St. Mark’s believes deeply in the value of in-person learning. We pride ourselves on the relationships students build with faculty and the peer-to-peer engagement in our academic and cocurricular learning spaces. We take attendance seriously because we believe that being present and engaged is crucial for learning and development.
Students are expected to attend all school requirements and obligations, such as:
● academic classes;
● the Saturday Program and Lion Term;
● athletic/team practices and/or wellness activity and/or required co-curricular activity;
● Chapel;
● seated lunch and dinner;
● house, Form, advisory, and School meetings;
● required assemblies.
We recognize that students may need to miss school commitments for a variety of reasons. We expect students and families to communicate in a timely way about any absences. The School asks families to schedule medical appointments, family trips, celebrations, and non-school extracurricular activities around the School’s calendar.
Excused Absences
Absences can be excused by the Dean of Students’ Office and Health Services for the following reasons:
Unexpected emergencies:
Parents or guardians of students who must miss school commitments because of unexpected emergencies must inform the Dean of Students’ Office and their advisor as soon as possible. The Dean’s Office will note the reason for the absence and work with the advisor to communicate with faculty.
Medical concerns:
Boarding students who feel sick or are concerned they are becoming ill must immediately contact Health Services to discuss their symptoms and concerns with a school nurse. Students may not remain in their rooms or other locations on campus due to illness. Parents or guardians of day students must contact Health Services if they will be keeping their child home from school because of illness. Health services will excuse absences during the duration of the visit or based on the needs of the student. Physical injuries or athletic injuries are also assessed by Health Services or the athletic trainers. Appropriate adjustments, including excused absences, will be made to support the student. Medical appointments, including dental and optical appointments, must be shared with health services prior to the appointment or departure from campus in order to excuse the absence.
College visits:
Students are allowed to take college visit days after consulting with their college counselor and submitting a College Visit Request Form. Signatures are required from multiple adults (e.g., teachers, coaches) and the form is returned to the student's college counselor. Students must also sign out, with parent/guardian permission, using the College Visit Pass on Orah.
Other requests:
In cases where conflicts with the School calendar are unavoidable, requests must be made by a parent or guardian directly to Health Services (in the case of medical appointments) or to the Dean of Students’ Office (in other cases) through Orah 10 days in advance of the requested absence or as early as possible if not able to meet the 10-day deadline. Determinations about whether to approve/excuse absences will be made after consultation with the student’s advisor, teachers, coaches, and administrators and on the nature of the event and the student’s academic standing and attendance record. When a student misses class, it is the student’s responsibility to make up the work in a timely fashion. Planned absences for reasons not approved, such as a family vacation, will be considered unexcused, and will result in a Sunday morning detention, and will count as absences within the Academic Attendance Policy.
Unexcused Absences
Unexcused absences occur when students miss or skip a required school activity without receiving preapproval or being excused by Health Services. A pattern of unexcused absences from classes, co-curricular activities, and other required events will result in escalating interventions, including dismissal from St. Mark’s.
Consequences for Unexcused Absences
Students can expect the following outcomes for unexcused absences during a semester.
Each absence
The student, advisor, and parents/guardians will be notified by email whenever a student receives an unexcused absence. The advisor will have a conversation with the student. All unexcused absences will result in a Sunday morning detention.
After fourth unexcused absence – Attendance Warning
The student will be required to meet with a member of the Dean of Students’ Office. Consequences, in addition to Sunday morning detention, may be imposed at the discretion of the Dean of Students Office. The student is likely to be referred to the Student Accountability Committee.
After eighth and subsequent unexcused absences – Attendance Probation
For subsequent unexcused absences, the dean of students will place the student on attendance probation. Additional supports or restrictions may be put in place as deemed appropriate. The student must demonstrate marked improvement in fulfilling their obligations at School. Failure to do so may result in dismissal or not being invited to return the following academic year.
Unexcused Tardies
Arriving to obligations on time is central to the functioning of the St. Mark’s School Community. Tardiness affects all members involved in the activity. Learning to arrive on time to obligations is also an essential life skill taught at St. Mark’s. If a student receives four unexcused tardies in a semester, the student, student’s parent(s)/guardian(s), and student’s advisor will receive a written notification. If a student has six unexcused tardies in a semester, the student will meet with a member of the Dean of Students' office to discuss how to avoid future tardies. A seventh unexcused tardy in one semester will result in a Sunday morning detention.
