Regular school attendance is an essential requirement for academic success in high school. Students cannot succeed and be successful in high school with poor school attendance. Time is the most important resource a school has and students cannot learn if they are not in school. School attendance is taken each hour of the school day and becomes part of the permanent record and is included on transcripts. All students, including eighteen and nineteen year olds, are expected to comply with school attendance policies.

The School Board considers the following factors to be reasonable excuses for time missed at school:
1. Illness
2. Recovery from accident
3. Required court attendance
4. Professional appointments
5. Death in immediate family
6. Observation or celebration of a bonafide religious holiday
7. Suspensions from school
8. Such other good causes as may be acceptable to the District Administrator – Board Policy 5200

Number of Absences per Year
State law and School Board policy allows parents/guardians to excuse 10 absences per school year. Documented medical appointments, required court appearances, and documented family funerals count against a student’s 10 day parent-excused limit. If a student exceeds 10 parent-excused days, a meeting with the Associate Principal will be scheduled and all further absences would require documentation supporting the reason of absence to avoid truancy consequences.

Procedure for Parents to Report Student Absences
In the case of a student absence, parents are required to call the WUHS Attendance Office at 844-408-1679 and give the name of the student, the reason for the absence, and if possible, an indication of the length of the absence. This procedure must be repeated each day of the absence. If calling to report a student absence during non-school hours, parents may utilize the 24-hour attendance recording service by calling 844-408-1679. If a phone call is not received to report the absence within 24 hours, it is interpreted that the student is not excused from school and should be considered truant.

Excusing Students During the School Day
Parents/Guardians are asked to try to schedule appointments outside of the regular school day. If an appointment is unavoidable and a student needs to leave the building during the school day, a parent/guardian must be contacted and their permission must be granted in order to release the student. Students leaving during the school day should bring a written note from their parent/guardian to the Attendance Office at the beginning of the day which gives the time and reason for the early release. After receiving permission, students must check-out in the Attendance Office prior to leaving. Failure to check-out or leaving the building without permission will result in a Saturday detention.

Students Arriving Late to School
Students who arrive to school more than 10 minutes late are considered absent for the class period. At the beginning of the day, any student who arrives to school at 7:35 am or later must check in at the Attendance Office and obtain parent/guardian permission to excuse the absence. After 7:35 am, all doors will be locked except Door 1, which is located off West Main Street on the northwest side of the building.

Pre-Excused Absences

Wisconsin State Statute §118.15 allows parents/guardians to excuse their child for up to ten (10) days during the school year. This includes pre-excused absences.  Absences typically falling into this category may include discretionary absences known in advance such as family vacations/travel, weddings, and hunting. It is the responsibility of parents to determine which experiences shall supersede attendance at school, understanding that every time a student misses a class he/she is placed in a less advantageous position to meet the objectives of the lesson.  Our preferred method for notification of this type of absence is using the pre-excused absence form.

A pre-excused absence form should be filled out and submitted to the Attendance Office at least 48 hours in advance of the absence. This two-day period is in place so that (1) parents are allowed an opportunity to make a written request for the absence; (2) teachers are informed of the absence so they can discuss lessons that will be missed along with upcoming tests/quizzes; and (3) the office is able to keep accurate records of student attendance.

When a pre-arranged excuse is sought, students can pick up the required form in the Attendance Office, Main Office, or from the WUHS website. A parent/guardian signature is required on the form, as well as the dates and reason for absence, along with signatures from the student’s teachers and an Associate Principal.

Co-Curricular Participation
Students are required to be in school all day in order to participate in co-curricular athletics/activities after school unless granted pre-approval by the Athletic/Activities Director. Full guidelines can be found in the Co-Curricular Code.

Post High School Exploration

Junior and senior students are permitted two (2) post-high school exploration visits per school year, provided appropriate documentation (signed post-secondary exploration/college form) of the visit is submitted to the Attendance Office. Students may use this option for college visits, meetings with military recruiters, or job-shadowing opportunities. The required form is available in the Attendance Office or on the WUHS website by clicking here. The absences will be considered a College Visit (CV) for attendance purposes and will not count against a student’s attendance limit for exam exemptions. Students must submit the completed form to the Attendance Office within two days of returning to school.

Field Trips and other School-Sponsored Activities
Field Trips and School-Sponsored activities are considered extensions of the classroom and therefore students are not considered absent from school when their attendance is marked as School-Sponsored (SS) or when they are on a Field Trip (FT). These activities may include release time for when a school-sponsored club or athletic team needs to leave school for a competition or other activity that requires them to miss part/all of the day. School-Sponsored release time and field trips are cleared in advance by the Athletic-Activities Office or other school administration. If an activity or field trip were to return before the end of the school day, students would be required to return to their regularly scheduled classes for the remainder of the day.

