The research is overwhelming. School attendance significantly impacts student performance.
It is our hope that you have planned and organized so that school is a number-one priority in your family. Make carpooling arrangements, plan trips for holidays and vacations, and have a back-up person available to take your child to school if you are ill or otherwise unable to do so. If you must go out of town have your child sign up for and complete an independent study. This will excuse this absence. Teachers need one week’s notice to prepare materials. A school calendar is attached.
California Education Code excuses personal illness, medical appointments, quarantine, funerals of immediate family members, court appearances, and religious exercises. Additionally, please remember that out of town visits, caring for the sick, or caring for relatives are not excused absences. If we feel that your child is absent for excessive illness (over 10%), we may require a doctor’s note for every absence. Please also note that leaving school early more than 30 minutes without a valid excuse can contribute to truancy.
Be mindful that a student is considered truant if he/she is absent from school without a valid excuse either:
1. For three full days; or
2. Tardy more than 30 minutes three times; or
3. Any combination of three (full school days or over 30 minutes late.) – Education Code 48260
When a student is absent from school for any reason, the parent must notify the school. A note, phone call or email stating the reason for the absence on or before the return day is preferred. Absences and tardies should be cleared within a week from the last consecutive day of absence, otherwise the student will be considered truant. Truants will be subject to the provisions of California Education Code Section 48260, which states: “Any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation education who is absent from school without valid excuse on three occasions or tardy for more than 30 minutes in a school day on three occasions in one school year is a truant and will be reported to the attendance supervisor or the superintendent of the school district.” Communication is key. Please communicate effectively in the prescribed manner with your child’s teacher or the attendance office when your child is absent or tardy.
After being declared a truant (3 days unexcused), all absences will be considered unexcused. Under state funding guidelines, it is fraudulent for a parent to falsely excuse a student’s absence or tardiness. Parents will receive an automated call when their student has an unexcused absence. After being declared a truant, a second truancy letter will be sent after one or more additional unexcused absences. A conference will be scheduled at this time. If the student’s attendance still does not improve, you and your student will be referred to the West County School Attendance Review Board and then, possibly, to the District Attorney and Court System.
We at Forestville School and Academy work very hard to ensure that your child receives the best education possible. We cannot do that if your child is not in school—on time, every day, when she or he is healthy. Please help us to provide your child with the outstanding education she or he deserves.