Why Attendance is Important

Did you KNOW?

• Students should miss no more than 9 days of school each year to stay engaged, successful, and on track to graduate.
• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest, struggling with school work, dealing with bullying or facing difficulties.
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of the three signs that a student may drop out of school.
• Students can be considered chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.

What can YOU do?

• Make attendance a priority
• Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make it the expectation.
• Help your child maintain daily routines, such as going to bed a reasonable time, and turning off all electronics at night.
• Don't let your child stay home unless truly sick...use the flow chart above to help determine illness.

Communicate with the School

• Know the school's attendance policy.
• Talk to teachers if you notice sudden changes in behavior. This could be tied to something going on at school.
• Check on attendance regularly to make sure absences are not piling up.
• Ask for help from school officials , after school programs and other community agencies if you are having trouble getting your child to school.
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EMS Attendance policy

After three unexcused morning tardies student will receive 1 hour of detention, with a 30 minute following every unexcused tardy after that point. Morning attendance is a crucial skill to ingrain into our students, as we are preparing them to be at work on time in the future. Many employers wil terminate chronically tardy employees.

10% notice - after the first nine weeks of school, parents and student will receive a letter letting them know that their student has hit the 10% mark on their number of days absence. Studies have proven that students who miss at least 10% of their school days can/may struggle with late assignments, devlop anxieties about being behind, and often seem "lost" as to what is occuring in the classroom.

20% - at this mark, students and parents will recieve notification that absences will no longer be "excused" without formal documentation. This is a crucial number to avoid, and administrators and counselors will intervene and come up with a plan to get attendance back on track.

25% - When a student hits this mark, we are required by law to formally turn a student in to the County Attorney as TRUANT! This can result in court appearances and DCF involvement. It may also lead to summer school and retention of the current grade.

We take attendance seriously at EMS. Please communicate with us if you are struggling with getting your student to school.