Hillcrest High School Attendance Policy 2025-2026
Attendance is a significant factor affecting student achievement in school. Opportunities for success during and beyond secondary school are also directly affected by a student’s attitude toward attendance in high school. The single greatest factor determining the likelihood of High School graduation is school attendance. In order to afford students, the opportunity to be academically successful and responsible citizens, Hillcrest High School expects students to be in class, prepared, and on time each day.
The objectives of the Hillcrest High School Attendance Guidelines are to: 1) provide students with successful learning experiences in each class, 2) teach responsible behavior by encouraging students to be accountable for their attendance, 3) support parent efforts in promotion of student attendance, and to 4) provide a safe, effective, and uninterrupted learning environment for each student.
In an effort to proactively support student attendance, Hillcrest High will provide positive reinforcements to those students who keep their attendance in line with the approved thresholds. Throughout the year, the Hillcrest High School Administration will reinforce all students that have maintained at least 90% attendance and also did not exceed the tardy threshold each quarter.
Hillcrest High School supports state and district attendance policies which call for fairness and to provide flexibility and accountability on the part of students, parents, and the school. HHS believes school attendance is a student-parent-school responsibility which involves all three entities in order to resolve attendance concerns prior to referring attendance problems to a school mediation panel. High attendance expectations have proven to improve academic achievement, graduation rates, responsibility, respect, school climate, and school safety. Students who demonstrate excessive attendance problems (defined as unexcused absences and tardies) will be subject to potential school disciplinary actions.
Research has shown that school performance significantly declines once a student exceeds a 10% absentee rate. Students should be in attendance no less than 90% of the time. This includes both excused and unexcused absences. If students fall below the 90% threshold, they are increasing the likelihood that they will not be successful in their coursework and therefore not complete the graduation requirements for high school.
Each Student is expected to keep their attendance within the following thresholds:
1. No more than 5 unexcused absences per class period during the duration of the quarter.
2. No more than 5 tardies per class period during the duration of the quarter.
As per state code, students will be held harmless for absences that are excused by a parent or guardian. This does not mean that students are not responsible to complete any work that is missed as a result of absences. Students are expected to complete all work, regardless of the type of absence that is recorded.
Tardies
Punctuality is an important life skill and tardiness is extremely disruptive to the educational process. A student is considered tardy (T) if they are not in the classroom when the bell rings. If a student arrives more than 10 minutes late to class it is recorded as a (W) which refers to “Way Late”. This still only counts as a tardy but serves as a reference for teachers, students, and families regarding the significance of the late arrivals. Excessive tardiness will be addressed by teachers and administration.
Absences
Absences are considered un-excused until they have been cleared by a legal parent/guardian. It is the parent/student responsibility to check on their attendance and verify that their absence has been excused. All absences not excused within 10 days following the absence(s) must have Administrator approval.
Check In / Check Out
Students arriving to school late or returning to school from a mid-day appointment should check in at the office. Parents need to call to notify the Attendance office when a student is being checked in, so we can record it appropriately. Students arriving late to class without parent notification will be marked with a tardy or way late as described above.
APP Class Attendance
APP class is a positive attendance-based class. This means every student begins the class period with an absence for APP (Z). Students, are responsible for their own attendance during this period. Students must enter their student number to verify their presence. Parents/Guardians may check their student out before/after APP class. We cannot excuse APP class alone. APP attendance that drops below 90% will receive a failing grade. Students wandering the halls during APP will not be tolerated. Parents will be notified via Parent Square of student’s absences.
Truancy
Students will be referred to an Administrator when absences become excessive. In the event of excessive tardiness or truancy, students may be scheduled to meet with an Administrator to determine appropriate interventions. Consecutive absences of 10 days or more, can result in being withdrawn from Hillcrest High School. A Verified Truancy (A-VT) consists of students being seen wandering the hallways and school campus during school hours, without teacher or administrator permission.
Definitions of Absences
HHS has set standards for class attendance based on research, district and state guidelines and policies that have proven to improve success in High School. The following is a list of absentee codes used throughout Canyons School District on Skyward.
G = Excused Absence by Parent/Guardian
A = Unexcused Absence
A-VT = Unexcused Absence (Verified Truant)
Z = APP/ Check-In / VT
T = Tardy
W = Way Late (more than 10 minutes late)
G-IN = Guardian check-in
G-O = Guardian check-out
N = School Excused Absence
N-TS = Testing
N-FT = Field trip
N-IS = RUF program / In school suspension
Some of the potential interventions that may help student attend class include but are not limited to:
- • Placement on a daily attendance tracker
- • Parent accompany the student to school
- • Placement in the HHS Restitution Under Facilitation Program (RUF)
- • Assigned Check and Connect Mentor
- • Other interventions developed in collaboration with parents and students
Once we have worked through the list of potential interventions with a student and these interventions have failed to help improve student attendance and/or punctuality, students will be referred to our district attendance specialist and peer court.
Checking Student Attendance and Grades
Student attendance and grades can be checked at home via the internet on Skyward. To access the information, you will need your Skyward login information. If you need your Skyward login, please contact our Attendance office at 801-826-6010.
Excusing/Reporting Absences
Parents may excuse absences by calling the Attendance office at 801-826-6010 between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Please listen to our menu, our system is designed to leave messages via voicemail on reporting attendance. Please allow 24 hours for the attendance to reflect the excusal.
Hillcrest High School follows Canyon’s School District’s Board Policy 500.35, Utah Code 536-6-204 and 53G-6-202 which requires which requires that all children ages 6‐18 must be enrolled in school and attend regularly. This policy and law are in place because regular school attendance is a major component of a student’s academic success, improves social interaction with adults and peers, and provides opportunities for important communication between teachers and students.