Academic Attendance Policy
Our academic program is not a remote program. As such, completion of the School’s program of study requires interaction with a learning community of students and faculty and consists of more than the ability to pass an exam. The development and success of students depends on participation in the academic program, and absences – whether excused or unexcused – compromise the educational experience of both the individual student and their peers. Clarification of excused and unexcused absences can be found above. While we understand there are legitimate reasons a student may miss class (excused absences), missing eight class meetings (excused or unexcused) in a semester-long course or 16 class meetings (excused or unexcused) in a year-long course will jeopardize the student’s grade in the class and their enrollment status at St. Mark’s. Please note that a student who is more than 15 minutes late to class is marked “absent,” and a total of four tardies is equivalent to one absence. The policies below detail the consequences of class absences at three levels:
Academic Attendance Caution
A student will be placed on attendance caution after missing four (excused or unexcused) meetings of a semester-long or eight meetings (excused or unexcused) of a year-long course. An attendance caution is used to communicate attendance concerns to the student and their family, allowing the opportunity to carefully plan for additional absences for both foreseen and unforeseen circumstances. After a student is placed on attendance caution they will be required to meet with their advisor to discuss the importance of the classroom experience.
Academic Attendance Warning
A student will be placed on attendance warning after missing six meetings (excused or unexcused) of a semester-long or 12 meetings (excused or unexcused) of a year-long course. Students on attendance warning are very close to not meeting our attendance requirement. As such, the student and their family should do everything possible to avoid any additional absences. After a student is placed on attendance warning, they are required to meet with an academic dean and their advisor to discuss a plan for how to move forward.
Academic Attendance Probation
A student who misses eight meetings (excused or unexcused) of a semester-long or 16 meetings (excused or unexcused) of a year-long course will be placed on attendance probation and will most likely be graded on a pass/fail scale for the duration of the course. A transition to the pass/fail grading scale is determined by the academics office in consultation with the teacher. A student on academic attendance probation has not met the standards of the school, and accordingly may be required to withdraw at the end of a semester or the end of the year at the discretion of the head of school after consultation with the faculty and the dean of academics.
St. Mark’s Saturdays and Lion Term Attendance Policy
St. Mark’s Saturdays and Lion Term are a vital part of the St. Mark’s program. Program dates have been published to allow families to plan around them, and attendance is expected each week the programs are held. Policies for excused/unexcused absences for Saturday Programming and Lion Term will be the same as for all other required school activities. While recognizing that in extenuating circumstances, a student may need to request special permission to miss a Saturday session, such requests must be made to the Dean of Students Office as early as possible, and by Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. at the latest. Students who are preapproved to miss a Saturday session due to extenuating circumstances will be required to attend a mandatory Monday make-up session the following Monday from 6:25-7:25 p.m. or at a time deemed feasible by the Dean of Students’ Office. Unexcused absences will be treated the same as for all other required school activities.
Absence Due to Medical Leave
If a student is placed on medical leave, the absences they accrue during the duration of their medical leave will not count toward academic warning or probation. A student may be placed on medical leave at the discretion of our health services and counseling teams. Once approved to return from medical leave, the student will go through a reentry protocol with a member of the counseling team, their advisor, and an academic dean. During that meeting, an academic plan will be created to assist the student in continuing their courses.
Religious Observances
Students missing classes or assignments for religious observances should inform teachers in advance and should submit the appropriate Orah pass to the dean of students office for approval at least 10 days in advance. Teachers should set a reasonable schedule for completion of assignments and/or assessments. When students have multiple assessments during a period of religious obligation, a staggered set of due dates in the days following a holiday may be required. This policy does not apply to holidays that fall on a single day of the weekend.
Remote Accommodations
St. Mark’s School does not offer remote accommodations. As a school that prides itself on learning in relationships and architecture that supports community through proximity, St. Mark’s is at its best when we learn in person. A student who is absent due to illness should rest and recover, but if the student feels well enough, they can stay connected to and current with their courses by following along on Canvas.
Absences and Afternoon Activities
Patterns of absences from school commitments may result in loss of practice or participation privileges, including but not limited to play participation, robotics practice, athletic practice and/or game play.
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