Attendance and Absences

  • Regular, daily attendance is a critical part of your child's success in school. You can assist your child by making sure s/he comes to school on time, every day, and stays for the full day. Please note that any absence -- excused, unexcused, tardy, or early dismissal -- impacts your child's learning and attendance record. Let's work together to get the most out of your child's education by avoiding absences and tardiness.
     
    Notify your child's teacher directly via email/note each morning if your child will be absent/tardy explaining their absence. For excused tardies due to a medical appointment, proof/official documentation from that medical office is required.

     

    Please contact our Data Manager, Joyce Baginski, at jbaginski@wcpss.net regarding information on your child's attendance record, WCPSS Attendance Policy, or Compulsory Attendance Law.
     
    Thank you for your continued support in your child's elementary school success.

     

  • Your child’s success starts with showing up.

    Coming to school every day, ready to learn, builds strong habits and supports academic growth. By law, children ages 7–16 must attend school regularly.

    Excused absences

    Your child’s absence may be excused for:

    • Illness or injury

    • A death in the family

    • Health care appointments

    • Court appearances

    • Religious observances

    • Natural disasters

    • Educational opportunities (requires advance approval)

    To request an excused absence for an educational reason, complete one of these forms before the absence:

    Unexcused absences

    Please send a written or digital note within two days of your child returning to school. Without a note, the absence will be marked unexcused.

    If your child has three or more unexcused absences, your school will contact you to discuss ways to support regular attendance.

    Making up work

    Students are responsible for completing all missed work. Teachers will share schedules and expectations for making up assignments.

    Learn more

    For details, read School Board Policy 4400: Attendance.

     

Tardies and Early Checkout

  • Check students in and out through the office. Arrival after 12:30 or dismissal before 12:30 will be counted as an absence for the day.

    Please notify the classroom teacher in writing if your child is being dismissed prior to the close of the instructional day for medical or dental appointments. There will be no early dismissals after 3:15 in the afternoon to minimize classroom interruptions at the end of the day. We are prohibited from allowing students to leave campus prior to the end of the school day unless accompanied by their parents or the parents’ designee. If you wish to have your child ride home with another parent, a note to that effect must be sent in or on file in your student's folder.

    In an effort to provide a safe and correct way home for all students, all transportation changes must be in writing to the teacher/school.