Attendance for students who elect to enroll full-time in online courses through Hopewell Area School District will still be recorded, but because the student isn't physically present in the building, a different policy for attendance has been established. Regular attendance is necessary to ensure exemplary performance in school and is also required by state law. Each student's attendance record at school is very important.
Time Requirements
Students in Hopewell's online education program should expect to work approximately 3 hours online, per course, each week. At minimum students are required to spend an average of 40 minutes per class 5 days a week. Instances of truancy (habitual non-attendance at school) will be handled according to the guidelines outlined on this page.
The following chart indicates the minimum number of hours required each week by Hopewell's online education program based on the number of courses for which a student is enrolled. An absence will be defined as any day where the student does not complete the minimum daily time allotment for their corresponding course load.†
Number of Online Courses | Weekly Time Allotment | Daily Time Allotment |
1 | 3 hr 20 min | 0 hr 40 min
|
2 | 6 hr 40 min | 1 hr 20 min
|
3 | 10 hr 00 min | 2 hr 00 min
|
4 | 13 hr 20 min | 2 hr 40 min
|
5 | 16 hr 40 min
| 3 hr 20 min
|
6 | 20 hr 00 min
| 4 hr 00 min
|
7 | 23 hr 20 min
| 4 hr 40 min
|
8 | 26 hr 40 min
| 5 hr 40 min |
Determining Attendance
Using time as the determining factor for attendance means that attendance is recorded AFTER the student has completed their work. Attendance is recorded on the first school day of each week for each for the PREVIOUS week. The process is outlined below.
- The student's information is exported from the Edgenuity system. Three (3) different items are monitored.
- Current ACTUAL grade for EACH course.
- Current progress for EACH course.
- Total combined time spent working on their online courses.
- If the student is on target or ahead in ALL of their courses, the student is marked present for all school days for the previous week.*
- If the student is behind OR failing ANY of their courses the time they spent working for the previous week is compared to the required time based on the table above.
- A student is marked absent if their recorded time is less than the required time.
Example
If a student has 4 courses, he or she, is required to work for 13 hrs and 20 min throughout the week. The following scenarios may exist
Scenario 1
- The student is failing OR is behind in ANY of their courses.
- They worked for 14 hr and 30 min throughout the previous week, more than the 13 hrs and 20 min required.
- They are marked PRESENT for all 5 days of school for the previous week.
Scenario 2
- The student is failing OR is behind in ANY of their courses.
- They worked for 10 hrs throughout the previous week. (3 hrs 20 min shy of the required time)
- Because the student is expected to work 2 hrs and 40 min each day they are absent for a total of 1.25 days. This is calculated by taking the total time they are deficient and dividing it by the time requirement for 1 day.
- The student is marked ABSENT for 1 day of the previous week. (Absences will be marked in 1/2 day increments)
Scenario 3
- The student is passing AND is on target or ahead in ALL of their classes.
- They work for 20 hrs throughout the previous week. (More than the required amount of time)
- They are marked PRESENT for all 5 days of school for the previous week.
Scenario 4
- The student is passing AND is on target or ahead in ALL of their classes.
- They work for 5 hrs throughout the previous week. (8 hrs and 20 min shy of the required time)
- They are marked PRESENT for all 5 days of school for the previous week.
Policies
If a student is marked absent, a notice will be mailed to the address on file with the district. This notice will provide the parent/guardian with all the information regarding their child's time requirement and recorded hours. The number of days they are marked absent will be listed and an excuse for the absence will be requested. The district's general policy for attendance apply to excuses and truancy. Please refer to the buildings general handbook for this information.
Social Suspension
The policy for social suspension, in the general student handbook, does not include a method for online education students to make up time. Therefore, the administration has decided to amend the policy for students who are enrolled in online education full time. If you are a full-time online education student and assigned social suspension, please refer to the following policy to remove the restrictions associated with social suspension.
Any student who is assigned a 10-day social suspension may have it lifted by accomplishing the following. This policy does NOT apply to a 45-day social suspension.
- Progress in ALL courses is up to date. The "Complete" percentage must be equal to, or greater than, the "Target Completion" percentage.
- The "Actual Grade" in ALL courses is equal to, or greater than, 60%.
Once a student has achieved these requirements, they are responsible for contacting the Online Education Coordinator, Mr. Dean Nelson, via email or phone to inform him that they have met the necessary conditions. Once the Online Education Coordinator has verified that the grade and progress conditions have been met, he will contact the office to have the restrictions lifted.
IMPORTANT! The verification and notification process by the Online Education Coordinator will only take place during regular school hours.
Social suspension is NOT removed until the Online Education Coordinator has verified a student has met the conditions and notified the office. If the conditions are met and the student notifies the Online Education Coordinator after 2:55 PM on any school day, the verification and reporting process, necessary to lift the restriction, will occur during the next school day. For example, meeting the requirements 5 minutes before an activity, after school hours, does NOT permit a student to attend the activity. The Online Education Coordinator will only complete the verification and reporting process during school hours. The student must wait until the next school day, after the verification process, to begin participating in activities again. The Online Education Coordinator will contact the student to inform them when the restrictions have been lifted.
† Course load is determined by the number of courses and the pace at which the student is scheduled to complete the course. If the student is attempting to complete a full year course in half of a year, the course is counted as 2 courses.
* Students are not punished for working ahead. If a student completes a course early, they will not be marked absent because they don't have course work to complete. This also applies to the weekly attendance. If a student works extra hard one week, they may be able to work less time the next week without falling behind. However, their progress and grades as of the first day of the week will determine how attendance is calculated.