MAA's attendance policy has been designed to encourage regular attendance in classes and reflects these underlying aspects of school philosophy:

1. Community and business surveys regarding educational goals continually stress the development of reliability and responsibility as high priority objectives.
2. Students in this age group should be expected to exercise self-discipline and responsible behavior.
3. Students who attend classes regularly learn better and get better grades.
4. Attendance is the responsibility of the student and parents.
5. Regular attendance at all appointments is expected of every student. This includes classes, assemblies, music appointments, work, residence hall worships, and weekend religious programs.

Why an attendance policy?

There is a positive relationship between class attendance and academic success. Irregular attendance is one of the prime factors associated with student failure and frustration with the school experience.

Statute 339.065 of Oregon Law reads as follows: "No absence shall be excused by any principal or teacher unless such absence was caused by the pupil's sickness, by the sickness of some member of the pupil's family, or in the case of emergency. The principal or teacher may excuse absences for other reasons when arrangements are made in advance."

Because our society is highly time dependent and we must prepare our students to function in it, because we can educate only those students who are in class, and because interruptions caused by tardiness/absence are a serious drain on effective teaching time, we have instituted the following attendance policies.

Perfect Attendance

Perfect attendance is defined as no absences or tardies, excused or unexcused, (except for school sponsored activities) for the grading period. A $25 award will be given at the end of Fall Semester and/or Spring Semester to any student who has perfect attendance for that semester. An additional $25 award will be given at the end of Spring Semester to any student who has perfect attendance for the entire school year.

Attendance Records

Absences in the academic and work areas will be reflected in the student's attendance grade on the permanent transcript. All unexcused absences and tardies are considered in computing a student's attendance grade.

Absences and Class Credit

Unexcused absences/tardies will result in loss of credit for work missed. Excused absences will allow for makeup work.

It is the responsibility of the student who has been absent to ask the teacher about work he/she may have missed and to find out how best to make up the assignments.

Attendance Codes

Absences

Codes indicating an excused absence:

Codes indicating an unexcused absence:

Tardies

Tardies are unexcused unless a student is detained by a staff member. In that case the student must present a tardy slip from the staff member to the teacher of the class to which he is tardy, and the tardy may be excused.

All other tardies are un-excusable.

A student who is 10 or more minutes late to class should expect to be counted absent.

Attendance Grades

Students earn letter grades in attendance each quarter based on cumulative attendance point totals for classes, work, and other required appointments. Unexcused absences accumulate one point; unexcused tardies, 1/3 point each. Semester grades are derived by averaging the points of the two quarters within that semester.

• A=0–1.33 points
• B=1.34–2.67 points
• C=2.68–4.33 points
• D=4.34–5.99 points
• F=6+ points

Students should check the attendance board daily to see if they have received attendance points that they are not aware of.

Students who accumulate unexcusable* attendance points will be provided with motivational assistance:

Excusing Absences and Tardies

If a student has missed class for an excusable reason (other than being on sick list, for a prearranged absence, or for a school-sponsored activity) and wishes to have an absence or tardy excused, he/she must do the following:

1. Before returning to class, pick up a “Petition to Have Absence or Tardy Excused” slip from the attendance office.
2. Fill in the required information.
3. Get the signature of the staff member (for on-campus excuses) or parent (for off-campus excuses) who was present to verify the validity of the excuse. Phone verification from a parent may be recorded by a dean or the attendance officer and signed by that staff member.
4. For non-medical excuses, take the signed form to the teacher or work supervisor whose class or work shift was affected. Request that person to sign the form if he/she is willing to approve excusing the absence or tardy.
5. If the teacher or work supervisor accepts the excuse, he/she will sign the form and the student will take it to the attendance office.

The absence/tardy cannot be excused unless the required signatures and information are on the form and the student submits the form to the attendance office within three days of the date of the absence or tardy.*

Absences wherein the student is sick for five or more consecutive days may be excused only with a note from a physician or a dean.

*Unexcusable Attendance Points

Attendance points become unexcusable if steps 1-5 above have not been completed within three days of the absence or tardy or on the day of return to class, whichever is later.

Attendance points due to skips or to a student being dismissed from class for inappropriate behavior are never excusable.

Motivational Assistance Program

Students who accumulate unexcusable* attendance points will be provided with motivational assistance when they receive their first 3 unexcusable attendance points. When attendance reaches 3 points the attendance mediator will connect with the student. From then on the student will be guided through a process designed to help them learn to manage their time in a way that will get them to class on time. To see the complete process, see the Attendance section of the current Milo Handbook(2.0 MB).

Prearranged Absences

In considering whether to request a prearranged absence, students and parents should realize that . . .

1. the teachers will not be held responsible for the loss of learning experiences and the consequent likelihood of reduced grades.
2. excessive absences from class may contribute to the loss of credit due to inability to meet the academic requirements of the class.
3. the student will be responsible for lecture material given, quizzes missed, and all homework or other activities associated with every class.
4. the parent and student will suffer loss of student labor earnings as a result of missing work.
5. even excused absences result in a loss of perfect attendance during a given quarter.
6. they should obtain Ad Council approval before making irreversible plans for trips requiring absence from required school activities.

To request approval for a prearranged absence, the student should . . .

1. review with the attendance officer his current attendance status,
2. obtain an Ad Council Request form,
3. make arrangements with each teacher for making up missed work,
4. find a substitute for work and make arrangements with the work supervisor for the missed work time, and
5. submit the completed Ad Council Request form for possible approval.

Mission Trips

A part of MAA's mission is to provide opportunities for students to discover the joy of service. In harmony with this goal, Spring Break has been lengthened to provide opportunities for students to experience mission trips. Students should obtain Ad Council approval before making irreversible plans for trips that are not sponsored by MAA and that require absence from school.

School-excused Absences

Participants in the following school-sponsored activities will be excused from the classes they miss:

• ACT Tests (Juniors/Seniors)
• SAT Tests (Seniors)
• ITED Tests (Sophomores)
• PSAT Test (Juniors)
• PLAN Test (Sophomores)
• Advanced Placement Exams
• NPUC and OR Conference Bible Conferences
• Big Lake Bible Conference
• Prayer Conference
• Senior Survival
• Senior Class Trip
• Walla Walla University Days
• Career Fair
• Jr Varsity and Varsity Games and Tournaments
• Music Group Tours
• Publications Workshop
• Approved class field trips

All other school-sponsored activities will take place outside class hours or will be optional for the student.