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Attendance Policy

Attendance Office: (248) 956-5349 | Attendance Hotline: (248) 956-5590

Please call the attendance hotline before 7:00 a.m. every morning your student is absent or late.

Note: Notifying a teacher or counselor of your child’s absence does not replace notifying the attendance office. For a student’s absence to be “excused” you must call the absence/tardy within 48 hours. A student’s absence a cannot be “excused” if it is called in after the 48 hour deadline.

Regular school attendance is crucial for academic success. The classroom experience is of unique value and cannot be fully recreated through makeup work. Meaningful learning occurs through discussion, collaboration, and hands-on activities. Enrollment in a course represents a commitment to attend all class sessions unless an absence is absolutely necessary.

Attendance Policy

You must call the attendance office or hotline within 48 hours for an excused absence. An absence that is not excused within 48 hours will remain unexcused and will result in a detention.

Walled Lake Northern has a closed campus policy. If your student needs to leave for an appointment, but will be returning, they will need to provide proof that they attended the appointment. Students are not allowed to leave campus to get lunch or run home for forgotten items. If an emergency arises and your student need to leave and return, they must have permission from the administration to do so. 

Absence Interventions

Beginning Semester 2, parents will be receiving attendance letter notifications through Skyward and the US Mail based on the following class period absence thresholds. Please note, these thresholds are for excused or unexcused absences. 

  • 5 Absences (per class, per semester)
    • Teacher communicates with parent/guardian and discusses attendance with student
  • 7 Absences (per class, per semester)
    • Attendance letter in Skyward and email notification
  • 10 Absences (per class, per semester)
    • Attendance letter mailed home, letter in Skyward and email notification
  • 15 Absences (per class, per semester)
    • Attendance letter in Skyward and email notification
    • Possible additional actions: attendance success plan created, administrative contact, LAYA referral, truancy referral

ALL absences count the same toward thresholds and interventions, except for school-related absences.

 

Late Arrival and Tardy Policy

  • Students arriving to the building late will not be permitted to bring food/drinks from outside establishments (Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc).
  • Students are expected to arrive at school on time.
  • Students who plan to make food/beverage stops on the way to school should plan accordingly so they can complete their stops and still arrive on time.
  • The school tardy policy is as follows and applies to all class periods, including 1st period
    • 3 tardies = verbal/written warning
    • 5 tardies = 1, 60 minute after school detention
    • 7 tardies = 2, 60 minute after school detentions
    • 9 tardies = 1 in-school suspension + a restorative conference
  • A tardy mark cannot be excused by a parent.
    • If your child is arriving late to school due to a scheduled appointment, the student should bring a note of the appointment from the provider to the attendance office upon arrival and the tardy mark will be removed.
    • If your child is arriving late to school for any other reason, you may notify the office but the tardy mark will still be counted.

Early Departure Process

 

  • How do I excuse my student for a full or partial day absence?
    • Call the Attendance Hotline at (248) 956-5590 within 24 hours of the absence.
  • How do I arrange for my child to leave school early?
    • Call the attendance office (248) 956-5349 as soon as possible the morning of the early dismissal.
    • If you know about an upcoming appointment, you can even call days in advance.
    • The attendance secretary will create an early dismissal pass for your child to pick up from the office.
  • What does my child do for an early dismissal process?
    • Your child should pick up the early dismissal pass during passing time between classes.
    • At the time your child is scheduled to leave, he/she should show the classroom teacher the pass.
    • Your child should then go to the attendance office to sign out.
    • Your child can then leave in his/her vehicle or meet his/her ride in in the circle drive.