Costa announces attendance policy changes in series of screencasts

By Catelyn Di Leva

Staff Writer

Mira Costa has implemented new attendance procedures for the 2015-16 school year that include new rules on excused absences and off grounds permits.

Costa Vice Principal and Head of Student Attendance Kristin Wolberg presented the new policies in a video that teachers showed to students during second period on Sept 2. These changes went into effect at the beginning of this school year. Wolberg stated that the new policies have been formed to decrease student attendance problems, such as accidental truancy markings.

“I think part of it is that students are now more aware of absences because they have some sort of number attached to what they’re tracking,” Wolberg said. “So that is part of the process, that there is something already in place that tracks how often people are gone, and for people who are gone very often.”

The new rules state that students who have a planned excused absence must contact the Attendance Office one to two weeks in advance. Students with six or more unexcused absences will have to attend Study Zone, which is held at Costa on Saturdays, and students with 14 or more absences due to an illness will require doctor’s notes for additional absences of the school year.

“If students are ill then they should stay home,” Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale said. “But we do want students to be here, everyday and on time; it is school.”

According to Wolberg, the policy for Off Grounds Permits allows for increased communication between Costa administration, students and parents. The revised policy mandates that parents must write a handwritten note or visit the office in person in order for a student to verify an Off Grounds Permit, rather than last year’s policy which allowed verification through emails or phone calls.

“I think there are some parents and students that are already very conscious of it and there are different absences for different reasons,” Wolberg said. “This is an opportunity for us to intervene and sometimes the parents need to know, so it’s an opportunity for us to keep closer track and communicate with the parents so the student won’t have many absences.”