Attendance matters. All day. Every day.
Students benefit in many ways from being in school: in their academic growth, in their social-emotional growth, and in the supportive relationships they build with their peers, teachers and other staff members.
Attendance matters in a student's success starting as early as kindergarten. Missing even two days every month – chronic absence – causes students to fall behind. By sixth grade, chronic absence is a leading predictor that a student will drop out of high school. By ninth grade, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than eighth-grade test scores.
The City School District of Albany is committed to working with families and community partners to remove barriers to good attendance.
The district follows state law, which requires a parent or guardian to give the school a written excuse for every absence or late arrival. The excuse must be signed and dated by a child’s parent or legal guardian, and include the dates and reasons for the absence or lateness.
A child’s absence or late arrival is excused in the following circumstances:
- Student illness or family illness or death
- Unsafe travel conditions
- Religious observances
- Medical appointments
- Required court appearances
- Participation in a school-sponsored activity
- Approved college visits
- Approved work programs
- Academic enrichment
Absences and late arrivals are tracked every day in every school. In elementary schools, teachers and/or staff people take attendance once a day. At Albany High School and in middle school, attendance is taken every period. Each school has a committee responsible for monitoring overall attendance; that committee also is responsible for identifying specific students who frequently miss or are late to school.
If a school identifies a student with an attendance problem, the school may use one of the following strategies to address the issue:
- Loss of extracurricular privileges
- School detention
- Mandatory school meeting with and parent and/or guardian
- Alternative education placement
- District attendance officer referral
- Person in Need of Supervision (PINS) report filed
- Child Protective Services report filed against parents/guardian for educational neglect
- Family court referral
Make school attendance a priority
- Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day.
- Help your children maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.
- Try not to schedule dental and non-urgent related medical appointments during the school day.
- Keep your student healthy, and if you are concerned about Covid-19, call your school for advice.
- If your children must stay home because they are sick, make sure they have asked teachers for resources and materials to make up for the missed learning time in the classroom.
Help your teen stay engaged
- Find out if your children feel engaged by their classes, and feel safe from bullies and other threats.
- Make sure your teens are not missing class because of challenges with behavioral issues or school discipline policies. If any of these are problems, contact the school and work with them to find a solution.
- Monitor your teen’s academic progress and seek help from teachers or tutors when necessary. Make sure teachers know how to contact you.
- Stay on top of your child’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.
- Encourage your child to join meaningful after-school activities, including sports and clubs.
- Notice and support your students if they are showing signs of anxiety.
Communicate with the school
- Know the school’s attendance policy – incentives and penalties.
- Check on your child’s attendance to be sure absences are not adding up.
- Seek help from school staff, other parents, or community agencies if you need support.
- Visit Attendance Works at www.attendanceworks.org for free downloadable resources and tools
