From the Desk of the Superintendent

Superintendent Deborah A. Flores, Ph.D.

August 2001

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As we begin the new school year, I ask for your help in sharing with your son/daughter some very important information about school attendance. In order for your son or daughter to be as successful as possible in school, it is essential that he/she be in class every day. There is so much to accomplish in our 180-day school year that unless your son or daughter is sick or unable to attend for other valid reasons, we expect your child to be at school, on time, and ready to learn! Following are some of the changes that are taking place in the areas of attendance and absences, tardies, and truancy.

Attendance and Absences. Among the steps we are taking to improve our attendance collection data is the installation of a computerized telephone attendance program. The program is currently being installed at each high school. Using this program, parents will be notified daily of student absences and have the opportunity to excuse the absences immediately over the telephone.

Within two years, all high schools will have a new, state-of-the-art telephone system. This summer, Santa Barbara High School installed and activated the new system. This system includes a telephone with voice mail capability in each teacher’s classroom.

There are times when your child will not be able to attend school, due to illness or other reasons. If your child is absent, it is critical that you call the school within 72 hours to report the absence. If you do not contact the Attendance Office within 72 hours, your child will have an unexcused absence – which is considered a truancy – on their record. There are no exceptions to this law! For your assistance, we are enclosing a refrigerator magnet that includes your school’s Attendance Office phone number and summarizes attendance information. A detailed list of legally accepted excused absences can be obtained from the school Attendance Office.

Tardies. The District will be implementing a consistent policy about tardiness at all high schools beginning in September 2001. Students who are tardy three times will be required to attend an after school detention. Chronic tardiness will result in either more detentions or required attendance at Saturday School. Saturday School is a four-hour work period. Students who do not fulfill their Saturday School obligation are subject to suspension.

Truancy Prevention. School attendance is required by law and it is the parents’ responsibility to see that their child attends school. Truancy, as defined in the Education Code, is:

18 unexcused period absences at Santa Barbara High School and Dos Pueblos High School;
12 unexcused period absences at San Marcos High School, which has a block schedule; or
three full days of school at any high school.

For several years, a very successful Truancy Intervention Program has been in place in our school district. This program, which has been a collaborative effort between the district attorney’s office, probation department, and the school district, has significantly increased school attendance and has substantially reduced truancies. A Truancy Intervention Program letter from District Attorney Thomas Sneddon is enclosed.

In recent months, the Truancy Task Force, comprised of parents, community members, advocates, and representatives of the agencies listed above, has met several times to identify ways to strengthen the Truancy Intervention Program. As the result of their suggestions, additional components were added to the truancy program, for example:

to support a successful high school experience, in June, school attendance expectations were conveyed to all 8th grade students;
at-risk 8th graders were identified in order to provide counseling services to students and their families;
a new truancy outreach coordinator has been hired on a pilot basis at Santa Barbara High School;
a public information campaign was launched in August 2001 – using posters, flyers, banners, and other communication tools – to heighten student, parent, and community awareness of school attendance policies.

We are committed to providing every possible learning opportunity for your child. As every teacher will tell you, there is a lot to accomplish in the school year’s 180 instructional days. In order for your son or daughter to get the most out of this learning opportunity, they need to be on time and attend every class (unless they have a valid excuse). As your partner in education, I hope you will support this effort by talking with your son or daughter about how important education is to their future success.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Deborah A. Flores, Ph.D.
Superintendent