Daily Attendance
Open House Attendance/Residency Policy
All students must attend school for 162 or more school days. This means that they can not have more than 18 absences for the school year.
Students are responsible for all work that they miss during any absences. Students are given 5 days to make up any of the work - any additional time is up to the teacher.
All medical notes must be submitted to the school within 5 days of the absence. The notes will be held until the end of the year. If your child accumulates more than 18 absences an Attendance Review will be done at the end of the year. Medical notes will then be reviewed.
All parental notes must be submitted to the Attendance Office the day the students return to school from their absence. Parental notes must specify the reason that your child was absent. These will also be kept on file until the end of year. If they accumulate more than 18 absences once again an Attendance Review will be done at the end of the year. Ten parental notes are permitted throughout the entire calendar year and can be used for NO more than 2 days concurrently. If absent 3 days in a row, a doctor's note must accompany the child upon returning to school.
The ONLY absences that will be excused are the following:
*Religious Holidays (Observed by the State Calendar) - parental note upon return to school
*Court - Documentation needed upon return to school
Students must be in class by 8:55, or they will receive a late pass. Students grades 5-8 after receiving 4 or more lates in one marking period will receive detention. Students will continue to receive detention daily thereafter until the new marking period, then count restarts again.
Students are required to be in school 4 hours for a full day's credit, 2 hours for half days credit. Early dismissal is anything after 1:30, however even though this does not count towards their attendance they will miss instructional time. This can affect their class participation grade. Please try to schedule any and all doctors appointments for after school or on days that school is closed. **If the nurse sends the child home this is NOT an excused absence, a note must come in upon returning to school. PLEASE HAVE PHOTO ID AVAILABLE WHEN SIGNING CHILD OUT!
If a student is absent and their parent is not aware of the absence they will be considered truant. The first time a child is truant, will be a suspension. The second truancy will result in a summons issued for court appearance (for both child and parent).
Vacation is all UNEXCUSED absence. A parental conference with the Attendance Officer must be done before leaving, providing travel itinerary to be left on file. No homework can be given before traveling but at teachers discretion can be made up after returning. It is the child's responsibility to request this upon returning.
Throughout the course of the year Attendance letters are mailed home. These letters MUST be signed and returned back to school. These letters go out 4 times, first after accumulating 5 days absent, then 10 where a parental conference is conducted. Next letter is after 15 days absent where a final parental conference is conducted, then a letter of NO Credit for the year is issued when a child accumulates 18 or more days.
If you move, two (2) current proof of address is required to be presented within 5 days, contact the attendance officer for a list of acceptable proofs. If you move out of North Bergen a transfer MUST be taken to remove you off the State registry. If you move out of the Lincoln School district but still live in North Bergen, you MUST take a transfer to the rightful school district.
If there is any change of phone number(s) you MUST contact the school ASAP to inform them of any and all necessary changes as school MUST always be able to contact you in case of any emergency.
Please note that a request of 2 proofs of residency can be requested from you at any time throughout the school calendar year. Attendance Officers do physical residency verifications during the day and have a residency police officer that does verifications at night if the Attendance Officer is unable to make physical contact.
If you do not live in North Bergen and are found to be using a friend or family member's address, the Board of Education can impose a full year's tuition fine!
The Attendance Officer has a direct phone number, confidential voicemail and email where all absence MUST be reported. If your child is going to be absent please reach out via phone or email to notify the Attendance Officer of their absence. Please DO NOT notify the teacher of any absences or vacation.
Should anyone require any further information, please contact the Attendance/Residency Officer to schedule an appointment.
My direct phone number is (201) 974-7026, fax number is (201)974-7003 and email is TCeijas@northbergen.k12.nj.us
Sincerely,
Tiffany Ceijas
Attendance/Residency Officer