Absences
Attendance Office : (360) 596-3003
What is Good attendance?
Going to school on time, every day, is important! Consistent attendance will help children do well in school, college, and work. Good attendance is missing no more than 1 day of school a month, whether excused or unexcused.
Why is Important?
When attendance is good, students do well in school! Regular attendance ensures that students stay on track for graduation
When do absences become a problem?
Satisfactory: 9 or fewer absences means your student can keep up and keep learning!
Warning Signs: 10 to 17 absences in a school year mean your student will miss a lot and struggle to keep up!
Chronic Absence: 18 or more days in a year (2 days a month) is enough to warrant a meeting with the student and your family to discuss any challenges that we may help overcome.
To Excuse a student:
A parent or guardian must call the attendance office to excuse a student’s absence or late arrival to school. Calls must be received within 48 hours of a student’s absence or tardy. The voice mail is available at any time of day to leave a message.
Please call the morning of the absence to avoid receiving the district’s absence notifications.
Attendance Office : (360) 596-3003
When arriving at voicemail, please speak clearly and include the following information in your message:
-Student name (please spell last name)
-Parent or guardian name
-Reason for the absence/Specific type of appointment (it will not be excused without a reason)
-A phone number where the parent or guardian can be reached
Removing your student during the day for an appointment
Advanced notification to the attendance office saves disruption to the teachers, students and staff in trying to locate the student on short notice.
● It is very important to understand that a parent/guardian must call AND the student must sign out/back in with the attendance office.
● PLEASE CALL the attendance office ahead of time to arrange those details.
● State your student’s name, spelling the last name.
● State the type of appointment: Doctor, Dentist, Legal, Professional etc….
● State the time your student needs to leave or approximate time your student will be arriving at school.
The office will send a reminder note to students in class. Your student should tell their teacher at the beginning of class what time they need to leave. Your student then goes to the attendance office to SIGN OUT. The attendance office confirms that the student has prior permission to leave campus.
Acceptable Reasons for an Excused Absence
1. Participation in a district or school approved activity or program.
2. Illness, health condition or medical appointment (including but not limited to medical counseling, dental or optometry.
3. Family emergencies (death or illness in the family).
4. Religious or cultural purposes including observance or participation in a religious or cultural holiday or religious instruction.
5. Court or judicial proceedings.
6. Post-secondary, technical school or apprenticeship program visitation or scholarship interview.
7. State-recognized search and rescue activities consistent with RCW 28A,225,055.
8. Absence resulting from a disciplinary/corrective action. (Short-term or long-term suspension, emergency expulsion.)
9. Absence directly related to the student’s homeless status.
10. Principal (or designees) and parent, guardian or emancipated youth mutually agree upon approved activity.
11. Mental Health
Extended leave of absence
If your child is going to be absent for an extended period of time (three or more days), we ask that you get the absence pre-approved using this Extended Absence Form. Signatures are required by our principal, classroom teachers and parent/guardian.
Excessive Excused Absences
Excessive excused absences may result in a doctor's note being required to excuse all absences (see Becca, below).
BECCA
Students ages 8-18 are required by law to attend school regularly. Court petitions must be filled on a student when they have reached 7 absences in a month, 10 unexcused absences in a year, or 20 excused absences in a year. We will work with these families and students to address hurdles to consistent attendance.
More Information About Attendance