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Remote Learner Information
February 24, 2021
Remote Learners and Families:
First of all, we want you to know you will be missed in the classes and halls of Poland Seminary High School this week. Teachers will communicate directions for class expectations directly. Please make sure you are attending every period, every day during the scheduled class times. Teachers will require all students to have some face-to-face instructional time and may also require students to complete an assignment, etc. Teachers will also be accessible for additional Office Hours daily from 2:15-3:00. All questions directed to teachers after 3:00 pm will be answered within 24 hours.
PSHS Daily Schedule
Period 1: 7:45 - 8:33
Period 2: 8:36 - 9:21
Period 3: 9:24 - 10:09
Period 4: 10:12 - 11:12
Period 5: 11:15 - 12:00
Period 6: 12:03 - 12:48
Period 7: 12:51 - 1:45
Teachers are calculating attendance for all Remote Learners. Attendance includes meeting face-to-face requirements of each teacher, each period of class. Remote student attendance is required by Ohio’s schools, and students will be considered for Truancy if necessary. Parents or students may call the main office and request a copy of the Poland Attendance/Truancy Fact Sheet to reference this state law.
If you are not able to attend to your schoolwork for a day due to illness, you should have a parent call you off of school to the main office- just as you would if you were an In-Person Learner. This information is critical for both your attendance record and for teacher record.
We wish you well through what continues to be a challenging year for everyone. We appreciate how well you continue to persevere and are always here if you need anything.
Student Attendance / Truancy Fact Sheet
House Bill 410 Requirements
Passed by the Ohio General Assembly in December 2016 House Bill 410 encourages and supports a preventative approach to excessive/chronic absences and truancy. Regular school attendance is an important ingredient in students’ academic success. Excessive absences interfere with students’ progress in mastering knowledge and skills necessary to graduate from high school prepared for higher education and the workforce. To support academic success for all students, the district will partner with students and their families to identify and reduce barriers to regular school attendance. The district will utilize a continuum of strategies to reduce student absence including, but not limited to: Notification of student absence to the parent or guardian; Development and implementation of an absence intervention plan, which may include supportive services for students and families; Counseling; Parent education and parenting programs; Mediation; Intervention programs available through juvenile authorities; and Referral for truancy, if applicable.
Habitual Truancy:
Consecutive Hours: 30 without legitimate excuse
Hours per Month: 42 without legitimate excuse
Hours per School Year: 72 without legitimate excuse
Excessive Absences:
Consecutive Hours: N/A
Hours per Month: 38 without legitimate excuse
Hours per School Year: 65 without legitimate excuse
Chronic Absenteeism**:
Consecutive Hours: N/A
Hours per Month: N/A
Hours per School Year: 10% with or without legitimate excuse
Did you know?
A student is chronically absent if he or she misses as few as two days of school a month.
2 DAYS PER MONTH x 9 MONTHS = CHRONIC ABSENCE
Habitual Truancy (Unexcused Only)
Ohio Revised Code Section 2151.011(B)(18) defines habitually truant students as “any child of compulsory school age who is absent without legitimate excuse for absence from the public school the child is supposed to attend for thirty or more consecutive hours, forty-two or more hours in one school month, or seventy-two or more hours in one school year.”
Excessive Absences (Excused AND Unexcused)
Ohio Revised Code Section 3321.191(C)(1) defines excessive absences as a child of compulsory school age who “is absent with or without a legitimate excuse from the public school the child is supposed to attend for thirty-eight or more hours in one school month, or sixty-five or more hours in one school year.”
Chronic Absenteeism (Excused AND Unexcused)
Chronic absenteeism, as defined by the Every Student Succeeds Act, is missing 10 percent or more of the school year for any reason.
District Attendance Procedures
Excessive Absence (Excused AND Unexcused)
Upon reaching this threshold, the following will occur:
- The district will notify the student’s parents in writing
- The student will follow the district’s plan for absence intervention; and
- The student and family may be referred to community resources.
