State law in Tennessee excuses absences caused by sickness, death in the family, recognized religious holidays, and temporary emergencies. Absences equivalent to five unexcused days constitute truancy by state law. Please know that unexcused absences are counted for the entire school year.

iLearn attendance is calculated based on work completion, and attendance of required synchronous learning sessions. iLearn Institute students are expected to attend and participate in their online education courses as fully as they would attend and participate in a traditional classroom course. Students will be given due dates and are responsible for completing those assignments by the date specified. Any assignment that is more than 24 hours late will result in an absence. For example, if an assignment is due by midnight on Tuesday, that assignment must be turned in by midnight Wednesday or an absence will be generated. Work due on Friday by midnight must be submitted by midnight Saturday. To be clear, the expectation is that work will be completed by the due date specified; the 24 hour cushion is designed to allow flexibility when unforeseen circumstances result in a student being unable to complete work by the due date.  Students can always work ahead in the course, but they can not fall behind. Both iLearn Institute Personnel and Parent/Guardians are expected to monitor student attendance and class progress. Students must be willing to complete all assignments in accordance with the pacing guide and deadlines established by the online instructor. Students will typically spend six and a half hours each day working on assignments and attending virtual class sessions. Since this is an online program, inclement weather, sick days, or any other instance in which face to face classes are cancelled (i.e. snow days) will have NO impact on a student’s due dates.  Students MUST remain on pace in each class.  Attendance will be calculated based on course pacing, as determined by the Lenoir City Schools’ Calendar. Experience has shown us that it is imperative that students also receive live instruction and feedback from their teachers. Because of this, iLearn students will be required to attend synchronous sessions virtually through Google Meet. 

• Students in grades K-8 will be required to attend live online instruction each week. The schedule will be set by the teacher.
• Students in grades 9-12 who are in an EOC Course will be required to attend one live online session per week for the purpose of direct instruction.  These online meetings are required and students must attend in order to remain in iLearn.  

 iLearn provides a community where students can connect both online and in person.  We provide many opportunities for students to explore their interests, meet new people and gain new experiences.  Students will have a wide variety of activities that they can choose from including the following: 

1. Collaborate with classmates on school work, participate in STEM activities

2. Attend monthly student club meetings and activities like field trips, movie and game events

3. Get together at school for community events

*Please note that students with serious medical conditions may be excused from attending face-to-face sessions. Once appropriate documentation is submitted, a plan will be developed to make up this instructional time, either virtually, or in a different setting. 

While it is permissible for a student to complete work on the weekend, please remember that teachers and iLearn Administrators do not work on the weekends, and thus are not obligated to return email, phone calls, or texts on these days. Many of our teachers also teach full-time at a district school; for this reason, we ask that you give them up to 24 hours to respond to any email. Please plan accordingly, as a teacher not responding to an email sent less than 24 hours before an assignment is due is not a valid excuse for not doing the assignment on time. 

It is the sole responsibility of the student and their parents to provide reliable internet access.  Internet outages are not an excuse for late or missing work. There are several locations throughout Lenoir City that provide free wi-fi. This list can be found in the Personalized Learning area near the bottom of all of the schools as well as the district website.

Attendance

You must notify your child’s school on the day your child is absent by one of the following methods: CALL IN, E-MAIL OR PARENT NOTE

• Attendance Supervisor – (865) 988-2070
  • Button option 1 - Lenoir City High School attendance
  • Button option 2 - Lenoir City Intermediate/Middle School attendance 
  • Button option 3 - Lenoir City Elementary School attendance
  • Button option 4 - Lenoir City Schools Truancy
  • Button option 5 - iLearn Attendance Supervisor

• The attendance email for Lenoir City Elementary is: lcesattendance@lenoircityschools.net
• The attendance email for Lenoir City Intermediate/Middle is: lcmsattendance@lenoircityschools.net 
• The attendance email for Lenoir City High is: lchsattendance@lenoircityschools.net
• The attendance email for the iLearn Institute is ilearnattendance@lenoircityschools.net

Each student is allowed a total of five call-ins, or e-mails or parent notes (subject to verification) for the school year. These absences may be excused for the following reasons:

• Student personal illness    
• Illness in immediate family    
• Death in immediate family                        
• Medical or dental appointment    
• Court appointment (with documentation)
• Church trip with notes on church letterhead
• Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) visit - 1/2 day only with verification from DMV
• Any absence with extenuating circumstances must be approved by the principal prior to absence

After five call-ins, or e-mails or parent notes documentation of a student’s absence must be excused by bringing in a note (subject to verification) to the attendance secretary or student services from one of the following:                            

• Doctor
• Dental
• Court                            

College Visits: Per LCBOE policy, Students wishing to make a college visit during the school year must submit to the principal prior notice from his/her parent/guardian specifying the date of the school visit. The student must return with a signed letter or form from a campus official verifying the visit. The student will be counted present for the day of the college visit only, but will not be counted present during any travel days.

All notes should be turned in the day the child returns to school. Notes will not be accepted after the third day of the student’s return.

Tennessee law (TCA, 49-6-30) requires Lenoir City Schools to hold a conference with each parent and student that reach five unexcused absences. A progressive truancy intervention plan will be written with a specific description of school attendance expectations, guidelines and penalties for additional absences. Parents will be sent a letter by the Attendance Supervisor to schedule a conference.        

A student is considered truant on the 5th unexcused day absence occurring anytime during the school year. If attendance policies are not followed, parents and/or legal guardians may receive notice to appear before the truancy board. If your child is going to be home due to illness for over two weeks, you may want to inquire about the possibility of a homebound teacher. Please call (865) 988-2070, option 4 for further clarification and information on attendance.