Attendance                          

(602) 449-5001

At North Canyon High School we strongly believe, and research supports this, that regular attendance is essential for student success. In addition, a student’s best preparation for the AIMS graduation requirement as well as other standardized tests is regular daily attendance.

Our school district's motto is "Every Day Counts." This motto is an extension of the governing board's belief that the attainment of academic excellence requires attending school on a regular basis. The benefit of lectures, discussion and participation is lost forever to those who are absent.

A student's attendance record is a shared responsibility between the student, his/her parents and/or guardians, and school personnel. Parents should only excuse students for valid reasons and monitor their student's attendance record via the Personal Online Gradebook (PogB). Please contact either the Dean of Students or a student's individual teachers with any concerns you might have. 

NCHS Attendance Procedures
(For complete guidelines, please reference the Parent/Student Handbook)

Excused Absences: State of Arizona statutes allow students to miss only ten percent of instructional time and still earn credit in a course. In a ninety day semester, this amounts to nine school days. Students with extenuating circumstances should consult with their grade level administrator.

The attendance office receives calls from 7:00 am until 3:00pm. After 3:00pm, calls are taken by voicemail until 7:00am. Parents and/or legal guardians have twenty-four hours in which to excuse a student’s absence. After that time period, the absence will be recorded as unexcused. Notes from parents are NOT accepted at the high school level. Calls left in Spanish will be translated.

Unexcused Absences: Any absence that is not excused by a parent/legal guardian or a school official by 8:00am the following morning will be considered unexcused and subject to consequences. Per Arizona State Statutes, our attendance clerks have been instructed to not make any changes to a student's attendance records after the twenty-four (24) hour grace period has expired. Students under sixteen years of age, that are truant, are violating Arizona statute 15-803 and can be cited to the courts. Students who are truant will be assigned consequences as deemed appropriate by administration. The consequences for truancy can be found in the parent/student handbook. Additionally, students who are marked truant will not be allowed to make up any work missed during the absence.

Permit to Leave: Students leaving campus during the school day must have their parent/legal guardian’s permission and must check out at the office. Students who check in with the attendance office will be issued a permit to leave campus. Failure to get a permit to leave will result in the absence being marked unexcused. Per our school district policy, parents/legal guardians are required to show picture identification before being allowed to remove a student from campus.

Tardies: A tardy shall be defined as a student who is not in their designated class when the tardy bell rings. This policy is designed to encourage students to be on time for every class period. However, we realize that certain circumstances beyond our control may prevent a student from arriving on time. To that end, every student will be allowed two free tardies per semester. Tardies cannot be excused by parents/legal guardians except for the following reasons: doctor’s appointment, dental appointment, legal appointment/subpoena, or religious observance.

Tardies to First Hour: Students who are late to first hour will be required to stop at the attendance office and sign in. The attendance office will issue the student a pass to class. Only students with a pass from the attendance office will be admitted to class late. If the student has been late three or more times an after school or lunch detention will be issued when they get the pass. When the student has accumulated four tardies a letter will be sent home. After six tardies, a parent conference with administration will be required. Students who exceed ten total tardies in a semester will be subject to additional consequences as deemed appropriate by administration.

Note: Traffic on Union Hills Road and in our front parking lot is substantial in the mornings and is heaviest after 7:15 am. It is highly recommended that students arrive on campus no later than 7:15 am in order to be on time to first hour. We recommend that parents dropping off students do so using the Northwest parking lot on Wescott Drive as a drop off point. It is much faster and safer.

Tardies to class: Students who are late to second through fourth hour and/or seventh hour will be given a detention, to be served after school or during lunch. Consequences will start when a student’s total has exceeded two tardies in a semester. To facilitate students being on time to class, the NCHS administration, in cooperation with our security staff, will conduct sweeps of the hallways. After the bell has rung, any students still in the hallways will be asked to report to the attendance office where they will be issued a detention and then they will be sent to class. Only students with a pass from the attendance office will be permitted to enter class late.

Tardies to sixth hour (after lunch): Students who are late to sixth hour will be asked to report to the attendance office where they will be issued a detention, if their total amount of tardies exceeds two in a semester, on a daily basis. Students will then report to their sixth hour class.

Attendance - Most Common Problems

Permit to Leave Policy – Students leaving campus during the school day must have their parent/legal guardian’s permission and must check out at the office. Students who check in with the attendance office will be issued a permit to leave campus. Failure to get a permit to leave will result in the absence being marked unexcused (no exceptions). Per our school district policy, parents/legal guardians are required to show picture identification before being allowed to remove a student from campus.

Illness – Only the school nurse may determine whether a student is too ill to remain on campus. Once the school nurse has made this determination, she will contact the front office staff and a permit to leave campus will be granted. Parents will not be able to excuse students if they have left campus without first meeting with the nurse or obtaining parent/legal guardian permission. Again, failure to obtain a permit to leave campus prior to departing school grounds will result in the absence being marked unexcused.

Invalid Contact Information – Please make sure that NCHS has valid contact information for your student(s); especially if your address or phone number should change during the school year. Parents of the students who are marked unexcused for one or more periods in a day receive a dialer call home as a means of communication. Additionally, administrators and teachers may need to contact the parents/legal guardians about attendance issues, discipline or academic progress so it is vital that a student’s contact information is up to date.

Excessive Excused Absences – State of Arizona statutes allow students to miss only ten percent of instructional time and still earn credit in a course. In a ninety day semester, this amounts to nine school days. Students with excessive excused absences are endangering their academic progress and risk failing to meet the AIMS graduation requirement. Students with 9 or more absences in any class period may be placed on an attendance contract for the school year. Once on a contract, a student’s subsequent absences will only be excused with either proper medical or court documentation. Students with extenuating circumstances should consult with their grade level administrator.

Excusing Students for Absences

Student absences, for a number of reasons such as illness, can be excused provided a call is received from a parent and/or legal guardian in the attendance office by 8:00 am the following morning. Our attendance clerks have been instructed to NOT change a student's attendance record after the 24 hour grace period expires per Arizona State Statutes. 

Our attendance hotline, (602) 449 - 5001, is available 24 hours a day. Emails and notes from parents will not be accepted. We must speak with parents or legal guardians in person. Calls in Spanish will be translated.

Consequences for Attendance Policy Violations

Students with chronic unexcused absences and tardiness may be placed on an attendance contract by the Dean of Students or a grade level administrator. Stipulations of this contract consist of the student attending all of his/her assigned courses daily.

Consequences for violating NCHS attendance policies include after school or lunch detention, in-school suspension, and off campus suspension. A parent conference with administration will be required for students who have excessive truancies or tardies.

Consequences for a forged/fake phone call will be an after school or lunch detention per offense.

NCHS participates in the Court Unified Truancy Suppression (CUTS) program through the Maricopa County Juvenile Court System. Students under 16 years of age will be served with a citation requiring them and a parent/legal guardian to appear in court. CUTS hearings take place at the Community Resource Center (CRC) located at our district office.

Attendance Incentive Program

To improve student attendance and to infuse our school community with the importance of regular daily attendance our school action plan focuses on student attendance. Our goal is to encourage students to attend school regularly via engaging, relevant, and rigorous instruction, by building relationships with students, and by offering incentives.

NCHS has implemented an attendance incentive program that rewards good attendance. Students can earn up to a 5% bonus for good attendance at the end of each quarter and have this added to their final grade for a course. Students are required to print out their attendance record using PogB and to present it to their teachers. Note: AP and IB courses are not eligible for this incentive. (Attendance Incentive Program)