24 Hour Attendance Line

Phone number:
805-496-6998


Christine Harrison
Assistant Principal Attendance


Attendance Office FAQ's

Regular, punctual attendance directly correlates to academic performance.  Good attendance is a shared responsibility between the student and parent.  We expect parents to send their children to school each day on time and to call in any absence within 3 school days.  We expect students to arrive at each class on time, to stay at school and to discuss attendance issues with their parents.  For more details, click here to go to the student handbook, and scroll down to page 7.

How does the office communicate attendance issues to parents?

  • Automated phone call system—calls home each night that a student has been marked absent if the absence hasn’t already been cleared by the parent/guardian.
  • Automated phone call system—calls home each night that a student has been marked tardy to class.
  • Parents will be mailed copies of Saturday Work/Study Program assignments and attendance contracts.
  • Student attendance information can be viewed on Q ParentConnect.

What is "truancy?"

  • All unexcused absences are classified as "truant." This is different than in past years. In the past, uncleared absences were labeled as "unexcused." A student can also be considered "truant" if they are more than 30 minutes late to a class for unexcused reasons. Many parents object to the term "truant" because they feel it implies their child is a juvenile delinquent, but we do not attach any such meaning to the term.

What absences can be excused?

  • Both California and school district policies state that the following absences can be cleared with a phone call from a parent or guardian: student illness, student medical appointment, and/or student attending a funeral for a close family member.
  • The phone call must be received within 3 school days after your child returns to school.

Can absences for other reasons be excused?

  • Absence for family business, court appearance, or college visits may be excused ONLY when a parent submits a written request one week PRIOR to the anticipated absence and receives approval from the Assistant Principal of Attendance.
  • Approval will be based on the student’s attendance record, academic progress, and reason for absence. If this procedure is not followed, the absence will be considered truant.

Can absences for family vacation be excused?

  • No. Absence for family vacation cannot be excused.

What are the eligibility requirements for an Off-Campus Pass (OCP)?

  • The privilege to leave campus at lunch is reserved for juniors and seniors who meet the following requirements for the previous semester:
  • 2.0 GPA or higher and
  • No more than 12 period truancies and/or unexcused tardies total.
  • Thus, the OCP eligibility list for the fall 2015 semester will be determined by the student’s attendance record and grades from the spring 2014 semester.

What are the consequences for truancies or tardies?

  • A Saturday Work/Study (SWS) will be assigned at 5 tardies to a single class, and student will be placed on a contract.
  • Student will be placed on a contract at 5 truancies to a single class.
  • Student may be drop/failed from a class after 7 truancies or tardies.

How can parents help?

  • Be proactive: check your child’s attendance regularly through the Q ParentConnect website.  Contact the TOHS office if you need a PIN or password.
  • When you receive an automated phone call regarding an absence, call the TOHS attendance line at (805) 496-6998 immediately to clear an absence.  The line accepts messages 24 hours a day including weekends.
  • If you believe a teacher has mistakenly marked your child absent, please contact that teacher directly.
  • We want your child in school everyday that he/she is medically able to do so.  Keep your child home if he/she has a fever or is vomiting.  Help your child differentiate between not feeling like coming to school and being too sick to attend school.

Christina Harrison 
Assistant Principal of Attendance

Additional Info

Leaving Early? 18 Year Old Contract?

LEAVING EARLY

  1. Parents are to call the Attendance Office with the reason and time of departure
  2. It is the student’s responsibility to pick up a pass in the Attendance Office before school, during passing periods, at break time or lunch so that he/she is ready to leave on time. The office staff CANNOT, for any reason, call a student out of class unless AUTHORIZED BY AN ADMINISTRATOR.
  3. No student may leave the campus BEFORE checking out through the office. Students who do so may be assigned a Saturday Work Study, and will be given a truancy for each class missed. The truancy WILL NOT be cleared (even if a parent calls after the fact).

LUNCH DEPARTURES:

  1. Students WITHOUT an off campus pass leaving between 11:50 and 12:25 and returning, may leave only when met in the office by a parent/guardian or other adult as designated by the parent/guardian. If circumstances preclude physically coming into the office, please be sure to relay this information at the time of the call as it will require Administrative approval.
  2. After lunch absences by students WITH an off campus pass cannot be cleared after 3 school days.
  3. Parents should call the Attendance Office as soon as possible if a student becomes ill while off campus and will not be returning.
  4. Students who choose to leave campus for lunch assume FULL RESPONSIBILITY for RETURNING PROMPTLY. Depending upon the time of late arrival, an unexcused tardy or absence will be assigned.

EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD RULES:

Once a student signs the Eighteen-year-old Contract the student may call themselves out with the same rules that apply to any parent/guardian, for a maximum of THREE TIMES PER MONTH. Per the Eighteen-year-old contract a parent/guardian May Not excuse absences from school after the contract is signed.