Recovery for Low Attendance
LOW ATTENDANCE RECOVERY OPTION
A student who is in attendance for at least 75% but less than 90% of instructional days according to the 90% Rule Attendance Breakdown may earn credit for the high school course or earn promotion to the subsequent grade for grade K-8 by completing a plan approved by the principal. Administration will automatically develop a Principal’s Plan for all students who fall in this range of absences.
The Principal’s Plan will provide for the student to meet the instructional requirements of the class. Due dates for Principal’s Plans are December 1st for the fall semester and May 1st for the spring semester/yearlong attendance. Any Principal’s Plans created after those dates will be handled (e.g. given another due date) on an individual basis.
The Principal’s Plan will include a student’s attendance at SCRAP (Saturday Credit Recovery Attendance Program) and successful completion of assignments (referred to as the project component of the Principal’s Plan).
Interested in Attending SCRAP?
Please e-mail Mrs. Mendoza by 4:00pm on the preceding Thursday to be added to the respective SCRAP roster. Any requests for alternatives to Brainpop must be received by Mrs.Hagin by the same deadline. No additions to the roster or changes in assignment will be honored past the deadline.
SCRAP (Saturday Credit Recovery Attendance Program)
SCRAP is a program that allows students to recover time missed from school by working on approved assignments; all while being at home and using ZOOM. SCRAP is just like being at school, with the same expectations of following directions, being polite, and abiding to school rules. This program is designed for all grades and a ZOOM monitor is present if questions arise. However, parental/sibling support for grades K-2 is appreciated to ensure a smooth session.
A student will earn the equivalent of 1 instructional day (to count toward attendance for credit) for each day of SCRAP. In most cases, to earn credit for a course or earn promotion to the subsequent grade, the student must attend SCRAP for the number of days absent above the 10% mark. To be scheduled as needed, SCRAP will last 4 hours and will be held on Saturdays. To meet the instructional requirements of each class, each student will work on grade appropriate materials during SCRAP.
For students in grades K-8 to recover time missed from school, a student must be in the SCRAP session for 4 hours. 4 hours will equal 1 day missed.
For students in grades 8-12, credit can be recovered by making up minutes for high school courses only. SCRAP can be divided into 40-minute portions to reflect absences for course specific absences for courses that count toward high school credit. For example, if a student is marked absent for 13 class periods in a specific course that counts toward high school graduation, and 9 are allowed that semester to comply with the minimum attendance policy above, he/she would only need to attend SCRAP for 160 minutes (4 periods over the maximum of 9).
Student-devoted time spent on other curricular or co-curricular activities may not count toward SCRAP.
SCRAP Rules:
- SCRAP beings promptly at 8:00am with ZOOM waiting room closing at 8:15am.
- Students who arrive late or leave early will be denied SCRAP credit.
- Students who don’t complete the designated activity (30 Brain Pop lessons) will be denied SCRAP credit.
- Cameras must be on and the student must be visible.
- Students must check in with the SCRAP monitor as requested.
- If the student has missing work to complete, they must get approval in writing from the principal or designee before doing the work and must be on camera while working. This can be done in place of 30 Brain pop videos if approved.
- Once required videos or missing work are complete, the student must stay on camera and complete school appropriate activities.
If a student is assigned a Principal’s Plan, but attends SCRAP enough to bring the resultant attendance days below the allowed numbers of days absent, he/she no longer needs to complete the Principal’s Plan. However, it is recommended that the student completes the Principal’s Plan as any additional, subsequent absences could put him/her above the allowed number of days absent wherein the Principal’s Plan would become necessary for advancement again.
Additionally, the Principal’s Plan may include the following:
- An End Date by which the plan must be completed
- Additional assignments to be completed outside of school and/or SCRAP
- No additional absences for rest of semester or year
- Assignment of tutoring sessions
- Assignment of other academic activities
DESIGNATED SCRAP DAYS FOR 2023-24
September 23, 2023
October 14, 2023
October 28, 2023
November 4, 2023
November 11, 2023
December 2, 2023
February 3, 2024
February 24, 2024
March 2, 2024
March 30, 2024
April 6, 2024
April 20, 2024
May 4, 2024
May 11, 2024
ATTENDANCE RECOVERY PROCESS FLOWCHART
PRINCIPAL'S PLAN FLOWCHART
ATTENDANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE
A student who is in attendance for less than 75% of instructional days according to the 90% Rule Attendance Breakdown or did not successfully complete the Principal’s Plan (through incurring additional absences and/or failure to complete the project) can request an award of credit or grade promotion by submitting a written appeal within 10 business days of receipt of notice of attendance below 75%. The appeal must be addressed to the administration, requesting a meeting of the Attendance Review Committee (ARC) to evaluate the case. The Implementation Team will act as the ARC. The ARC shall review the student’s entire attendance record and the reasons for absences and shall determine whether to overturn or uphold the denial of course credit or grade retention. The parent and/or student shall be given an opportunity to present any information to the committee about the absences in written format without attendance at ARC meeting.
When evaluating reasons for absence, the ARC will determine how many absences were resultant from the following extenuating circumstances:
- Extended physical or emotional illness as verified by a medical professional
- Extended hospital stay as verified by a medical professional
- Extended recuperation following an accident as verified by a medical professional
- Extended contagious disease within a family as verified by a medical professional
- Death of a family member
- Victim of a natural disaster or catastrophe
- Absences approved by administration
- How many SCRAP Days did the student attend as compared to those offered?
- If the student did not attend all SCRAP Days, was the reason for non-attendance in line with the school’s motto?
- Did the student complete the Principal’s Plan when his/her absences were between 75% and 90%?
- Were there continued absences after the Principal’s Plan was enacted?
- Were any of the absences within the control of the parent or student?
- Did the student master the TEKS for the course?
- Is the decision in the best interest of the student?
PREARRANGED ABSENCES
Students who have knowledge of upcoming personal absence spanning multiple days, due to extracurricular activities or extenuating circumstances, may schedule a meeting, in advance, with the principal. In the meeting, the principal and student may create a Principal’s Plan to ensure that the student will master the curriculum covered during his/her absence and strive to make up instructional hours in order to complying with minimum attendance standards set forth by the State of Texas. Additional absences not part of the plan that increase a student’s overall attendance below 90% will fall under the minimum attendance procedures and may go before an Attendance Review Committee to determine if credit will be awarded for the high school credit courses in question, or if the student will be retained (in non-high school credit courses grades K-8).
FINAL APPEAL PROCESS FOR NO CREDIT AWARDED OR ATTENDANCE-BASED RETENTION
If the student is not satisfied by the decision of the ARC, the student may arrange to be heard formally by the Governing Board of Chaparral Star Academy, no less than 72 hours prior to the next scheduled monthly meeting of the Board, by contacting administration and asking to be placed on the agenda as an action item. The Governing Board’s decision regarding the case is final.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS