Document ID MDS011	Title Attendance and Family Communication Manual	Print Date 08/12/2020
Revision 2.0	Prepared By Get It Right Educators Co-op members	Date Prepared 05/29/2020
Effective Date 08/12/2020	Reviewed By  Officers of Get It Right Educators Co-op	Date Reviewed 08/12/2020
	Approved By Officers of Get It Right Educators Co-op	Date Approved 08/12/2020

A manual of regulations and procedures relating to student attendance

Referring Policy for These Regulations and Procedures

This Manual provides guidance and direction to the Administrative and Instructional staff of Milestone Democratic School, in accordance with Policy 501 (“Student Attendance”).

General Procedure for Taking and Keeping Student Attendance Records

In general, Advisors and Course Instructors shall keep and maintain accurate and precise records of all students’ attendance to the personalized schedule of each student, as written and approved in that student’s Personal Learning Plan. Timely and accessible records of student attendance is critical data for providing meaningful, actionable feedback to students as well as caregivers, guardians, and parents. Tracking when students are Present, Tardy, or Absent to scheduled classes, meetings, and events is important and must be a priority for Advisors and Course Instructors.

Use of a common Student Information System (“SIS”), accessible to all staff of Milestone, to keep and maintain these records is required. Adequate training and supervision for all staff in the precise and accurate use of such a Student Information System is essential.

In general:

• At the beginning of each Advisory session, Course meeting, or other PLP-scheduled meeting, the Advisor or Course Instructor shall enter into the SIS each student as Present, Tardy, or Absent
• Each day, the Office & Business Manager shall verify with Advisors each student that was marked Absent in the SIS
• Reports of Absences and Tardies shall be generated for each student at the end of each term

General Procedure for Family Communications Regarding Attendance

Caregiver, guardian, and parent partnership in student learning is a central value of Milestone’s personalized learning program. Care must be taken to ensure that families are informed in an accurate and timely fashion of their student’s attendance, and that this communication is always undertaken from a position of care and trust for the critical three-way relationship between Advisor, student, and family.

In general:

• Advisors shall alert caregivers, guardians, and/or parents if a student is not present in Advisory or other PLP-scheduled event with the Advisor, by whatever means they have established with that family, within the first hour of Advisory
• Course Instructors shall alert the Advisor for each student who is not present in their Course within the first hour of that Course, and Advisors shall alert families about the absence

COVID-Specific Procedures for Personalized Remote Learning

The current COVID-19 pandemic, and Milestone’s adopted COVID response plan, create unique and challenging circumstances for families, students, and staff. Accordingly, for so long as the school is operating under Contingency Models 2, 3, or 4, and students are accessing learning remotely, the following procedures shall be utilized for tracking and maintaining attendance:

• Advisors shall keep records of which students are present, tardy, and absent for each Advisory session and scheduled meeting
• Course instructors shall keep records of which students are present, tardy, and absent for each course meeting
• For students who are absent for Advisory, a course, or a scheduled meeting:
  • Advisors, with support from the Information Technology Coordinator, will utilize Google Admin Users Dashboard to verify student log-in and engagement with asynchronous and remote options offered
  • If a student is indicated as Active in Google Admin Users Dashboard, and Advisors are able to verify that the student has accessed remote communications and/or asynchronous learning materials, that student shall be marked as Present in the SIS, regardless of attendance on virtual video conferences or other activities facilitated synchronously by the Advisor or course instructor