Reporting an Absence

Your child's high school career is important to the staff of Oak Grove High School. Regular attendance is one way to help ensure success. The Oak Grove Attendance Office is always available to answer your questions regarding your child's attendance.

How do I report that my child is absent?

Please call the attendance office the same day that your child is absent or send a note with your child the next day. In case of a lengthy absence, please be sure to contact the office at least twice a week after the initial call. A doctor's note is required for an illness of 3 days or more. Feel free to leave a message on the office voicemail at any time of the day. Include your student's name, your name, the day of the absence and the reason, along with your daytime phone number.

• Attendance Office Phone Numbers:

• (408) 347-6522   - Attendance Clerk

• (408) 347-6513   - Attendance Secretary

I reported my child's absence, but I received a call from the school anyway. Why?

The school's auto-dialer is programmed to call whenever your child is absent for one class. The office does not always receive student attendance information on field trips, athletic events or suspensions on the same day, so those absences may take longer to clear. Additionally, there are only two staff members working in attendance so it may take more time than usual to enter all absences, especially during cold and flu season, holidays, or if one of the attendance staff members is absent.

How do I bring my child in late or take him/her out early?

• If your child is coming in after an appointment, for example, please make sure they check into the office for a pass. You may come in with them, phone us to expect their arrival, or send a note.

• Please DO NOT pick your child up early without an official pass from the office. You may call the office to request that your child be released from school and we will make sure they receive a pass during the school day. Please allow ample time for us to locate your child. If they are in P.E., we may not be able to call them to the office until the end of the class.

• Students will not be released to a person other than a parent or guardian unless the office receives specific instructions from the parent or guardian.

Why are there uncleared absences on my child's record?

Students are marked absent by their teachers, not by the attendance office. An unverified absence can mean: (1) the student did not attend that class, (2) the student came into class tardy after being marked absent, or (3) the attendance office has not received the information from the parent or teacher to clear the absence.

How am I notified about my child's absences?

• The automatic dialer calls home in the evening when a student is marked absent in one class. The dialer asks parents to get in touch with the school if they have not already cleared the absence. When a student goes on a field trip or is suspended, information is not provided to the office in time to clear the absence on the same day. Please be assured that your voice mail messages and notes are usually posted on the day they are received.

• Teachers may contact the parents if absences are beginning to affect the student's performance in class.

• The attendance staff may make phone calls to the student's home as soon as numerous or unusual attendance patterns are noted. We must have your current information on file; please report any changes to your address and phone number immediately.

How do I clear the unverified absences?

You may call, send a note, or come into the attendance office to speak to one of the staff members. Parents may clear ALL DAY or the FIRST CLASS only. Your child's teacher clears absences that occur during the school day.  Please clear all absences within the week they occur. 

What types of absences are cleared as excused on my child's record?

The California Education Code determines which absences are excused. The student's illness, the student's medical or dental appointments, the funeral of an immediate family member, and court appointments are the only legally excused absences. Personal business, out-of-town or vacations are cleared on your child's attendance record, but are not excused. Please refer to the district website, http://www.esuhsd.org, for complete information about attendance.

How do I notify the office about a family vacation or other extended absence?

• Please send a note to the attendance office at least one week prior to your vacation. According to the California Education Code, vacations and personal business are not excused absences. Vacations that are pre-approved with an administrator's signature are cleared on your child's record as 'Other Unexcused.' Without prior approval, vacations are left as unverified absences.

• In addition, please be sure your child speaks to his/her teachers to inform them about the absence and to secure homework for the duration of the absence.

I received a SARB letter. How are the SARB letters generated?

The Student Attendance Review Board was established to work with parents and students in addressing multiple unverified absences. When the student's record has 3 unverified absences, the first letter is sent home. After 15 unverified absences, the second letter goes home. Finally, after 40 unverified absences, the parent and student must appear at a SARB hearing, held at the East Side Union High School District office located at 830 North Capitol Avenue.

My child has been reported as having too many unverified absences. What can I do?

• Contact the attendance office immediately to look at your child's attendance history. If you cannot come into the office, we will mail or fax you a copy. Review the absences with your child to see if any current absences can be legitimately cleared. If a student is marked absent several times in a particular class and he/she may have been tardy, please encourage your child to speak to the teacher.

• Ask your child to pick up a weekly summary of his/her attendance from the office.

• Contact the SARB coordinator at Oak Grove High School for further assistance.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE REVIEW BOARD (SARB)

Student Responsibilities:

• Students sign the STIS agreement prior to their departure.

• Complete all work prior to the assigned due date and before returning to the regular classroom instruction.

• Return all the completed work to the Supervising Teacher on the assignment due date specified in the STIS agreement.

• If completed work is sent by mail, it must be sent by priority mail and post marked with the due date of assignments as shown on the agreement.

• If absent from school on due date, send work with parent or other designated person by the due date, not when you return to school.

• If assignments are completed and returned after the due date, academic credit may be given but no credit will be awarded for attendance.

• Credited days of attendance will be awarded only for equivalent completed work returned on the assignment due date

Acceptable reasons for STIS

• Vacation or travel

• Funeral

• Religious purposes

• Safety issues

• Jury duty

•  Pregnancy

• Severe weather situations

• Parental responsibilities (Teen parents)

•  Family emergencies

•  Immunization

• Flu

• 5 Days Science Camp (Walden West, Camp Any town)

East Side Union High School District operates a Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) process designed to support children and families in maintaining positive school attendance patterns which allow student the maximum opportunity to learn.  

The School Attendance Review Board - SARB - is composed of school, law enforcement, social service agencies, parents and community members, who meet regularly to diagnose and resolve persistent student attendance problems.

The goal of SARB is to help students stay in school. They work with truant or recalcitrant students and their parents or guardians to identify attendance problems early and to solve school attendance problems through the use of available school and community resources, including:

• Parent/student conferences

• Counseling

• Agreements

• Contracts

• Referrals to appropriate agencies for support services

SARB does have the power, when necessary, to refer students and their parents or guardians to court. For more information, please see the California Department of Education School Attendance Review Boards Handbook.