On August 29, a new absence note policy was put in to place for the 2013-2014 school year. Students will be required to fill out a standardized blue absence form when they are absent, late, or leaving early from school.

In previous years students were to bring notes stating why they were absent and give them to their homeroom teachers.  These notes came to homeroom teachers in all shapes and sizes. Homeroom teachers in the past have received everything from a nicely typed note to a note written on random scraps of paper.  These notes often caused confusion for homeroom teachers and office staff simply because some notes from parents did not have all of the information needed to enter into the system.

In order to help mainstream Bel Air’s attendance system, homeroom teachers will no longer be entering and coding absent notes. Ms. Amos in the main office will be handling the coding and recording of all notes.  The only role of the homeroom teacher will be to collect notes from students and send them down to the office each morning.  On the first day of school, copies of the new standardized Bel Air note were given to each of the students. Homeroom teachers also gave students a paper explaining the new policy in more detail.

If a student is late, absent, or leaving early, they need to fill out a blue note with information such as their grade, student ID, reason for absence, and more. If they do not do this by 6 days after their date of absence, their absence will not be excused and therefore, counted as unlawful. Also, they will not be allowed to turn in their late work and will receive a zero on the assignments.

“A standardized note for absences and early dismissals is already utilized by many other schools in the county. We feel this policy will help to make the attendance keeping at Bel Air more efficient and easier for Ms. Amos, our lead attendance secretary,” said Ms. Neal, Chair of the School Improvement Team.

The School Improvement Team is a group of teachers and administrators who get together and come up with policies to help better our school. They came up with the new absence note policy and the lateness policy that came into effect last year.

“I think the teachers and administrators did a great job with coming up with this new policy. It will really help to lessen the confusion for all.” said Lily Dondero, a sophomore at Bel Air High School.

If a student is ever going to be absent, late, or dismissed early from school, they should be sure to fill in a blue slip. It will make attendance easier for the school and will keep students organized.  In the future, students will be receiving a note pad full of blue slips for convenience of use.