call-ins (whether for tardies and/ or early withdrawals) will be counted as unexcused without a doctor’s note.

Withdrawals during a student’s lunch time must get a withdrawal slip from the front desk when they arrive to school in the morning. The student will then show the withdrawal slip to one of the cafeteria supervisors, so they are allowed to report to the front desk for withdrawal.

Procedures for early withdrawals include:

1. A student must bring a written appointment card, or a parent/ guardian note to the Main Office prior to 7:30 a.m. for a withdrawal.
2. A parent/ guardian may notify the school for a withdrawal request in an emergency by calling 652-9494. Parents should supply necessary information at this time, such as student name, grade level, parent/ guardian name, phone number, time of withdrawal, and reason for withdrawal.
3. Students must sign out at the Main Office before leaving campus with an authorized withdrawal. Parents/ guardians must sign the student out from the office unless the student has permission to drive. This includes students leaving due to illness.
4. If a student leaves school and returns the same day, he/ she must sign in at the Main Office.
5. Once a student arrives on campus, including the parking lot, he/ she must follow the early withdrawal procedures.

Unexcused Absences

A student who is absent five (5) days without adequate excuse shall be reported to the BTCS director of attendance, who will, in turn, provide written notice to the parent/guardian of the student’s absence. If the absence is an unexcused absence, any make-up work will be credited at 80% of its value.

Unexcused absences will be determined by the building-level administrator. An unexcused absence from an individual class may be considered “skipping” and the appropriate consequences will be assigned. A student whose absence has not been communicated by parental phone call/ message must report to the Main Office before entering class and provide a parent note explaining the absence.

Unexcused absences may result in:

1. Parent conferences
2. In-school suspension
3. Referral to counseling
4. Referral to Attendance Review Committee (ARC)
5. Alternative school placement

Unexcused Tardy to Class
(2^nd Period, Viking Time, 3^rd Period, and 4^th Period)

Definition of Unexcused Tardy – Students are not in their assigned area when class begins. This includes reporting to and from lunch, assemblies, or other activities.

Tardy to 1st period ONLY:

  1st – 3rd Tardy to 1st Period:  Student reports to the Tardy Room
4th – 6th Tardy to 1st Period:  Student reports to the Tardy Room and is assigned Lunch Detention by the teacher.
7th & Above Tardy to 1st Period:  ISS and then OSS

*A range of disciplinary options that may include Class Period ISS, ISS and/ or detention.
**Repeat offenders may be remanded to an alternate program (THS/ TMS Alternate Programs).
***Habitually missing class to avoid the tardy policy will be considered skipping class. ***

****This procedure starts over each semester. ****

Make-up Work

Make-up work can be obtained by a student or parent/ guardian from Canvas or by emailing/ contacting the classroom teacher directly.

Make-up work is the responsibility of the student. It is the responsibility of the student to complete missed work. Upon return to school the student has the same amount of time to make up assignments as the length of the absence(s) incurred. Grades from days or classes missed due to unexcused absences or OSS will be graded at 80%.

Many assignments can be accessed through the classroom teacher’s Canvas page. If you do not have internet at home, call the school to request make-up work. Requests for assignments should be made by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the request. Assignments may be picked up in the Main Office at 2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., after dismissal for the day.