Attendance Information, Facts and Tips

It is a known fact that missing just 10% of a school year in the early grades can leave students behind and struggling academically. By 6^th grade, missing that much school is strongly linked to course failure and even dropping out of high school. School attendance is essential to academic success. We urge you to make sure your child gets to school every day.

Here are some attendance facts and tips you may find useful:

Did you know that…..

• Every weekday thousands of parents are faced with the dilemma: Is my child sick, or is that stomachache an excuse for staying home from school?
• Most complaints of “not feeling well” are not serious enough to justify an absence from school.
• The “night before rule” serves as a guideline for parents: If the student was not sick the night before, and shows no outward signs of illness, send him/her to school.
• When a student has chronic complaints that disappear on weekends, holidays or after school, usually nothing physical is to blame.
• Hand washing is the single way to prevent the spread of cold germs.
• A temperature of 99 degrees is not a fever, and a child may go to school.
• A mild headache or a lingering cough, can be treated with acetaminophen, and a child can go to school.
• A stomachache does not justify a school absence unless accompanied by diarrhea, vomiting or fever.
• Head lice are a nuisance and require exclusion from school and treatment. With treatment a child can return within two days.
• An ear infection is not contagious and a student may be in school once antibiotic treatment has been started.
• Runny noses last a long time in small children, but are not enough of a problem to remain out of school. - A residual cough from a cold does not require a student to remain home.
• Chicken Pox last 7-10 days and students may return as soon as all of the lesions are crusted and dry. A vaccine is available to prevent Chicken Pox.
• Students with “Pink Eye” are infectious and should be excluded from school until treated by a doctor and eye drainage has subsided. (Approximately 48 hours). Students may return to school once a clearance from the district nurse has been obtained.
• Students with conditions such as Impetigo and Ringworm are infectious. Students can return to school when treatment is started or when lesions can be covered.
• Anxiety and stress may cause physical pain. Reassure the child and send him/her to school anyway.
• A student who stays home with minor or non-existent symptoms should find home boring and not fun. Impose rules that include no television, no videos, no friends over, and no running around.
• Parents should teach their students to cope with minor illness or face anxieties rather than avoid school.
• Parents are the best resources to help students stay well.

   

  Please refer to the attendance tab under policies and procedures for parent responsibilities related to attendance.