General Note:

If a student must be absent from school, the parent should call Mrs. Akers at 677-1946, X4546 before 8:00 a.m. or email carol_akers@caryacademy.org. If necessary, please leave a voice-mail message. If a student is absent and the school has not been notified, Cary Academy staff will call to verify the absence.

Student Attendance Policy [top pf page]

Students at Cary Academy are expected to be at school and to report to their classes on time. Frequent absences and tardiness seriously affect academic progress. The school requests that parents and students thoughtfully consider the effects of any absence other than one of a medical or family emergency. Families are discouraged from taking students out of school prior to a school break or during a normal school day. If such an absence is unavoidable, parents should notify the Upper School Office a minimum of two weeks in advance and make appropriate arrangements for missed work. 

Cary Academy expects 90 percent (of annual school days) attendance for promotion to the next grade. Students must be in attendance for at least half of the day to be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities on that day. 

Whenever possible, regularly scheduled medical appointments should be made outside school hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES [top pf page]

Tardiness [top pf page]

Classes begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. Any student who reports to school after 8:00 a.m. is considered tardy and must report to the Upper School Office for a pass to class. If a note is provided or the parent calls the school, tardiness may be accepted (excused tardy) for medical or dental appointments, family emergencies, bad weather, religious commitments or other reasonable circumstances. Problems with heavy traffic, car problems or oversleeping (even when excused by parents) are not acceptable reasons for tardiness. Students must learn to budget their time to allow for that possibility and the school expects parents to help students arrive on time and be ready to begin the school day by 8:00 a.m. 

Students must be in school at least four hours or they will not be allowed to take part in after-school activities of any sort on that day. Detentions incurred due to tardiness will not be rescheduled to allow participation in after-school activities. 

Beginning with the third unexcused tardy in each trimester, students will be assigned a detention for each occurrence. Teachers may assign academic consequences for late work due to tardiness. Beginning with the third detention for tardiness to school, the Dean of Students will request a meeting with the student and his/her parents to discuss the problem and the appropriate resolution. 

Absences [top pf page]

Absences may be excused or unexcused, depending on the circumstances. Parental permission is necessary, but not sufficient for an excused absence. The Dean of Students will excuse absences due to family emergencies, religious observances, medical procedures that cannot be scheduled before or after school, weather emergencies, or other reasonable circumstances. The school may not excuse absences, even with parental permission, for extended vacations, skipping class, missing any part of the school day to complete assignments or to study for tests, oversleeping, car problems, traffic, etc. 

If a student must be absent from school, the parent should call Mrs. Akers at 677-1946, X4546 before 8:00 a.m. or email carol_akers@caryacademy.org. If necessary, please leave a voice-mail message. If a student is absent and the school has not been notified, Cary Academy staff will call to verify the absence.  

Planned absences should be arranged with the Dean of Students at least two weeks in advance. The school calendar is available on-line and is published in this Handbook. We urge all parents not to schedule trips that take students out of school on scheduled school days. 

Excused absences, as determined by the school, allow students to turn in scheduled work for full credit according to a schedule determined by the student’s teachers. Normally, teachers will help students "catch up" on work missed due to an excused absence. 

Unexcused absences, as determined by the school, place no obligation on the student’s teachers to accept late work for full credit, or to provide assistance in "catching up." 

Note: Absences on the days before or the days after a school holiday will not be excused except for the reasons noted in the first paragraph of this section. 

All absences require written permission from the parent unless telephone contact confirmed the reason for the absence. Failure to provide appropriate approval may result in a meeting with the student, parents, and the Dean of Students.  

Students who miss 15 days (excused and unexcused) or more of school are in serious jeopardy of not meeting the school requirement of 90% attendance during the year. Parents should expect to be contacted by the Dean of Students in this event. Students with 5 or more unexcused absences will be asked to meet with the Dean of Students. Students who leave school without permission will receive a one-day, in-school suspension. 

Make-up Work for Excused Absences [top pf page]

Students are expected to make up work missed when absent. Students are allowed a period of time (usually equal to the number of days that they were absent) to complete the necessary make-up work. In cases of extended illness, the student should ask his or her advisor for help in establishing a make-up schedule.  

Early Dismissal/Leaving during the School Day [top pf page]

Students who must leave school early or for a part of the school day must provide a written note from the parent at the beginning of the school day. Parents and students are required to sign in and out if a student leaves school. If a student drives to school, the written note must include an estimated time of leaving, destination, and estimated time of return.

Upper School Student Absence Request Form [top pf page]

If a Upper School student has an upcoming planned absence from school, they need to complete the top of the form (2) academic days prior to your planned absence and ask for the approval of the Head of the Upper School.  If Mr. McGuigan is not available, you may leave the form with Ms. Laurent.