Attendance

Middle School Attendance During Remote Learning

Attendance during remote learning is similar to in person.  The daily tracking of each student in each class period is required and essential.  We highly encourage students to attend L.I.V.E. virtual class with their classmates and benefit from peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher interaction.

Daily attendance (logging in to each class in Canvas) is an expectation even in the remote setting. Teachers take attendance at the start of each remote class period. To be marked present for each class/period for the day a student must log in during the L.I.V.E scheduled class/period time or log in to the class/period some other time during that same day (asynchronously).  The school day is the 24-hour day. Completing and submitting Tuesday’s classwork on Thursday is an indicator of participation. It does not change Tuesday’s attendance status from absent to present if the student did not attend during L.I.V.E. or log in to Tuesday’s classes on Tuesday before 11:59 PM.

Every evening at 6:00 PM, the system sends an automated phone call to the parent/guardian of students marked absent from L.I.V.E. instruction that day.  You can avoid receiving this automated call by contacting the attendance office by calling (425) 837-4157 , emailing blmsattendance@issaquah.wednet.edu, or submitting the online attendance form found on our homepage to excuse the absence or to confirm the student attended asynchronously. Parents must notify the attendance office on a daily basis if their student is attending asynchronously.  

It is important to note that parents/guardians may receive the 6:00 PM automated call if the attendance office receives the parent notification late in the workday or after office hours.  This automated call at 6:00 PM could be a gentle prompt for parents to confirm their student logs in to their classes in Canvas that evening and thereby updating the student’s attendance to present for those classes for that day.

New this year, in an effort to simplify asynchronous or excused absence attendance reporting, we have added to our school website homepage a “Parent and Guardian Attendance Reporting” button.  This button is located on the right sidebar of the homepage.  Click this button, fill in the boxes and submit. Below is the link to the Beaver Lake Middle School website homepage. https://issaquah.wednet.edu/beaverlakems

If you have any questions about attendance please contact Sue Wickstrand via email at blmsattendance@issaquah.wednet.edu.

Communicating with the Attendance Office

Please report any absences before the school day begins at 425-837-4157 or email: blmsattendance@issaquah.wednet.edu

Please include your student's name, grade level and reason for the absence in any communications. 

What To Do If You or Your Teacher Loses Power or Internet

Power outages and internet disruptions sometimes accompany inclement weather and families should follow the guidelines located on the District website.

Reporting Attendance After a Power or Internet Outage

If your student missed a L.I.V.E. class instruction due to a power and/or internet outage, please contact the Beaver Lake Middle School Attendance Office once power/internet is restored.  You may leave a voicemail at 425-837-4157 or send an email to blmsattendance@issaquah.wednet.edu.  Sue Wickstrand, our Attendance Office Professional, will reply to your message in a timely manner. 

When students miss L.I.V.E instruction, they may either be excused by a parent or guardian OR complete the classwork asynchronously by 11:59 PM of the same day for the absence to be completely removed from their Skyward attendance.

Please state whether your student was able to complete their missed class work asynchronously within the same day of the missed L.I.V.E. class or state that the absence is excused due to lack of power or internet connection, or the work was completed after the 11:59 PM cutoff.

You may also report asynchronous work completion through the Parent and Guardian Attendance Reporting Form.

https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/live/attendance

Checking Attendance in Family Access

To check your student’s attendance, please visit the Issaquah School District website.  You may log in to Family Access using your Family’s User ID and Password. Please review your student’s attendance record for accuracy.  If you feel there are any inconsistencies, please contact the Beaver Lake Middle School Attendance Office.  You may leave a voicemail at 425-837-4157 or send an email to blmsattendance@issaquah.wednet.edu.  Sue Wickstrand, our Attendance Office Professional, will reply to your message in a timely manner.

https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/family/FamilyAccess

Families, please note:  As of 1/11/2021 unexcused absences from “In Person” instruction will count toward truancy and will be coded in Skyward with a “Y”.  Unexcused absences from “Remote Learning” will not count toward truancy and will be coded with an “R”.  Currently Beaver Lake Middle School is only offering “Remote Learning”.

Pre-Approved Absence Request Form: For 3 - 20 days of absence

The Pre-Approved Absence Request Form can also be picked up from the front office.  As stated on the pre-approved absence request form, the completed form needs to be submitted to the office one week prior to your request in order for the absence to be excused.

Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance is important to your student’s progress. According to Washington State law, enrolled students eight years of age and above and their parents are responsible for ensuring the student’s daily attendance. Please help your student develop good attendance habits.

Absences that are excused include: illness/health, religious observances, school-approved activities, family emergencies, disciplinary actions as required by law, and family trips with prior principal permission. In case of absences, please notify the school before 8:10 AM and provide your name, your child’s name, grade, and reason for the absence.

When your child returns from an excused absence, the teacher will provide a list of make-up assignments, along with a reasonable timeline for completion. The student is responsible for completing missed work. Make-up assignments are not provided in advance.

Since daily attendance and active participation in class are critical parts of the learning process, failure to attend class may result in loss of credit and impact the student’s grade.

Early Dismissals (For In-Person Instruction)

As you are scheduling appointments for your children, which might require an early dismissal, please be aware of our daily schedule.  When you arrive on campus, we have to interrupt the classroom instructional time to call your student to the office.  It’s always best to have your student meet you in the office in between classes or at lunch to avoid any interruption during class time.  Our daily schedule is on our website for you to look at as you are scheduling appointments for your student.

To expedite the release process, please call (425) 837-4157 or send an email to blmsattendance@issaquah.wednet.edu before 8:00 AM so that an Early Release Pass can be issued to the student. Parents must come in to the office for all early dismissals to sign out the student. If the student returns to school the same day, the student can sign back in upon their return.