Attendance
Good Attendance is Vital to Your Student's Success
Call in your student’s absences promptly! Parents have 48 hours to clear absences.
Call the 24-hour attendance message line:
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805-378-6302: ext. #5185 or |
It’s the law!
California State compulsory education law requires students between ages 6-18 to attend school punctually and regularly. As the parent or guardian you must notify the school when your child is absent and give the reason for the absence. Valid excuses are primarily limited to the student’s illness or other medical-related reasons. Student absences that are not cleared within 48 hours of the absence will be marked as unexcused - regardless of the reason.
You must call in to excuse EACH day of your child’s absence. If your child is sick for three days, for example, and you call in on the first and second day but neglect to call on the third, that third day will be marked as unexcused. However, if you know ahead of time that your child will be out for several days you may excuse them all at once so long as you specify exactly the days you wish to excuse.
Avoid truancies
Students who have accrued three unexcused absences in the school year will be declared truant. Family trips and absences for personal business will be marked as unexcused and will be counted towards truancy. While some unexcused absences, such as for family emergencies, may be unavoidable, please try to schedule “personal” days when school is not in session if possible.
Habitual truants and their families may be referred to the School Attendance Review Board (S.A.R.B.) and may be subject to fines and/or other legal action.
Help is available
You now have several tools to help you keep on top of your student(s)’ attendance. The district-wide dialer system will call you each day your child has been marked absent, even if it is for just one period. Be alert for these messages. It may be annoying to get “the call” when you know your child was in school but it lets you know that at least one teacher marked your child absent. Call the office to help determine the reason or to correct the error.
You are also encouraged to access pertinent student information via the on-line Q Parent Connection. Use it to view your child’s up-to-date attendance records as well as grades and other personal information on the Parent Connection website. Please be aware that absences may take up to 24 hours to be corrected after you have called in an excuse.
Contact us
Remember, clear student absences within 48 hours of the absence. The preferred method is to call the 24-hour attendance line:
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805-378-6302: ext. #5185 or |
You may also call the Chaparral main office directly (business hours: 8-4:30) to report tardies, request homework on the 3rd day of absence, or to speak directly to the attendance office. 805-378-6302
Refer to your child’s agenda book for detailed attendance policies.
Protect Our School's Funding
Good attendance is not only very important to your child’s success at school, but it is also vital in ensuring that our district receives the funding needed to provide the level of services we expect from our schools. All-day absences from school (whether excused or not) reduce the funding that our district receives from the state. What can you do to help?
- Keep your truly sick child home to recover and to reduce infection to others.
- Plan family trips and excursions to coincide with school holidays if possible.
- If you must schedule medical appointments during the school day, allow your child to attend classes before or after the appointment, if possible. Partial-day absences count for full-day funding.
Click the image above to read more about the importance of daily school attendance
CALL DAY OR NIGHT
805-378-6302
ext. #5185
or email:
CMSAttendance@mrpk.org