Attendance

It is the legal responsibility of parents or guardians to ensure that students are in school every school day for the entire instructional day, unless they are ill, have a true family emergency or have an extenuating circumstance that has been approved by the principal.  

 

According to an amendment to Section 22.1-258 of the Code of Virginia, whenever any pupil fails to report to school on a regular scheduled school day and no notification regarding the student’s absence has been received by the school personnel, a reasonable effort to notify the parent or guardian by telephone shall be made by school personnel. Parents are expected to contact the school if their child is going to be absent from school.

 

To be counted present for a class, the student must be in attendance for at least fifty percent of the class period. Please refer to the Smyth County School Board Student Athletic Handbook for attendance requirements for school sponsored/ extra-curricular activities.

 

Chronic absenteeism is a growing concern in Smyth County Schools. A student is chronically absent if they miss 10% of the school year (or 18 days) for any reason. Smyth County schools and Chilhowie High School are committed to reducing the number of students that are chronically absent. Students should be in school on-time and for the entire day – every day. In partnership with the Southwest Virginia United Way, Smyth County Schools has launched the “Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow” (#SmythStrivefor5) initiative to assist students, parents, and families in achieving improved student attendance. Detailed information will be shared with students and families as the school year progresses.