Stamford Public Schools Updates High School Attendance Regulations

STAMFORD, CT (September 13, 2024) Stamford Public Schools has updated regulation 5113A-R governing high school attendance. These updates, which went into effect on September 9, 2024, further refine the requirements of school attendance teams, eliminate the tiered system of tardies, and require students to participate in attendance recovery to retain their earned grade in a course if they exceed the maximum number of absences allowed in a marking period/quarter.  

The updates to Regulation 5113A-R were developed by Associate Superintendent for High Schools Dr. Lori Rhodes, AITE Principal Tina Rivera, SPS Anchor Principal Sid Watson, Stamford High School Principal Matthew Forker, and Westhill High School Principal Michael Rinaldi. 

“Attendance regulations should reinforce that the entire school community—students, parents and guardians, teachers, administrators, and staff—plays a role in supporting regular school attendance,” said Dr. Rhodes. “At the same time, the regulations need to hold students accountable for their absences in a manner that is equitable for all students without being unnecessarily punitive.”   

Research shows that regular school attendance is a critical factor in student achievement. Attending school regularly helps students (1) establish routines that foster discipline and time management skills; (2) develop stronger relationships with teachers and peers; and (3) stay engaged with classroom instruction. Connecticut state law requires parents/guardians to ensure their children, ages 5 through 18, attend school regularly during the school year.

Updates to Regulation 5113A-R

Regulation 5113A-R outlines expectations for high school student attendance, the responsibilities of students, parents, and school staff in promoting regular attendance, the responsibilities of school staff to report and monitor attendance, and defines the various types of absences and tardies and the documentation required for each. 

Following are the significant updates to Regulation 5113A-R: 

• School-based attendance teams will be required to meet monthly, at minimum, to review attendance data, identify students in need of intervention, and determine how best to support students and families. 
• The tiered system of tardies has been eliminated. Students who arrive for class after the late bell will be marked either “excused tardy” or “unexcused tardy.” Every four unexcused tardies will convert to one unexcused absence. 
• Students will be required to complete attendance recovery to retain their passing grade in any course for which they exceeded the allowed number of tardies or absences in a quarter.   

Attendance Recovery  

Absences will be calculated both quarterly and cumulatively for student records. Any student who earns a passing grade in a course while exceeding the number of allowed absences will have to participate in attendance recovery in order to retain their passing grade for that quarter. 

• Attendance recovery can begin as soon as the student exceeds the absence threshold. 
• Attendance recovery must be completed no later than the midpoint of the following quarter. 
• Students who complete attendance recovery will have their earned passing grade reinstated.  
• Students who fail to complete attendance recovery will receive an “F” for that marking period. 

Any student who is failing a course and exceeding the number of allowed absences may participate in grade recovery to earn a D for the marking period. Students interested in grade recovery should speak with their school counselor. 

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support 

Student attendance will be addressed through a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) created and implemented at each school with support from the Central Office. Attendance committees will meet monthly to review individual student attendance as well as school-wide trends to determine how best to support students and families. School personnel (counselors, outside providers, social workers, teachers, administrators) will provide students and families with progressively increasing levels of support based on their needs and the root cause(s) of the absences.

Implementation & Monitoring

School leadership will review attendance data on a regular basis throughout the 2024-25 school year and seek input from staff on the effectiveness of the updated regulations. Dr. Rhodes will work with school administrators to address questions and concerns as they arise. The regulations will be revisited at the end of the 2024-25 school year to determine if further adjustments are necessary. 

 

Regulation 5113A-R may be reviewed in its entirety here.