Getting to graduate high school can be a daunting task. AP tests, STAAR tests, required credits, class ranks, and GPA all add up in the end. Missing class and not making up seat time can lead students to not graduate with the rest of their class. Students that are able to stay up to date with their attendance have one less thing to worry about.
Attendance is very important in high school. Students must show up to more than 90% of all classes. If more than nine sessions of a first and fifth period and/or four sessions of a second through fourth period are missed per semester, a student will receive credit denial. To receive credit, a student must attend seat time.
There are only two kinds of absences. There is a recognized absence which do not count towards to 90% rule such as documented medical appointments, documented required court appearances, school-related activities, nationally recognized religious holidays, and documented college visits (two days a year for juniors and seniors). There is also an unrecognized absence, all the absences that are not listed or recognized by the school. If a student misses a class, they need to have it documented and proof absence must be given to the attendance office as soon as possible.
Seat time is owed if more than nine sessions of a first and fifth period and/or four sessions of a second through fourth period are missed. Seat time can be made up with the teacher of that subject in tutorials or at Saturday school. Not making up all missed seat time can hinder graduation date and year. Going to tutorials count for double the amount of time in that class. So, if you are in tutorials for an hour, you get two hours of seat time credit. Going to Saturday school, which is from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. gives the exact amount of hours attended.
“Any class that you take you have to have your time of 90%, you cannot fall under any less than that, if you fall below that than you are denied credit of that class until you either have a plan or you do seat time to regain the time of that class,” Shawn Elliott, a Timber Creek assistant principal, commented.
The deadline for completing make up hours is Friday, May 13 by 4 p.m. Any senior who is not able to meet the Friday, May 13 deadline will need to talk to Assistant Principal Mr. Elliott to discuss their circumstance. UPDATE: When this story was originally published, there was a March 11 deadline for seniors to turn in Fall Semester hours.
Credit analysis is where a student can go to the counselor and can see what classes they need to take or retake to graduate from high school. This can be extremely helpful for seniors wanting to know what they need to graduate.
“What our counselors do is they have a transcript and a credit analysis sheet for every student in our alphabet. And every year, starting at the end of their freshman year, we go in and plug in a grades that you make in those classes and so that’s how we keep track of your four cores, your languages, and your speech, your fine arts so we know that you have s successfully completed this classes. This is a way to know if you need seat time,” Michelle Arnold, a Timber Creek counselor, said.
You can’t graduate if you don’t put in the time to attend class.