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Every Student, Every Day Attendance Policy and Plan
Every Student, Every Day Attendance Policy and Plan
School Year 2025-26
PS 134Q The Langston Hughes School (29Q134)
Welcome to the 2025-26 School Year!
We are excited to share our school’s Every Student, Every Day Attendance Policy and Plan. This policy and plan will hopefully provide you with the information and guidance you need to help you help your child attend and stay in school.
OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY’S ATTENDANCE GOAL
Attendance matters. Missing a day of school means missing hours of instructional time. Research shows that students who attend regularly achieve greater success in school and in life. This continues to be true—even in in-person or remote learning environments. Our school’s collective goal for attendance remains the same. Whether in-person or remote, we want every child attending school every day or at least 95% of the school year.
ATTENDANCE TAKING
Our School will take Attendance:
Attendance will be taken each morning by 9:15 AM. Daily attendance is verified to ensure correct student attendance. If your child is late to school, they would be required to check in at the front desk to sign in late. Classroom teachers will update attendance daily to ensure accurate attendance daily.
Our Attendance Rate Chart is provided to all families at the beginning of the school year to set the expectation for attendance. The Attendance Rate Chart is also posted in the building and on Class Dojo for all families to reference throughout the school year.
COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES
Our school uses the following methods to communicate with families about attendance:
The school will verify attendance for each class by 11:00 AM each day. Upon verification of attendance, the school will communicate either by the PS 134Q Attendance Class Dojo or by phone call. At two or more consecutive absences, families will receive a phone call to discuss your child’s absence.
At the beginning of the school year, the PS 134Q Attendance Rate Chart will be sent home to all families and posted on ClassDojo. Periodically throughout the school year, we will post the Attendance Rate Chart as a reminder of the importance of attendance. Our Parent Coordinator will schedule at least two parent workshops centered on attendance and the impact attendance has on a child’s academic success.
It is very important for the school to have families’ up-to-date contact information. To make sure we can reach you, please alert us of any changes to your address or phone number by:
Main Office – (718) 464-5544
Parent Coordinator, - (718) 464-5544 ext 1051
Assistant Principal, Mr. Akbar – (718) 464-5544 ext 2192 or (929) 314-4636
ABSENCES
If you know your child is going to miss school on a certain day or will be missing school for an extended period, please notify the school in advance by:
It is the family’s responsibility to call or message the school to inform of their child’s reason for any absence. When a student returns from a full-day absence, he/she must provide any documentation to their teacher to be provided to the Attendance Points.
If your child is going to miss school on a certain day due to a medical appointment, we encourage you to make the appointment at a time that does not interfere with school. If your child has to miss a certain day due to an event (appointment, etc), please notify our Parent Coordinator and your child’s teacher.
If your child is going to miss school for an extended period of time, we ask that you schedule an appointment with the Assistant Principal to discuss missing for an extended period of time. We encourage you to plan extended periods away from school during vacation time but we understand that events come up that are out of our control.
If your child is absent, we will follow up that day by making a positive phone call, text, or email home. This follow-up helps us to ensure that your child is safe, healthy and that your family has what it needs to help your child overcome the barriers to attending school – whether in-person or remote.
While every single absence is equal to missed instructional time, we nonetheless mark absences as excused and unexcused. Please provide us with information on the reason for your child’s absence. Here is what you need to know regarding excused and unexcused absences:
Excused Absence:
An excused absence may be excused for reasons including illness, injury, family emergency, religious observation, or pre-arranged appointments.
Illness/Injury: When a student is unable to attend school due to illness or injury, a document or notification (call or note from family or doctor) is required to indicate it as excused.
If an accommodation is required to return to school (cast or medication) families must call Mr. Akbar at (718) 464-5544 about 504 plans or Medication Administration Forms. If families fail to seek the necessary accommodations plans, any continued absence due to illness or injury including asthma-related absences, may be considered unexcused.
The school follows the DOE policy on Head Lice.
Religious observations: When a student is unable to attend school due to religious observation, the family’s request in writing is required to indicate an excused absence. Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A-630
Family Emergency: When a student is unable to attend school due to a death or an emergency, notification and documentation by the family is required to indicate an excused absence.
If a student requires support to return to school (transportation, counseling, supplies), the family must contact Ms. Hafiz at (718) 464-5544 to discuss their needs.
Absences to attend funerals outside the country will not be excused.
Pre-arranged appointments: When a student is unable to attend school due to appointments with the court, social services, or other city agencies, notification and documentation by the family is required to indicate an excused absence.
