Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

• A parent/guardian must call the attendance office within 24 hours of the absence at 303-982-8813.
   
• For absences occurring on Friday, calls must be made on Saturday to be considered within the 24-hour reporting window. All calls are automatically logged with the date and time of the call. 
   
• After 24 hours, absences may only be excused by contacting the student’s alpha-administrator directly.
  • Last Name A-E: Tia Nemitz
  • Last Name F-L: Zach Morris
  • Last Name M-Ri: Angela Bauer
  • Last Name Ro-Z: Sean Hoorelbeke
     
• No absences will be excused 15 school days after the absence without a face-to-face meeting with the student’s alpha-administrator. Scheduling a meeting does not guarantee the absence will be excused.
   
• Students who are 18 years old may not excuse their own absences and are still considered dependents of their parent/guardian.
   
• All absences will need to be called in by 12pm to record for that. Calls after 12 may not be recorded until the following day. 
   
• Bear Creek encourages families to be in contact with the student’s counselor or alpha-administrator if a student is dealing with ongoing injuries or recurring appointments that may result in regular school absences.

Prearranged Absences

Students who know in advance that they will be absent from regularly scheduled classes for more than two days must obtain a Prearranged Absence Form from the main office or online.

The form must be completed by the student and then signed by a parent/guardian. Completed forms must be submitted at least three (3) school days prior to the planned absence.

Failure to complete the prearranged absence process in advance may result in the absence being recorded as unexcused.

Partial-Day/Single-Period Absences

• Up to nine (9) single-period or partial-day absences per semester may be excused without documentation.
   
• After nine (9) occurrences, documentation is required for additional absences to be excused.

Documentation Requirements for Attendance

A doctor's note is sufficient, but must include:

• Student’s name
• Date and time of the appointment
• Name of the medical office/company
• Contact phone number
• Letterhead/note with provider name

Students arriving late or leaving early must check in/out through the attendance office and obtain a pass.

If a student has ongoing medical needs or frequent appointments, families are encouraged to stay in contact with the school counselor or alpha-administrator for support.

Attendance Interventions

• Automated phone calls will be made each evening for any absences not excused by 12:00 p.m. that day.
   
• When unexcused absences become excessive, interventions may include:
  • Parent/guardian contact
  • Disciplinary action
  • Letters home 
  • Conferences
  • Truancy procedures

Documentation will be required to excuse absences at this stage.

 Truancy and Colorado Law

If a student is absent without a parental excuse (or in some instances, a written medical excuse from a medical source) or if the student leaves school or a class without permission of the teacher or administrator in charge, the student shall be considered truant. A "habitual truant"  shall be defined as a student of compulsory attendance age who has four unexcused absences  from school in any one month or 10 unexcused absences during any school year. Absences due  to suspension or expulsion shall not be counted in the total of unexcused absences. 

A remedial attendance plan shall be developed for a student who is at risk of being declared  habitually truant with the goal of assisting the child to remain in school. When practicable, the  child's parent, guardian or legal custodian shall participate with District personnel during the  development of the plan. Appropriate school personnel shall make all reasonable efforts to  meet with the parent, guardian or legal custodian to review and evaluate the reasons for the  child's truancy.

Mismarked Absences

If a student believes they were marked absent from a class in error, the student must contact the teacher to clear it up. The teacher will contact the attendance secretary with the correction.  Please note that this can take up to several days for the correction to take place in Infinite Campus, once all steps have been taken.

Tardies

We expect regular daily attendance and punctuality for all students. These behaviors contribute to success in school and are critical components of lifelong learning and career preparation. Students are expected to arrive on time and be in the classroom prepared to learn.

Excessive tardiness or absences may result in student conferences, parent/guardian contact, detention, in-school suspension (ISS), lunch detention or a remedial attendance plan, loss of credit for the course, or other disciplinary action. Attendance may also impact student participation in school activities.

We strongly believe that the best way for students to be successful is to be in their required classes on time, each and every day. Doing so helps students avoid the consequences listed above and, more importantly, supports the development of positive relationships and academic success throughout their time at Bear Creek.

Students who accumulate more than nine (9) tardies to their first scheduled class of the school day in a semester will be required to provide documentation for any additional tardies to be considered excused.  If no documentation is provided it will be marked tardy unexcused. 

Please note that parents cannot call in mid-day tardies without proper documentation.