Walden School of Liberal Arts

Walden Continuing Enrollment Policy

Introduction

Walden School of Liberal Arts, like all Utah charter schools, is a school of choice.  As such, families typically choose to attend Walden because of the programs, policies, and offerings that we are able to provide.  We recognize that enrollment at a charter school typically requires a greater commitment in terms of transportation responsibilities and we express our deep appreciation to families who chose to attend Walden School in spite of the added travel time, transportation costs, and scheduling difficulties.  

The faculty and administration of Walden School is deeply committed to our responsibility for the education of all enrolled students.  In order for our programs to be effective, it is essential for students to participate regularly and in a timely manner.  Research supports the fact that regular attendance and engagement are critical components of scholastic success.   Our experience has shown that students who are habitually late, absent or chronically disengaged always suffer significantly in academic and/or social ways.  Nevertheless, we recognize that there are valid reasons for students to miss school.   Walden School’s teachers and administration will work with families to create a plan so that students who are ill or who have an opportunity to travel or participate in approved alternative learning activities can do so without irreparably jeopardizing their attendance record.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure the School’s compliance with Utah Administrative Code R277-419. Pupil Accounting.

Policy

1. The School shall abide by Utah Administrative Code R277-419 even if parts of the code are not listed explicitly in this policy.

2. The School’s administration will submit to the State Superintendent the School’s accountability report, a clearing house report, and other state-mandated reports as requested by the State Superintendent. (UT Admin Code - R277-419-3)

3. The School will ensure that records of student attendance are maintained at the School which clearly and accurately show for each student the:

   1. entry date,

   2. exit date,

   3. exit or high school completion status,

   4. whether or not an absence was excused,

   5. disability status (resource or self-contained, if applicable), and

   6. YIC status (ISI-1 or self-contained, if applicable).

4. The Board of Trustees will employ an independent auditor, under contract to annually audit student accounting records.

5. The annual auditor’s report shall be reviewed by the Board of Trustees during a board meeting and shall be submitted to the Finance and Statistics Section of the State Board of Education by the School’s Business Manager.

6. The School shall use all of the following continuing enrollment measures to track student attendance. All measures shall be documented by the teacher through attendance in the Student Information System (SIS):

   1. Live instruction of face-to-face interactions as scheduled shall be recorded and verified by the teacher in SIS daily;

   2. Required participation in distance, online, synchronous, and asynchronous enrolled courses shall be synced in the SIS by the teacher and verified by the attendance administrator or registrar no less than weekly; and

   3. Parents will be required to report any excused absences electronically.

7. The School shall document each student's continued enrollment status in compliance with the continuing enrollment measures at least once every ten consecutive school days.

8. The School shall appropriately adjust and update student membership records in the student information system for students that did not meet the continuing enrollment measures.

9. Active Online Attendance participation shall be defined as:

   1. Student attendance in an online course is defined as active participation in the course. Students should log in or participate as indicated in the course syllabus or expectation.  Asynchronous courses require multiple logins each week. Attendance will be documented daily and updated weekly in the school SIS. Teachers and the attendance administrator or registrar will coordinate to verify the accuracy of online attendance tracking. Participation for attendance purposes is defined by the course syllabus or expectations and can include any of the following activities in a week:

      1. Submitting assignments,

      2. Participating in a online or face-to-face discussion,

      3. Joining a live interactive meeting,

      4. Attending a course session on site,

      5. Participating in small group instruction live or online, or

      6. Communicating with the instructor by email, feedback, live online, face-to-face, or phone.

   2. Students or parents aware of necessary absences must inform the teacher with as much advance notice as possible in order to make appropriate arrangements. These absences should be reported through the Absence Form;

   3. Any student absent 25 percent or more of an online course (i.e., unexcused, unresolved, or unaddressed absences during three (3) or more weeks of an 11-week term or twenty (20) unexcused absences throughout a semester) may not receive completion credit for that course. If students are struggling to complete assignments or participate in a course, they should contact their teacher immediately so intervention plans can be formulated; and

   4. Any student who has not actively participated in an online class for longer than 10 days will be administratively withdrawn from the class and will receive a "W" on their transcript. To be counted as actively participating, it is not sufficient to log in and view the course; the student must be participating in the online courses as described above.

**This Continuing Education Policy replaces the Attendance Policy previously in place.