1. As a minimum standard for every day a student is excused absent, he/she will be allowed to have a day to make up missed work.

2. Students who miss class due to a field trip are responsible for the schoolwork of that given day.

3. Parents may request homework for students who are absent from school for two or more consecutive days. When requesting homework, parents should contact the attendance office at 534-3150 prior to 9:30 am to request that assignments be gathered for their student.

4. If your student has an extended illness, please contact their Guidance Counselor and/or the Associate Principal to begin making arrangements. Students who are absent due to illness for an extended period of time (more than five consecutive days) will need a doctor’s excuse.

Pre-Excused Form

Post Secondary Exploration Documentation Form 

Wisconsin State Statute §118.15 allows parents/guardians to pre-excuse their child for up to ten (10) days during the school year. Absences typically falling into this category may include discretionary absences known in advance such as family vacations/travel, weddings, and hunting. It is the responsibility of parents to determine which experiences shall supersede attendance at school, understanding that every time a student misses a class he/she is placed in a less advantageous position to meet the objectives of the lesson. In order for students to qualify for this type of absence, a pre-arranged absence form must be filled out and submitted to the Attendance Office at least 48 hours in advance of the absence. This two-day period is in place so that (1) parents are allowed an opportunity to make a written request for the absence; (2) teachers are informed of the absence so they can discuss lessons that will be missed along with upcoming tests/quizzes; and (3) the office is able to keep accurate records of student attendance.

When a pre-arranged excuse is sought, students can pick up the required form in the Attendance Office, Main Office, or from the WUHS website. A parent/guardian signature is required on the form, as well as the dates and reason for absence, along with signatures from the student’s teachers and the Dean of Students. The form allows for teachers to communicate with students the coursework that is to be completed before, during and after the absence. Students are responsible for completing any coursework assigned to them during this absence.

Seniors must obtain prior approval from the office of the Associate Principal before early release or late arrival privileges begin. If a student is enrolled in a work/vocational release program, they are not eligible for senior privilege.

REQUIRED:
1. Study hall on your schedule
2. Parent approval.
3. No grades lower than a C.
4. No major behavioral or attendance infractions. Students who violate behavior, grade or attendance expectations may have their senior privilege revoked.

Students are required by state law to attend school until the age of 18. Students are truant when they are absent without a valid cause for a school day or any portion thereof, as defined in Section 118 of the Wisconsin State Statutes. A habitual truant is defined as a pupil who is absent from school without an acceptable excuse for part or all of 5 or more days, or part of all of 10 or more days a year even with an excused absence. Habitual absences and truancy will require a conference with parents and administration. Truancy that is unresolved will lead to school consequences for the student, along with a referral to the Waterford Police Department for a municipal citation. If the problem is not rectified, the parent/guardian and student will be referred to Racine County Juvenile Court as mandated by Wisconsin State Statute §188.16. With the exception of semester exams, a teacher is not required to provide students with an opportunity to make up work missed on the day(s) the student is truant. Students would be subject to truancy consequences due to one or more of the following:

1. Being absent from school without permission from a parent/guardian
2. Leaving school without permission or without signing out in the Attendance Office (students leaving the building without permission will also be issued a Saturday detention)
   
3. Coming to school but not attending classes as assigned
4. Being unexcused / over-limit due to exceeding ten (10) or more parent-excused absences

Truancy Consequences

1st Truancy Offense: No credit for class(es), conference with student, parent notification. A one (1) hour after school detention assigned. If the student fails to serve the 1 hour detention, a Saturday (2.5 hour) detention will be issued in place of the one hour detention. If a student fails to serve the Saturday detention, they will be placed in In-School Suspension (ISS) the following school day. After serving a full day of ISS, the Saturday detention will be considered served.

2nd Truancy Offense: No credit for class(es), conference with student, parent notification. A Saturday (2.5 hour) detention will be assigned. If a student fails to serve the Saturday detention, they will be placed in In-School Suspension (ISS) the following school day. After serving a full day of ISS, the Saturday detention will be considered served.

3rd and Subsequent Truancy Offenses: Referral to the Waterford Police Department for a municipal truancy citation per Village of Waterford ordinance and Wisconsin Compulsory School Attendance Law. If the truancy problem is not rectified, the student may be referred to Racine County Juvenile Court.