Attendance by Class Period

Teachers take a roll in every class they teach, and Mosaic works out each student’s daily attendance from the class time they missed.

By default, Mosaic takes attendance once a day, in homeroom. A division can switch to Every class period. Each class then takes its own roll while it is in session, and a student’s day is the share of their scheduled class minutes that they missed. A student who misses 90 of 390 minutes is absent for 0.23 of the day.

The setting is per division, so a school can switch its upper school and leave its lower school on homeroom attendance.

For administrators

Required Access

School Settings — Edit

Before you switch

Every-period attendance depends on your class schedule. Check these first:

1. Blocks and bell times. Under Settings ▸ School ▸ Scheduling, the division’s schedule needs its blocks (periods) and a bell schedule with times for every weekday it meets. Mosaic won’t switch a division that has no bell schedule. Lunch, breaks, assembly and any other slot with no block never ask for a roll.
2. Every class has a period. Each class’s Period (on the class’s Details) must be one of the division’s blocks. A class with no period never asks for a roll and doesn’t count toward anyone’s day.
3. Every class has the right meeting days. A class asks for a roll only on the days it meets. A Friday-only art class in period 9 asks only on Fridays.
4. Every class has a teacher. The class teacher takes the roll. So can an Additional Teacher with full access.
5. Special days. Enter assembly days and early releases under Scheduling as special days. On those days, Mosaic asks for a roll only in the classes that actually meet, and at their real times.
6. The division principal (Settings ▸ Division ▸ Overview). The principal gets a daily email listing possible class cuts.

Turning it on

1. Open Settings ▸ Division ▸ Options and choose the division.
2. In the Attendance panel, set Attendance taken to Every class period.
3. Save.

The change takes effect immediately. From the next class period on, teachers in that division are prompted to take attendance in each class. They no longer get the daily homeroom attendance prompt. Homeroom lunch orders still prompt as before.

Days before the switch are left as they were. Mosaic doesn’t treat them as missing rolls.

To go back, set Attendance taken to Homeroom, once a day. Class attendance already recorded is kept.

How a student’s day is calculated

• Only class time inside the school day counts. Lunch, assembly and after-school activities don’t.
• A roll that is never taken counts everyone in that class as present. Watch the follow-up report (below) for rolls that were never taken.
• Tardy is recorded on the class but counts as present for the day.
• Office absences still come first. An absence the office enters keeps its category and reason. As class rolls come in, Mosaic adjusts the percentage. For example, a student the office marked absent for the day who turns up for two afternoon classes ends the day partly absent, not fully absent.
• Sign-in and sign-out at the office are respected. A student signed out at 11:00 isn’t flagged for missing the afternoon.

Following up

Required Access

Student Attendance — Edit

Students ▸ Attendance ▸ School Attendance lists every class that owes a roll today, with the ones not yet taken at the top. Click a class to open its roll. The Daily review on the same page lists:

• Possible cut: the student was present earlier in the day and then absent from a later class, with no sign-out.
• Late arrival not signed in: the student was absent at the start of the day and then present, with no sign-in at the office.

Students ▸ Attendance ▸ Reports ▸ Class attendance follow-up covers a date range of up to 31 days. It lists rolls never taken, students with no class scheduled that day, possible cuts and late arrivals. Click a roll to take or correct it. Teachers can only take today’s roll. Attendance administrators can correct a past day here.

Each afternoon, after the division’s school day ends, the division principal receives one email with that day’s possible cuts. A cut corrected before then isn’t sent.

A student’s own Attendance tab lists their class absences and tardies for the year, by period.

For teachers

Taking a roll

When a class starts, Mosaic opens its attendance roll on whatever page you’re on.

1. Every student starts as present. Tap a student once for absent, twice for tardy. A third tap puts them back to present.
2. Click Save. If everyone is there, the button reads All present. One click and you’re done.

Students the office has already marked absent for the day appear pre-marked as absent. If one of them is actually in your class, tap them back to present and save. Mosaic updates their day.

If you’re busy when the roll appears, click Snooze and it asks again in two minutes.

If you missed it

The roll only pops up while the class is in session. To take it later the same day, click Class attendance on your Home page. It lists today’s classes by period, with a check mark beside each one you’ve taken. The same button lets you open a roll you already saved and change it. Saving again replaces the earlier roll.

You can only take or change today’s rolls. For an earlier day, ask the attendance office to correct it.

Things to know

• A class you share as an Additional Teacher with full access asks you too. Whoever saves first takes the roll.
• Substitutes can’t take a class roll yet. When you’re out, the attendance office can take or correct your classes’ rolls.
• Families aren’t notified about a single missed period. Daily absences are reported to families as before.