Whenever possible, families are expected to schedule appointments outside of regular school hours.
Unexcused Absence:
An unexcused absence is when too little to no information is provided when a student is marked absent for the day.
Unexplained absence: Families are expected to notify the school whenever a student is unable to attend school, either in advance of the absence or following the absence. Without explanation of a reason, the absence(s) are considered unexcused.
Immunization exclusion: When a student is unable to attend school due to lack of appropriate immunizations the absence(s) are considered unexcused. Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A-701.
Family vacations or travel: Families should plan vacations and trips when school is not in session. If students do miss school, families must work with the school to develop plans for take-home and make-up work.
LATENESS
Even if a student is late, they are still marked as present. If you know your child is going to be late on a certain day—whether in remote or in-person—please:
Students are marked late if they are not in their classroom at 8:10 AM. If a student arrives at school later than 8:10 AM they will be required to sign in at the front desk upon arriving. If your child is going to be late due to an appointment or emergency, please notify your child’s teacher, Parent Coordinator or Main Office.
Just as with absences, we flag lateness as excused and unexcused. Here is what you need to know regarding excused and unexcused lateness:
Excused Lateness:
Lateness may be considered excused for the same reasons provided above for absence or school bus delays or documented MTA delays.
Lateness due to routine delalays in public transportation are not considered excused. Students and families need to allow ample time for travel and monitor MTA reports. There are no exceptions for inclement weather, and families are advised to leave extra time.
Unexcused Lateness:
Unexcused lateness is when a student is not in their classroom by 8:10 a.m. and have not provided reasons for lateness, such as illness/injury, religious observation, family emergency, or pre-arranged appointment.
LEAVING EARLY
This section explains our school’s policy for a student’s early departure from the school day in both remote and in-person settings. If your child is going to leave early on a certain day, please notify the school by:
If your child needs to leave early from school on a certain day we require you to notify the classroom teacher and the Main Office.
Early Departure:
Leaving school early must be arranged in advance. A student can be dismissed from school early to the family or a person who has been identified on the Blue Card. Anyone picking up a student must come to the front desk and provide a photo ID. If a student leaves school early, they are responsible for completing all missed assignments and homework.
ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP WORK
If a child is absent or late, grades, coursework, or exams could be affected. Here is what you need to know regarding our grading policies and how we support our students with make-up work:
Lateness to class may result in a lower class average due to the loss of instructional time in activities such as classroom participation, examinations (Quizzes/full period exams), or assignments, Students are not required to make up the exact hours of missed instructional time.
Every Student, Every Day Practices
This section shares information regarding our schools’ multi-tiered support plan. It is our hope that through these supports your children have what they need to attend school regularly.
COMMUNICATION
Every day a student is absent we will make a positive phone call home to check in and make sure the student and family are healthy. During parent-teacher conferences, we will share information regarding your child’s attendance and discuss how we as a school community can be most helpful in creating the conditions for your child to attend regularly and thrive in school.
As a school community, we utilize Class Dojo for communicating with parents along with phone calls daily.
PERSONALIZED SUPPORTS
Students who have by the end of September missed more than two days of school will be connected to a Success Mentor. A Success Mentor is a caring adult who serves as a mentor and as an advocate for their mentees. Students will be linked to our YMCA after school program or with the local STACKS program at the Hollis Library. The Attendance Team will reach out to families to discuss the importance of attendance and if any other support are needed.
CELEBRATIONS
We are dedicated to making sure every child has the positive support they need to not only attend school every day but to thrive. We recognize and celebrate students’ attendance improvement, no matter how small. When a student improves their attendance, we recognize and celebrate their success in our end-of-year award ceremony. Monthly we recognize those students with perfect attendance and celebrate their commitment to learning.
PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITIES
YMCA – Afterschool at PS 134. The YMCA program provides after school programs for students to support learning and extracurricular activities. The YMCA provides that after school care that families need while working and has provided additional support for our students who have struggled with attendance.
STACKS Program @ Hollis Library – PS 134 has partnered with the Hollis Library after school programs (STACKS) to provide additional support for our families who are in need of support.
SCHOOL CALENDAR
To view a calendar of the school’s events, go to:
CONTACT INFORMATION
We hope this information is helpful to you! If you have questions about our Every Student, Every Day 2024-25 Attendance Policy and Plan, please contact us at:
Assistant Principal – Mr. Akbar – (718) 464-5544 ext 2192 or (929) 314-4636 – JAkbar@schools.nyc.gov
Parent Coordinator –
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