Start Time - 8:00 AM

Dismissal Times:

• M,T,Th,Fri - 2:25 PM
• Wednesday - 1:25 PM
• Wednesday Early Release Days - 11:00 AM

As our homepage states, “with a commitment to teaching and learning, the Belmont Public Schools strive to nurture the knowledge, skills, and emotional development of each student in order to create a community of engaged learners who contribute to the common good and are of service to others.” In order to deliver on this goal for every student, the faculty and staff at Belmont High School believe that attendance in class every day is critical. Each student’s attendance is her/her/their commitment to both their own education and the community of learners at Belmont High School. Below, you will find the ways in which staff and faculty hope to partner with students and families to support successful attendance in school. 

Student’s Responsibilities

• It is each student’s responsibility to be aware of his/her/their attendance status in class and to make responsible decisions about attending all classes on a regular basis. 
• The student should monitor his/her/their own attendance and speak with his/her/their teachers if he/she/they has any questions about attendance records.
• The student must obtain and make-up class work missed due to absences when appropriate. It is the student’s responsibility to see his/her/their teachers to obtain missed work. If the student does not submit missed work by the agreed upon due date, the work will not receive credit. 

Parent/Guardian Information and Responsibilities

• The parent/guardian should monitor his/her/their child’s attendance in each of his/her/their classes via robocalls when absent and daily attendance emails home.
• We encourage parents to discuss the importance of good attendance with their children.
• To excuse a student’s absence, the parent/guardian must call the high school attendance office the night before, or the day of the student’s absence at (617) 993-5999 prior to 2:00 p.m.  Messages left after 2:00 p.m. will not be considered, and the student will be marked unexcused for the day. Special circumstances will be reviewed by the assistant principal.  If a student needs to leave school midday due to illness, they must be dismissed from the Nurse’s Office to be considered excused from any remaining classes.
• When leaving a message on the attendance line, please leave the following information:
  • Student’s name
  • Student’s grade
  • Reason for absence (see below)
  • Return telephone number
• Phone calls submitted after 2:00 p.m. of the day of the absence will not be accepted.  

Faculty, Staff, and Administration Responsibilities

• Record each student’s attendance in PlusPortals for each class on a daily basis.
• Submit the daily attendance records by the end of the first mod (27 minutes) in each class. 
• Reconcile all adjustments to a student’s attendance the following day.
• Notify the student, parent, guidance counselor, and assistant principal when a student reaches cut, absence, or tardy totals as outlined below. 
• Assistant principals will address students whose absences are unexcused or excessive

Attendance phone: (617) 993-5999
Attendance Policy full version available here