Attendance
We are here to assist you in helping your student be successful at Santa Fe High School. The best way to do this is for them to regularly attend class and be punctual. Our goal is to keep an accurate record of your student’s attendance as required by the State of Texas.
State law requires that students be in attendance at least 90% of the days the class is offered (excused and unexcused absences combined).
Tardy Information
- If a student is not in class at the time of the bell ringing, they are considered tardy.
- Music plays in the hallways between each passing period, when the music turns off, this signals to students that they have ONE minute to make it to class.
- Tardy consequences will be distributed from Mrs. Erin Withers, our attendance improvement specialist.
- If you have questions regarding your student's attendance/tardy record, please contact our attendance data specialist, Mrs. Renea Bickerstaff at Susan.Bickerstaff@sfisd.org
Make-Up Hours
If your student has more than 8 absences in the fall semester, your student owes make-up hours. If you have questions regarding your student's attendance record or want to check on their make-up hour status, please contact: Erin.Withers@sfisd.org
Available make-up sessions:
Tuesdays: November 5th, 12th, 19th, December 3rd, and 10th
Wednesdays: October 23rd, 30th, November 6th, 13th, 20th, December 4th, and 11th
Wednesday, December 18th and Thursday, December 19th: 12:15-3:15
Community Service Options
Have make-up time, but not enough time to make it up?
SFHS is offering the following options in order to replace hours:
- Come to school 5 consecutive days with no absences and no tardies = 10 hours
- Take the TSI test and pass = 15 hours
- Go to TSI Prep = 5 hours for each class
- Charitable work for sponsored organizations = get an additional hour knocked off for each hour you are present at the organization.
See Mrs. Withers for more information.
Attendance Documentation Form
Please turn in all notes if you have outstanding unexcused absences.
To submit electronic documentation for your student's absence(s), click HERE.
- Attendance note processing may take 3-5 days to process.
- It is not necessary to submit notes in more than one form. For example, if you submit your note electronically, you do not need to send a paper copy to school with your student.
Watch this how to document to learn how to submit your documents via Skyward
Leaving campus for lunch is neither permitted nor an excusable reason to leave campus. After following campus procedures, the ONLY students allowed to sign themselves out during the day are 18-year-old students as required and permitted by the State of Texas.
Attendance rules are still applicable to 18-year-old students.
Attendance Staff Members
Attendance Data Specialist
409-927-3120
- attendance documentation
- attendance data entry
- attendance corrections
- attendance excuse notes
Attendance Improvement Specialist
409-927-3124
Truancy Prevention & Home Visits
- tardiness
- truancy prevention
- attendance monitoring
Make-Up Hours
Students who have exceeded more than 8 absences in any class period will owe make-up hours in order to gain course credit (Click here to learn more.). Please contact our attendance data specialist if you have questions regarding your student's attendance record: susan.bickerstaff@sfisd.org
Please turn in all medical notes if you have outstanding unexcused absences.
Remaining Make-up hour dates
Parents and Students, please take note of our Semester Exam Exemption policy. Please keep this policy in mind when deciding to miss school for an unexcused absence if your student intends to qualify to be exempt from their semester exams.
As a reminder, students are marked "absent" if they are more than 10 minutes late to class. Because of compulsory attendance laws, students are required to be in each class 90% of the time. Students are only marked "tardy" if they are late by 10 minutes or less.