Family Handbook 2023-24

ACADEMIC LIFE

Extended Student Absences and Exchange Policies

Extended Student Absences Absenteeism from planned or unplanned extended absences can seriously jeopardize a student’s overall achievement in any subject and in every grade if too many classes are missed during the school year. It is important that families think carefully before asking the school to approve a planned extended absence. Our faculty are not expected to re-teach the missed content of entire units and lessons when students are absent. However, they are expected to support students upon their return by providing extra help, explanations and clarification after students have reviewed the missed material. At Havergal, students are expected to participate in class activities and discussions, work collaboratively with their peers in small groups and complete assigned work throughout the year by established deadlines. Taken collectively, these experiences are used by teachers to assess student achievement in every subject and at every grade, which results in final marks being documented for subjects on report cards. Students on extended absences miss the rich learning and rigor that occurs in class. Havergal makes reasonable accommodations for elite athletes and exceptional family requests that may warrant students missing an extended period of time from school. The school may ask for supporting documentation before it sanctions an extended absence request. There are two kinds of extended absences that, broadly speaking, can impact a student’s attendance record: (a) planned extended absences which occur when a student knows in advance that she will miss three, or more, consecutive days of school and (b) unplanned extended absences occur quite unexpectedly throughout the school year for a myriad of reasons.

Please refer to the current Course Calendar for more detailed information about Havergal’s Extended Absence procedures.

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