Dean of Students
Students and families,
The role of our Dean is primarily centered around encouraging student engagement and mitigating barriers that result in truancy and late entry.
Our hope is that all students will consider and apply the BEARS ACT acronym:
BEARS ACT!
Attend each class. Every day. On time.
Communicate with faculty well in advance of anticipated absences.
Take appropriate and timely action after unanticipated absences.
The Dean of Students takes a holistic and collaborative approach wherein students, teachers, families, and social service resource professionals work in unison with the courts in an attempt to support consistent and timely student attendance.
Recent statistics from the United States Department of Education indicate that roughly 1 in 5 high school students are chronically absent. Anecdotal experience and quantifiable statistics infer that student truancy greatly reduces a student’s likelihood of academic success, on-time graduation, and can even fracture the pivotal social emotional relationships that define key formative years. I feel that the holistic needs of our children are often best served when they Attend each class. Every day. On time.
OHS policies regarding Absenteeism, Late Entry, and Special Circumstances
Attendance Procedures:
Policies for Absences AND Late Arrivals
Partnerships and Resources:
The Dean of Students collaborates frequently with the following team members in an attempt to ensure that the individualized needs of each of our families are understood and met.
Attendance Secretaries / Main Office Secretaries
- Assistant and Head Principals
- Guidance Counseling Team
- Social Worker/s AND Alcohol and Drug Counselor
- Thurston Co. Juvenile Probation Counselors
- Teachers and Paraprofessionals
- Nurses and Medical Support Staff
Approved Absences AND Extended Absences:
Parents and guardians should excuse all approved absences through the Attendance Office within 48 hours of the event of absenteeism. Absences that are not excused within 48 hours may become ineligible for excusal. Students involved in extracurricular activities should have their absences excused prior to 3:00PM the day of the absence.
Extended absences
Those exceeding two consecutive days of school should be communicated first with the Dean of Students and then with instructors, at least two-weeks prior to the date range to be missed. This communication should always be paired with the comprehensive completion of the Extended Absence Approval Forms, which can be retrieved from the attendance office during business hours or downloaded from the links here for students to print. Following the aforementioned Extended Absence Approval Form (pdf) guidelines is very important, as the process is directly linked to a student’s access to complete missing coursework and assessments. The signature of the Dean of Students must be obtained on the Extended Absence Approval Form prior to teacher signatures.
Requests may be denied in cases where the student has accrued instances of prior excessive absenteeism, the student is not in good academic standing, and when teachers and / or the Dean of Students are not provided advance notice.
The attendance office will NOT retroactively excuse single events OR extended absences once the 48-hour window has expired.
Excessive Excused Absences:
When a student accrues seven or more excused absences parents or guardians may be asked to conduct a conference with the Dean of Students and submit medical clearance documentation from a physician indicating the necessity of continuously missed instruction.
Truancy and Extracurricular Activities:
OHS values the opportunities that extracurricular activities can offer our students, but we believe that student academic investment is the first priority of our organization. Students that are unable to satisfy the basic attendance requirements outlined in our policies and the Student Handbook could become ineligible from participation in athletic and /or other extracurricular programs. Please use the Policy pages and the Student Handbook for a specific review of how absences and / or late entry may impact extracurricular eligibility.
Please contact the Dean of Students directly with questions or concerns regarding student engagement.
(Name and contact for OHS Dean of Students for the 2024/25 school year is still go come.)