Because middle school classes meet for only 24 days of instruction,  it is crucial that students attend class and complete assignments on time to be successful in UHC courses. Neglecting class attendance and assignments will impact the student’s grade, and could eventually result in failure or dismissal without refund.

The reasons for students not having work done on time are many and varied.  Whether or not the teacher accepts a reason as valid is up to her discretion.  Involvement in sports, clubs, Church, theater, family planned vacations, etc. are NOT reasons for acceptance of late assignments.

Arrival Times: 

• For campus specific instructions regarding drop off, see Grace and CATM procedure guidelines.
• Those students who arrive for an 8:00 a.m. class at the Grace Campus should not enter the building before 7:50 and should go directly to their classroom.
• For 2nd – 4th hour, students may arrive at co-op 10 minutes prior to their first class (but no more than 10 minutes) in order to make their way into the building and arrive in their classroom on time.
• All students must enter through the designated student drop off/entry door.

Planned Absences:

• The parent should inform the teacher at least 2 class periods prior to the expected absence so that the teacher can guide the student in the work to be done. This should be followed up by an email from the parent.
• Assignments should be turned in before the absence unless prior arrangements are made with the teacher to turn them in on the day the student returns to class.

Absence due to Illness:

Note: This applies to student illness ONLY (not to absences due to trips, family events, sports, plays, jobs, etc.) 

If a student becomes ill over the weekend or on the morning of a Co-op class day:

• The parent must communicate on the day of the absence informing all the student’s teachers of the student’s sickness.
• Assignments due on the date of the absence must be turned in that day at the beginning of the class, or by the due date and time of online assignments/juno pods. The assignment should be attached to the parent or student’s message to their teachers regarding the absence OR brought to UHC and turned in by a sibling or parent.
• If the student has been ill before a co-op day/is too sick to complete all of the assigned work on the due dates, the parent should work directly with the teacher to make a plan for the student’s missed work. Unless arrangements are made with the teacher for an extended due date, all assignments are due on the date given in JE.
• Waiting until the last minute to complete an assignment and then becoming ill or having other unexpected circumstances prevent the student from completing the assignment is not necessarily a reason for an extension of the due date.
• Unless there was a hospitalization, or other extenuating circumstances, there should be no more than one additional week given to make up work.
• The student is responsible for getting class notes and information concerning new assignments given on the day of the absence.
• Lack of communication with the teacher concerning an absence will result in the application of the late work policy as outlined above.
• The teacher will not hold up the introduction of new concepts due to student absences nor will the teacher be obligated to go back over material missed due to absences. It is the responsibility of the teaching parent to cover concepts missed due to absences.
• A doctor’s note may be required to access additional classroom support.

Absence due to appointments (dentist, doctor, athletic events or other extra-curricular events)

• If a student needs to arrive on campus late or leave early, the parent will notify both the teacher and the appropriate Director
• In addition to notifying the teacher and Director, the student must turn in work due in ALL UHC classes immediately upon arriving at Co-op that day, or before departing early that day. Failure to do so will result in a zero on assignments not turned in for the classes missed that day.

Repeated absences may cause a student to have to retake a class before progressing to the next level class.  This will be decided by the teacher, appropriate director, and the Executive Director.  It is possible for a plan to be made for coursework to be completed during the summer with the student reporting directly to the Executive Director.

Note 8th graders taking High School classes:  Attendance on exam days is critical.  Please refer to our Exam Policy if an emergency or extenuating circumstances requires an absence on one of these days.

Tardies:

• If a student is tardy, the teacher will not be expected to hold up the introduction of new concepts due to student tardiness, nor will the teacher be obligated to go back over material missed due to tardiness. Being on time is an issue of respect for classmates and the instructor.
• When the bell rings, MS/HS classroom doors will be shut and students should be in their seats, not just coming into class.
• Any student who is tardy will be marked tardy in JE. At the end of every month, a report will be run, and students who have 3 or more tardies will be assigned a consequence (see Conduct Policy and General Discipline Policy).
• A single tardy may result in the daily grade or participation grade for that class being marked down at the discretion of the teacher.
• If the student knows they will be late before leaving home or during transit, the student or parent must contact the teacher ASAP.