Every school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is required to have a policy that governs how data is collected, coded and reported for daily student attendance. With the option for students to select Virtual Learning, new attendance procedures have been put in place to meet the guidelines from the Department of Education. In order to follow the guidelines, the students must be clearly identified as either “Virtual Learning” or “In Person Learning” and follow the procedures that are aligned to that learning option.
At this date, students need to stay in the instructional option that was selected so attendance can be taken appropriately. If a parent would like to switch to the other option, they will need to complete the Request to Change Learning Option form that is located on the high school home page on the website and below, and submit it electronically. Once the information is in the student management system, a confirmation will be sent to the students, parents, and teachers.
Once you have selected “in-person”, students are expected to attend all classes and are considered absent if they are not in-person in their scheduled courses on a school day. A student who is absent may find and complete the work on Schoology, but should not be part of a class Zoom, since this an attendance criteria for the on-line students. While Zoom offers a connection to the class for students who are unable to attend school, we must follow guidelines as to who is "absent" and who is "present", a student cannot be both. Students follow the regular procedures for attendance, submitting an excuse with three days to the attendance office.
Students who are attending virtual learning must be registered through the office, and may not switch or show up to the building to attend a class. They are expected to be on-time for every class or they will be marked as “late to class”. If they do not attend a class, they need to submit an excuse to the attendance office or it will be considered a class cut or absence. Students who are virtual must meet the attendance criteria of access (on Zoom) and completion (engaging in activities and completing work).
Exclusion from and return to school issues due to COVID-19 symptoms are outlined on the document sent by Dr. Butler earlier last week (and is posted on our District website and below). Students who have the following:
Registers fever only/no other symptoms
Has COVID-19 symptoms
Has tested positive for COVID-19 with symptoms
Has tested positive for COVID-19 without symptoms
Has had close contact of COVID-19 with symptoms
Has close contact of COVID-19 without symptoms
If a student falls into any of these categories, the parent should complete the Request to Change Learning Option form and submit it immediately. Please select the option of “Special Circumstances” in the “Reason for the Request for Change” and provide the specific reason. This will be reviewed by the Nurse and Administration to make the necessary changes and to alert the teachers to the new student placement.
