Attendance

ATTENDANCE

Regular and punctual attendance of children is essential to student learning. Students who are excessively absent usually fall behind in their learning. Under “Every Student Succeeds Act”, 95% attendance or fewer than 9 days absence per year is expected. School attendance is required by state law and parents are responsible for seeing to it that their children attend school. Unless there are unusual circumstances, parents can expect phone notification from the nurse when their child has been absent for three or more days. If a child is excessively absent, parents must submit a doctor’s excuse for each absence. All future absences will be considered as unexcused.

If your child is marked absent by their homeroom teacher, an automated call will be placed to the parent/ guardian alerting them of the absence. This alert is to make you aware in case the absence was not planned.

A child who is excessively absent may be required to make up missed work and time during special events, field trips, and enrichment programs.

Absence:

District policy requires students to present a written excuse, signed by a parent/caregiver, on the day they return to school following an absence. Your child should give this note to the homeroom teacher. If a note is not turned in within three school days, the absence is recorded as unexcused. Please use the Absence/Late To School Form found on our webpage under Parent Documents.

Students will be marked as tardy if they arrive late to school after 9:10am. Tardy students must have a note as to why they are late. Students who arrive after l0:40 AM will be marked as absent for a half day. Students who are removed from school for the afternoon before 2 PM will also be marked as absent for one-half day. Students who are habitually tardy (10 or more times in the school year) may be required to miss special events or stay after school hours for detention to make up missed time.

Parent's Request for Early Dismissal:

When it is necessary to have a child excused from school, a note, giving the date and time for the early dismissal, the name of the person who will come for the child, and the reason for the dismissal, must be signed by the parent and submitted to the teacher. Students will be released only to a parent or designated adult who are listed on the emergency contact form. Sometimes notes are confusing to the staff. Please use the Early Dismissal Request form found on our webpage under Parent Documents.

Parents must sign out their student(s) at the Main Office Security Window.

Last minute requests to change a student’s transportation plan can be upsetting and confusing to the child and the teacher. Handling these requests can interfere with the school dismissal and lead to a mix up for the child.

Please contact the office with any last minute end of the day transportation changes by 2:50 PM, unless it is an emergency. Students who are to be dismissed early must be picked up by 3:10 PM, otherwise the student will be put into the Parent Pick group for parents to pick up at the Wall Entrance.

Whenever special events, such as the Halloween Parade, Field Day, Holiday Parties, etc. are scheduled, we request parents to submit early dismissal or change in transportation requests a day ahead of time to allow us to handle the paperwork and avoid confusion.

Children receive instruction until dismissal. Sometimes the last minutes of the school day are the most important. Children who leave early miss important learning opportunities.