While we do understand that illness may cause a child to miss school for a short period of time, it is imperative that your child attend school regularly. Maryland law and Frederick County Board of Education regulations require that children attend school on a regular basis. In order for your child to receive consistent education, their attendance is necessary all day, every day. 

Attendance for students is monitored closely and letters are sent to parents when students reach certain thresholds. These thresholds include 3 and 5 days of unlawful absence in a marking period; 10 and 20 absences (lawful or unlawful) in the school year; and chronic absenteeism when a student has missed 10% of school days completed. For students that do not show improved attendance after these notifications, the school may take an additional steps 

Alert the school if your child will miss multiple days for any reason. Absences are automatically coded as unlawful unless a parent or doctor’s note stating the reason is submitted within the marking period of the absence. The school may require a doctor’s note in order to excuse an absence for students who accumulate an excess of absences that are substantiated by only a parent note. Detailed information regarding lawful causes of absence can be found in the FCPS Regulation 400-98. 

If your child is reluctant to attend school, please reach out to the school so we can work with you to support your child’s success.

If your child is not able to attend school on any day please be sure to send an absence email to Tues.Attendance@fcps.org.

If your child is not at school OR leaves early, please contact your child’s after-school care provider. The school is not responsible for relaying this information, and this often creates confusion and delays during dismissal.

When there are plans for a student to leave before the end of the school day, he/she should bring a note from the parent to submit to the homeroom teacher. When the parent/guardian arrives at the school, he or she must come to the office to sign the student out of school. Upon arrival of the parent/guardian, the student will be called to the office for dismissal. Students cannot be called to the office prior to the arrival of the person picking them up. Please plan accordingly. 

All departures prior to the end of the school day at 3:30 pm are coded as unexcused early dismissals; unless the student is dismissed from the health room. If a note from a doctor’s or dental office is provided, indicating that the student was seen for an appointment at the specified time, the early dismissal will be re-coded as excused.

Exemplary attendance is achieved by accruing no more than three (3) cumulative lawful absences and zero (0) unlawful absences over the course of the school year. Students that have excessive unexcused tardiness to school or early dismissals from school will not be eligible for the Exemplary Attendance Award. Those students who have achieved Exemplary Attendance may be recognized at an end of school year awards assembly.

Parents who supply a doctor’s note for an extended illness may request make-up work for students that will be absent for more than one day by contacting Tues.attendance@fcps.org. Make-up work will be provided from the teacher within 2 business days of the request. Teachers are unable to provide work in advance for students who take trips during the school year. It is important to remember that there is no substitution for being present for the teacher’s direct instruction on a given day.  

School doors open for students at 8:30 am. Morning announcements begin at 8:55 am with instruction beginning promptly at 9:00 am. 

A student who arrives to class after 9:00 am is recorded as tardy. If a student arrives tardy to school, a parent or guardian must accompany the student to the school office and sign him/her in. The office attendant will complete a tardy slip, which the student must submit to the teacher upon entering the classroom. Unless a doctor’s note or similar is provided – tardies to school are coded as unexcused. Please be mindful that when a student arrives tardy to school, they are entering a classroom after instruction has begun – missing instruction for themselves and disrupting instruction for all other students in the classroom.