Research supports that regular attendance is essential for student success. In addition, a student’s best preparation for the GEE graduation requirement as well as other standardized tests is regular daily attendance.

Terrebonne High School believes that everyday is important. This belief is an extension of the school board's belief that the attainment of academic excellence requires attending school on a regular basis. The benefit of lectures, discussion and participation is lost forever to those who are absent.

A student's attendance record is a shared responsibility between the student, his/her parents and/or guardians, and school personnel. Parents should only excuse students for valid reasons and monitor their student's attendance. Please contact either the Main Office (985) 879-3377 or a student's individual teachers with any concerns you might have. 

Excused Absences: The Main Office receives calls from 7:00 am until 2:15pm. After 2:15pm, calls are taken by voicemail until 7:00am. Calls left in Spanish will be translated.

Unexcused Absences: Any absence that is not excused by a parent/legal guardian or a school official will be considered unexcused and subject to consequences. Students who are truant will be assigned consequences as deemed appropriate by administration.

Permit to Leave: Students leaving campus during the school day must have their parent/legal guardian’s permission and must check out at the office. Students who check in with the Main Office will be issued a permit to leave campus. Failure to get a permit to leave will result in the absence being marked unexcused and will be assigned a consequence as deemed appropriate by administration.

Tardies: A tardy shall be defined as a student who is not in his/her designated class when the tardy bell rings. This policy is designed to encourage students to be on time for every class period. However, we realize that certain circumstances beyond our control may prevent a student from arriving on time. To that end, every student will be allowed two free tardies per semester. Tardies cannot be excused by parents/legal guardians except for the following reasons: doctor’s appointment, dental appointment, legal appointment/subpoena, or religious observance.

Tardies to First Hour: Students who are late to first hour will be required to stop at the Main Office and sign in. The Main Office will issue the student a pass to class. Only students with a pass from the Main Office will be admitted to class late. If the student has been late four or more times a lunch detention will be issued when they get the pass. When the student has accumulated four tardies a letter will be sent home. After five tardies, the student will be issued an After School Detention and a parent conference with administration will be required. Students who exceed six total tardies in a semester will be subject to additional consequences as deemed appropriate by administration.

Note: Traffic on St. Charles St. and in our front parking lot is substantial in the mornings and is heaviest after 7:00 am. It is highly recommended that students arrive on campus no later than 7:10am in order to be on time to first hour. We recommend that parents dropping off students do so using Main Street as a drop off point. It is much faster and safer.

Tardies to class: Students who are late to second through fourth hour will be given a detention, to be served after school or during lunch. Consequences will start when a student’s total has exceeded two tardies in a semester. To facilitate students being on time to class, the THS administration, in cooperation with our security staff, will conduct sweeps of the hallways. After the bell has rung, any students still in the hallways will be asked to report to the Assistant Principal’s Office where they will be issued a detention and then they will be sent to class. Only students with a pass from the Main Office will be permitted to enter class late.

Permit to Leave Policy – Students leaving campus during the school day must have their parent/legal guardian’s permission and must check out at the office. Students who check in with the Main Office will be issued a permit to leave campus. Failure to get a permit to leave will result in the absence being marked unexcused (no exceptions), and will be assigned a consequence as deemed appropriate by administration.

Parents/legal guardians are required to show picture identification before being allowed to remove a student from campus.

Illness – Only the school nurse may determine whether a student is too ill to remain on campus. Once the school nurse has made this determination, she will contact the front office staff and a permit to leave campus will be granted. Parents will not be able to excuse students if they have left campus without first meeting with the nurse or obtaining parent/legal guardian permission. Again, failure to obtain a permit to leave campus prior to departing school grounds will result in the absence being marked unexcused.

Invalid Contact Information – Please make sure that THS has valid contact information for your student(s); especially if your address or phone number should change during the school year. Parents of the students who are marked unexcused for three days receive a call home as a means of communication. Additionally, administrators and teachers may need to contact the parents/legal guardians about attendance issues, discipline or academic progress so it is vital that a student’s contact information is up to date.

Students with chronic unexcused absences and tardiness may be placed on an attendance contract by Administration. Stipulations of this contract consist of the student attending all of his/her assigned courses daily.

Consequences for violating THS attendance policies include after school or lunch detention, and off campus suspension. A parent conference with administration will be required for students who have excessive truancies or tardies.

To improve student attendance and to infuse our school community with the importance of regular daily attendance our school action plan focuses on student attendance. Our goal is to encourage students to attend school regularly via engaging, relevant, and rigorous instruction, by building relationships with students, and by offering incentives.

THS has implemented an attendance incentive program that rewards good attendance. Students will be exempt from final exams for perfect attendance at the end of each semester and have this added to their final grade for a course. Students will also be assigned rewards periodically for maintaining perfect attendance.