Attendance Phone: 714-663-6544
FAX #: 714-663-6038
Hours: 7:15 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Attendance Secretary/Clerk: Tina Johnson & Noel Martin
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Research shows that the single most important factor contributing to student achievement is regular attendance. A student who is absent from school may be able to complete missed work, but other important aspects of lessons are lost.
Absent students miss out on important discussions, questions raised, explanations and much more. Students fall behind and sometimes never recover. What a student misses in one class session is needed as a foundation for what will be learned in the future.
Here are some proven ways parents can support good school attendance:
Encourage your student to be in class everyday
Avoid scheduling family trips or appointments during school hours (medical, dental, DMV)
Don't accept excuses why your student "must" miss or be late for school
Support school rules and consequences for skipping class and being tardy
Provide incentives for improving school attendance and promptness
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Attendance Policy
- If a student is going to be absent from school, a parent/guardian must call Pacifica’s Attendance Office between 7:00 a.m. and l:00 p.m. at (714) 663-6544 on the day of the absence. This will eliminate a call to parents at work or home. Notifications for tardies via phone or note must be received no later than 10:00 A.M. on the day of the tardy!
- If a student must leave campus during the school day, a note, signed by the parent/guardian, must be sent to school on the morning the early dismissal is requested. Include the reason as well as the time necessary for departure and name of the person picking up. The student must bring the note to the Attendance Office before first period. An off-campus pass will be issued by the Attendance Office after a follow-up call to parents. Upon return, the student must bring the off-campus pass to the Attendance Office. If a student leaves campus without permission, the absence will be considered a truancy with appropriate consequences assigned.
- According to school policy, any student absence not cleared by a note, phone call or email from the parent/guardian will become a truancy. Only the following absences are deemed excusable by State Education Code, Section 48200: Illness, medical and dental appointments, health department quarantine, mandated court appearances, and attending funeral services for an immediate family member. Upon returning to school, any student with an absence must clear their absence with the Attendance Office within three days. Failure to clear their absence within three days will result in disciplinary action. A truancy will result in the loss of class credit for any work done during a time of the truancy, as well as the possibility of detention and/or Saturday School.
- Students who are absent for 5 consecutive days need to provide a doctor’s note for the absence. Students who are deemed as excessively absent will be required to meet with the school administration and parents to discuss how to improve his/her attendance.
- If a student has senior privileges and is unable to return to school, one of the following must be done: either a parent must notify the Attendance Office immediately or the student must notify the Attendance Office immediately, and a parent must verify this in writing the following day.
- If a parent expects to be temporarily out of town and wishes to authorize a neighbor, friend, or relative to call and clear absences, it is necessary to first notify the Attendance Office in person. Persons named on the emergency card are not considered authorized to clear absences but may be contacted to obtain permission for a student to leave campus early.
- A student who is ill and absent for three or more days may request homework assignments by sending an email to the teachers requesting homework directly through our website or parent portal. (Teachers post homework on student portal or other websites; students receive the website information from teachers when school starts.) If an absence is expected to last longer than four weeks, parents should contact the school nurse to inquire about eligibility for home teaching. A student with excused absences is permitted to make up any work or test that was missed. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the assignments, complete the work, and turn it in promptly. All work must be completed within a period of time equal to the number of days absent unless other arrangements have been made with teachers. Students who need to miss classes to participate in school activities are expected to get prior permission, as well as assignments, from those teachers whose classes are to be missed.