Three new revisions have been implemented within the district’s attendance policies in section 5200 (Superior School district Attendance Policies 2019-20).

One: “A student may be excused 10 times per year under this provision. Whether a student misses one class period or an entire day it still counts as one of their 10 excused absences.” (Superior School district Attendance Policies 2019-20).These 10 excused absences include vacations, illnesses without a doctor’s note, and non-school sports/events.

Two: “If a student is marked tardy five times in any combination of classes a student will be assigned detention. Every 5 tardies are considered an unexcused absence and will count towards truancy.” (Superior School district Attendance Policies 2019-20).A tardy can only be excused by a medical note or staff.

Three: “If a student arrives to class within 15 minutes of the tardy bell, they are considered tardy to class… A student arriving 15 minutes after the bell without an excused pass should be marked unexcused for that class period.” (Superior School district Attendance Policies 2019-20). A parent may choose to use one of their students 10 excused absences to get rid of an “unverified” absence.

Since Rick Flaherty has filled the role as principal, he said he has been following the Wisconsin state law, which includes some mention of each of the three policies stated above.

“Attendance is one of the indicators that will be used on the federal report card for schools. I do not know exactly how the attendance will be factored into the overall score of the school, but I am predicting that this might be a challenge for us,” Flaherty said. 

Flaherty said he doesn’t think it is going to cause the high school to fail the federal report card, just that it will be more challenging. 

A survey was sent out to students asking how many excused and unexcused absences they have used this year Oct 14. Only 239 students responded. Seniors comprised 26%, juniors comprised 21%, sophomores comprised 28% and freshman comprised 23%.

Out of the total 239 responses, 30 percent of students said that they have not used any of their excused absences. 6% of the students have already surpassed their 10 excused absences. 

After a student’s first unexcused absence they are considered to be truant and after the fifth unexcused absence they are considered to be habitually truant.

For more information regarding the Oct. 14 attendance survey,