Attendance

All absences must be reported to the school office.

The two options for reporting an illness are:

If you're going to be gone three consecutive school days, you must fill out the appropriate form and return to the office one week prior to the first day of the absence.

 

Make Up Work

Absences may be excused with prior principal permission. When your child returns from an excused absence, the teacher will provide make-up assignments, along with a reasonable timeline for completion. The student is responsible for completing missed work. (From ISD Elementary Schools Parent Handbook, pg 2).

Please note that per district policy and as indicated on the Pre-Approved Absence Request Form we do not provide assignments in advance of absences.  Instead we will provide make-up work.  When possible, teachers may have suggestions for how you can support your child’s learning during the absence (reading a book, making a trip journal, math practice, etc.). 

Regular attendance is critical to the learning process. Research shows that frequent absences seriously affect learning. Please note that missed lessons, class activities, discussions, etc.  may not be made up and replicated when your child returns. Your child will miss class activities yet will be responsible to make up missed work.

Family Trips During Assessment Windows

As we have done in the past, family trips taken during assessment windows will be marked as Unexcused. This is because the data collected during these assessments informs our practice and supports your child’s learning. Naturally, our preference is for families to travel during vacation periods outlined by the ISD.

If your family needs to travel outside of those windows, please be aware of two things:

  1. Absences during assessment windows are marked as unexcused
  2. Per State law:
  • 5 or more  unexcused absences in a month require a letter and a truancy petition to be filed with the courts.
  • 10 or more  unexcused absences in a year require a letter and a truancy petition to be filed with the courts.

Things to note:

  • Any absence is marked unexcused if you do not notify us prior to the absence.
  • A child arriving 2 hours or more after the start of the day is considered an absence rather than a tardy.
  • Pre-Arranged Absence Request forms are due to the office at least one week BEFORE the first day of the absence. Forms received outside of that window may not be received in time for processing and could result in an unexcused absence.
  • Pre-Arranged Absence Request forms may not be completed retroactively.  
  • Pre-Arranged Absence Request forms are available above or hard copies are available in the office.
  • Absences are not approved during any of the testing windows. (This includes the HiCap testing windows for the district. These tests cannot be made up.)

Check a Child Calls

If your child is absent and we have been notified in advance, you should not receive an automated call from the ISD. We refer to these calls as "Check a Child". Teachers strive to accurately report absences by 9:30 each morning and the office staff works to enter all phone calls/emails as soon as possible in order to send out the Check a Child calls. Occasionally, students arrive late or we receive an email/call late and students are marked absent inadvertently which results in a Check a Child call being sent unnecessarily. We appreciate your patience when this happens. Our goal is to know the whereabouts of all of our students.  Please call the office if you receive a call and believe your child is in school and we will make sure they are where they are supposed to be!