At Joel P. Jensen Middle School, our faculty and staff have established an exemplary track record of helping students be successful; however, it is very difficult to help students who are not at school. Consistent attendance at Joel P. Jensen Middle School is essential for success. If parents will work with their students to emphasize regular attendance, our faculty and staff will do their part and make learning time worthwhile.
How parents can help:
Stay positive in your conversations about the importance of school attendance. Set standards in the home regarding bed time so that students get plenty of sleep. Stay in touch with teachers if absences occur so students do not fall behind. Call in all absences that are to be excused. (801-412-2858). Work with the administration and/or student services if students are struggling to attend for whatever the reason.
How students can help:
Understand that you have a team of teachers, counselors, and administrators who are on your side and want to help you be successful. Attend every day that is possible. Get to bed at a reasonable time on school nights. You are responsible for the work you missed, so reach out to your teacher through Canvas or email to find out what you can do to make things up. Develop the mindset of coming to school every day that is possible. Avoid making excuses for not attending school. Work just piles up when you do not attend.
What the school will do:
We will provide engaging daily instruction to help students prepare for future years of school and for life. We strive to take accurate daily attendance in all classrooms. Our attendance tracker will assure that attendance is correct and will be contacting parents if poor attendance patterns begin. We will work with students who miss school to get them caught up in a timely manner. Attendance contracts and positive behavior interventions will be used to promote attendance. Student Services can provide counseling if needed. Curriculum and schedule adjustments can take place if necessary to meet the needs of the student.
At Joel P. Jensen, our faculty and staff have established an exemplary track record of helping students be successful; however, it is very difficult to help students who are not at school. Consistent attendance at Joel P. Jensen Middle School is essential for success. If parents will work with their students to emphasize regular attendance, our faculty and staff will do their part and make learning time worthwhile. The most important part of resolving attendance issues is communication. Please contact the school at 801-412-2850 if you have any questions, concerns, or needs when it comes to the attendance of your student.
Tardy Policy
In evaluating the negative effects of missing in-school time, research has almost exclusively focused on absences, and almost no attention has been paid to tardiness. A Study by Michael Gottfried contributes a new lens to the field by examining the effects of student tardiness on academic achievement. There are 2 significant findings. First, students with greater tardiness perform worse on both standardized reading and math tests. Second, holding constant an individual's own record of tardiness, students whose classmates are tardy more frequently also have lower test scores. Hence, the achievement gap widens for students in classrooms whose peers have higher rates of tardiness and widens even further for students who also have greater individual levels of tardiness.
For that reason, Joel P. Jensen Middle School has a strict tardy policy. Students are given one warning tardy, and after that they begin to accrue consequences.
Parents may excuse tardies for 1st period or for a late check-in. We ask that parents call before 9:30 AM to excuse a morning tardy. Parents may not excuse tardies that occur during the school day.
| Number of Tardies | Consequences |
| 1 | Warning |
| 2 | 1 Lunch Detention |
| 3 | 2 Lunch Detention |
| 4 | 2 Lunch Detention and reflection assignment |
| 5 - 6 | 30 min After-school Detention for each tardy |
| 7 | 60 min After-school Detention and Parent Conference |
| 8 | 2 hours of After-school Detention |
| 9 | One Week of Lunch Detention |
| 10 | 1 Day In-school Suspenstion |
| 11 | 1 Day Out-of-school Suspension |
| 12+ | 1 Day of Out-of-school Suspension for Each Additional Tardy. |
Consequences determined by school administrators will include one or more of the
following: detentions, in school suspensions, out of school suspensions, personal
escort to class, parent/guardian escort to class, parent conferences.*
-Tardy sweeps will be held every passing period on every school day,
*JPJMS Administration reserves the right to change/adjust the tardy policy according to
student/parent needs.
Gottfried, Michael A. “The Achievement Effects of Tardy Classmates: Evidence in Urban Elementary Schools.” School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals, 30 Nov. 2013, eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1026967.