Attendance is essential to school success, but too often students, parents and schools do not realize how quickly absences - excused or unexcused - can add up to academic trouble. Improving student attendance is essential and a highly effective way for ensuring our students are on-track to learn and succeed.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Students should miss no more than 9 days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track to graduation.
- Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
- By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three warning signs that a student may drop out of high school.
- By 9th grade, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
- Missing 10 percent or about 18 days of the school year can drastically affect a student’s academic success.
- Students can be chronically absent even if the only miss a day or two every few weeks.
- Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child graduate from college and keep a job.
NEW STATE LAW REGARDING UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
Page County Public Schools are required to comply with the following:
5 Unexcused Absences : Meet with school administration and develop an Attendance Improvement Plan
6 Unexcused Absences: Meet with school administration and review and/or revise Attendance Improvement Plan
7 Unexcused Absences: File a criminal charge against parent for contributing to the delinquency of a minor OR file a Child in Need of Supervision (CHINS) petition on the student with Page County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
ACCEPTABLE EXCUSED ABSENCES
Examples of an excused absence may include, but are not limited to, the following reasons: funeral, illness (including mental health and substance abuse illnesses), injury, legal obligations, medical procedures, suspensions, religious observances, military obligation, field trips and school-related activities, extenuating circumstances determined by the school administration.
Students who are absent must bring a note within three days of their absence stating reason(s) for their absence. If this does not happen, the absence may be considered unexcused, despite the reason.