Attendance is required of all students enrolled at Jefferson Middle School during the hours and days the school is in session. Education is an ongoing process and attendance is an integral part of that process. The development of good attendance habits is essential in developing life skills.

We would like to remind parents/guardians that absences may create undue hardships for students. Regardless of the merit of the reason for an absence, it will not replace the experience missed in the classroom that day. School attendance shall be the responsibility of parents/guardians and students – the classroom experience your student misses due to absences cannot be replaced.

When a student is absent from school, for any reason, the parent(s)/guardian(s) MUST provide a written statement of the cause of such absence – this statement is to be handed in to the attendance office and must contain the first and last name of the student as well as the dates that the note is covering. ABSENCES WILL BE RECORDED AS UNEXCUSED UNTIL THE PARENT/GUARDIAN PROVIDES A WRITTEN STATEMENT.

Parent Responsibilities / Information

Ensure that your student arrives on time and is in school ALL DAY – EVERY DAY.

1. Try to schedule doctor appointments and dental appointments before or after school.
2. Student(s) should only be checked out of school BEFORE the end of the day for EMERGENCIES only. Remember, all checkouts cause a disruption of the learning environment for all students in that class.
3. Vacations, including family trips should be scheduled during the summer break or during scheduled school holidays.
4. When your student is absent from school, you must send a parent note or a
   doctor’s note or official court documentation for each absence. REMEMBER, absences excused by a parent note will still count towards the NINE absent days (or NINE absences in a class period) per semester.
5. In middle school and high school, students are marked absent by class period.
   This means each time you check your student out early, or the student arrives late, they will be marked absent for the periods that they miss.
6. Students with more than five unexcused absences in a semester WILL NOT be allowed to participate in any off campus activity. These students will be added to the “NO GO” list.
7. If your student is going to be absent for more than 3 days, please contact the attendance office. Parents are encouraged to call all absences in, as it does assist us in knowing that a student will not be at school. Please note that a telephone call/e-mail does not replace the requirement of a parent note (see 4. above).

Failure For Attendance

A student who has more than NINE unexcused absences per semester (or misses more than nine unexcused class periods in one academic or non academic class) will not receive a passing grade for the semester.

Excused Absences Per School Board Policy

Absences not counted in the 9 days / 9 absences per period are :

Court dates (official court documentation required)
Illness with medical documentation
Chronic and extended illness (documentation required)
Religious holiday

Should you require additional information, please contact Mrs. Tina Calderin, the attendance clerk at 453-5154, Ext. 2004.

Please refer to pages 9, 10 and 11 of the Student Handbook for additional information regarding attendance.

Please email attendance questions to: Mrs. Tina Calderin

Homework For Absent Students

You may also view the district policy regarding attendance at the following links :

District Attendance Policies

Brevard County Schools Attendance