Habitual Truancy (Unexcused Only)
Upon reaching this threshold, the following will occur:
- The student will be assigned to an absence intervention team.
- The district will develop the student’s absence intervention plan.
- If the student does not make progress on the plan within 61 days or continues to be excessively absent, the district will file a complaint in juvenile court.
Excuses from School Attendance: Ohio Revised Code Section 3321.04 and Ohio Administrative Code 3301-69-02 set forth the situations in which an absence can be excused.
The Board considers the following factors to be reasonable excuses for time missed at school:
- Personal illness (a written physician’s statement verifying the illness may be required)
- Illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child
- Quarantine of the home
- Death in the family
- Necessary work at home due to absence or incapacity of parent(s)/guardian(s)
- Observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday
- Out-of-state travel (up to a maximum twenty-four (24) hours per school year that the student’s school is open for instruction) to participate in a District-approved enrichment or extracurricular activity. Any classroom assignment missed due to the absence shall be completed by the student. If the student will be absent for twenty-four (24) or more consecutive hours that the student’s school is open for instruction, a classroom teacher shall accompany the student during the travel period to provide the student with instructional assistance.
- Such good cause as may be acceptable to the Superintendent
- Medically necessary leave for a pregnant student in accordance with Policy 5751
- Service as a precinct officer at a primary, special or general election in accordance with the program set forth in Policy 5725
- College visitation;
- Absences due to the student’s homeless status;
- Absences due to a student’s placement in foster care or change in foster care placement of any court proceedings related to the student’s foster care status;
FAQ’s
Why do excused absences count toward excessive absence triggers?
HB 410 includes excused absences as part of the definition of excessively absent because when a student is missing a lot of school, the student is missing instruction time, and there may be a larger problem contributing to the absences. Furthermore, excessive absences may serve as an early warning indicator districts can use to address absences before a student becomes habitually truant. Likewise, a student still may need district support to get to school every day even though the student’s absences are excused
Do tardies and early dismissals count?
Time missed due to a student being tardy or dismissed must be tracked by the district and does count toward HB 410 requirements.
Do absences caused by suspensions count toward truancy or excessive absences triggers?
Though suspensions are considered unexcused absences, they do not count toward truancy triggers because suspensions represent a legitimate excuse to be out of school. Suspensions do count toward excessive absences because the definition of excessive absences does not distinguish between legitimate and not legitimate reasons for missing school.
Meet Dr. Edwin Holland, Interim Superintendent Poland Local Schools
Dr. Edwin Holland has three decades of experience in suburban and rural education. For 13 years of his career he served as a superintendent in three school districts in Cuyahoga and Summit Counties. Dr. Holland was named Interim Superintendent by the Poland Board of Education in October.
“My experience as a superintendent with school funding and improving student achievement gives me the experience that I need, and the community will be able to use it to help improve and build upon the level of excellence that Poland Schools has been known for,” said Dr. Holland.” I want to be able to help maintain this transition for the board and community, while we build upon getting a new superintendent.”
Dr. Holland will work with the Board of Education to develop a search plan to hire the next superintendent. Dr. Holland has worked on several searches to fill key executive positions of superintendent and treasurer for school districts, and has also participated as a candidate in several searches. Dr. Holland also plans on working with staff and the community to find out what’s important in the search for Poland’s next superintendent. Dr. Holland hopes the Board of Education will be able to hire a new superintendent in the spring/summer of 2021.
When it comes to transparency and accountability, both will be critical factors in the superintendent search. The district will provide transparent communication to the community about the superintendent search, and how the district is being maintained throughout the transition.
“The role of increasing accountability is taking responsibility for what needs to be done with integrity, but also the need for transparency is communication,” said Holland. “Communicating to the community how the distinct operates, how decisions are made and how it’s going to impact and create change within the community.”
Dr. Holland started his career in education as a social studies teacher and was a head track coach and football coach. He also served as a high school principal in a Division 1 school.
“Academic, athletics and the arts are extremely important to me in education,” said Holland.