1. Attendance Updates & Incentives 2017-18
James Bowie High School
Welcome back, Bowie Bulldogs! As we launch the school year, we want you to be aware of some attendance-related opportunities. This presentation will hit the highlights of these new initiatives, but you are encouraged to visit for more detailed information.
Attendance Updates & Incentives

2. Attendance Laws & Policies
Texas requires attendance of at least 90% of class days to earn credit
All absences must be documented with doctor or parent notes and turned in to the office within 48 hours.
Attendance recovery and/or attendance appeals committee if <90% attendance
State law establishes that you can only earn credit for a course if you attend at least 90% of the class days. If you are absent more than that, even if you have earned a passing grade, you may not receive credit and may have to retake the class.
Opportunities may be available to recover a few absences, but students with excessive absences will be required to present documentation to an appeals committee that the absences were for legitimate reasons. Don’t let this happen to you!
Students, it’s extremely important that you minimize your absences. And if you must miss school, you should submit any doctor or parent notes to the front office quickly.

3. At Bowie High School … attending every class, every day is a priority!
Goal
At Bowie High School … attending every class, every day is a priority!
To be successful in your classes and to maximize learning, you need to be in every class, every day unless you are very sick or have some other serious extenuating circumstances.
There will continue to be disciplinary consequences and loss of privileges for those students who cut class or are excessively absent. Seniors who fail to participate in attendance recovery to clear their absences, for example, won’t be allowed to attend Prom or walk the stage at graduation.
But what about the vast majority of you who already have pretty good attendance? Well, we want you to have great – or maybe even perfect – attendance, so we’ve developed 3 incentives to promote your good attendance.

4. ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #1: The Semester Exam Incentive
Student can use the semester exam average to replace the actual semester exam score and improve their overall grade if the following guidelines are met:
ONE CERTIFICATE - A student with no more than 12 total class period absences and no more than 3 absences in any single class will be given one certificate, allowing them to apply the attendance incentive in one class of their choice (for the selected class each six weeks and the semester average must be ≥70%).
TWO CERTIFICATES - A student with no more than 8 total class period absences and no more than 2 absences in any single class will be given two certificate, allowing them to apply the attendance incentive in two classes of their choice (for the selected classes each six weeks and the semester average must be ≥70%).
The first attendance incentive allows the teachers of students with great attendance to count a student’s semester exam grade only if it improves the student’s overall semester average.
To determine eligibility for this incentive, your class period absences will be tallied for the semester. If the number of class period absences in all of your classes combined doesn’t exceed 12, and you have no more than 3 absences in a single class, you will qualify for ONE incentive certificate to be used in the class of your choice. Likewise, you will qualify for TWO exam incentive certificates, to be used in TWO classes of your choice, if you have no more than 8 total class periods absences and no more than 2 absences in a single class.
Please keep in mind that tardies will count against you. Every 5 tardies will be the equivalent of 1 absence for the purpose of determining eligibility for this incentive.
5 tardies = 1 absence

5. ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #1: The Semester Exam Incentive
Good Attendance No more than 12 class period absences during the semester = 1 certificate Great Attendance No more than 8 class period absences during the semester = 2 certificates Each certificate can be used in any class, as long as you earned a grade of 70% in that class each six weeks of the semester.
The Semester Exam incentive will be offered in ALL classes during the fall and the spring semester. Your attendance during each semester will determine whether you will earn one or two semester exam certificates. You can use each certificate you earn in the class of your choice, as long as you passed each of the three 6 weeks grading periods for that class.

6. ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #1: The Semester Exam Incentive
Used to determine eligibility
Excluded when determining eligibility
DI  - Documented Illness (note)
HSS - Home School Suspension
IM - Immunizations
MU - Made Up
OTH - Other Circumstances
UNX - Unexcused Absence
UT/T - Unexcused Tardy/Tardy
MED - Medical (partial day)
FLD - Field Trip
SCH - School
UIL - University Interscholastic League
HD - Holy Day
VST - College Visit
ISS - In School Suspension
TST - Testing
CRT - Court
ER - Early Release
BA - Board Approved
Absences that are school related, such as field trips, will not count when your eligibility is determined. However, there are many many codes used in TEAMS to classify absences, some of which are used to determine exam incentive eligibility and some of which are excluded. Please visit for a full list of absence codes and how they are applied to the exam incentive.

7. ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #1: The Semester Exam Incentive
All students are required to attend and take every semester exam
MORE INFORMATION:
To be clear … ALL students WILL take every exam!  Students who qualify for the attendance incentive must be present for and take each exam as scheduled. Qualifying for the incentive only changes how your teacher calculates and submits your exam grade – it does not excuse you from the exam for any reason. Students who are absent on the day of the exam will forfeit the attendance incentive.
We hope this semester exam incentive will give you even more reason to keep your grades up and attend class everyday!

8. ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #2: Reserved & Painted Parking Spots (for Seniors only!)
You probably noticed the awesome reserved and personalized parking spots in the Bowie lot. These spots were earned by seniors who maintained great attendance during their junior year.
Class of 2019, you too will have the opportunity to select a parking space which will be all yours – and only yours -- for your entire senior year!

9. Seniors only (15+ credits)
ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #2: Reserved & Painted Parking Spots (for Seniors only!)
ELIGIBILITY
Seniors only (15+ credits)
No more than 16 class period absences for the year
No more than 6 absences in a single class period
5 tardies equals 1 absence
Absence codes in TEAMS
To be eligible for a reserved and painted parking spot, you must have at least 15 credits. You also cannot have more than 16 total class period absences for the year with no more than 6 absences in a single class.
Students with the fewest absences will get to pick their spots first.
The same codes in TEAMS will be used to tally your absences and determine eligibility.
The reserved spot will require the purchase of a Bowie parking permit and all parking spot designs must be school-appropriate and submitted in advance for approval.

10. ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE #3: Off Periods
To be eligible for an “off period” students must demonstrate acceptable attendance
Off periods may be revoked for poor attendance
The third attendance incentive is related to student off periods.
When some of you sign up for courses next spring, of you may want to take an “off period.” Because having an “off period” demands a certain level of maturity and self-discipline, only students who have demonstrated such traits through good attendance will be eligible for an off-period next year. Be mindful that your attendance will be reviewed at the end of the spring semester before an “off period” is finalized in your schedule.

11. Monitor Your Attendance
Eligibility for the 3 attendance incentives will be based on the official attendance record in TEAMS. Students, it’s your responsibility to regularly monitor your attendance to ensure no mistakes have been made and that your absence notes have been properly coded. Any errors you discover should brought to the attention of your teacher right away, so corrections can be submitted to the attendance office. Failing to monitor your attendance record could jeopardize your eligibility for the various attendance incentives.

12. More details at www.jbhs.org
SUMMARY
Attendance policy update:
90% of class days
Must submit all doctor and parent notes
NEW ATTENDANCE INCENTIVES
Semester Exams
Reserved and Painted Parking Spots
Off Periods
More details at
Hopefully you now have a better understanding of the new attendance policy guidelines and are excited about the possibility of earning the semester exam incentive, a reserved parking spot, and/or an off-period by making good attendance choices each and every day.
This presentation, as well as more detailed information about the new attendance policies and attendance incentives, are available at
Thanks for your attention, and again, welcome back … we hope you have a great semester!