Absences & Late Arrivals
If your child will be absent or late, please notify us by 8:30 am (or as soon as possible).
We have two notification methods to choose from:
1. Send an email to [email protected] (preferred method) - OR -
2. Call the school at 508-358-3801, Select Option 1
Be sure to indicate your child's first and last name, grade, and the date(s) your child will be absent or tardy. We do call home to confirm any unreported absences ~ we appreciate your cooperation with this policy.
Early Dismissals for Appointments Etc.
If you need to have your child dismissed from school early, please:
1. Have your child to bring a written note to the front office upon arriving to school. The note should indicate the time you would like your child to be ready to be picked up.
2. Your child will be given a dismissal pass to give to the teacher that he/she will be with at the time you have indicated you would like to pick them up.
3. At the indicated time your child will leave class and then come to the office to check-out and meet you outside.
With this process, there is no need for you to come into the building to sign-out your child. If you are unable to send a note in with your child, you will need to come into the school office to sign a dismissal slip.
STUDENT ABSENCES AND EXCUSES- From School Committee
Regular and punctual school attendance is essential for success in school. The Committee recognizes that parents and guardians of children attending our schools have special responsibilities, one of which is to ensure that their children attend school regularly in accordance with state law.
Therefore, students may be excused temporarily from school attendance for the following reasons:
- Illness or quarantine and medical appointments
- Bereavement or serious illness in family
- Weather so inclement as to endanger the health of the child
- Observance of religious holidays
- Approved school-related activity
A student may also be excused for other exceptional reasons with approval of the school administrator.
A student's understanding of the importance of day-to-day schoolwork is an important factor in the shaping of his/her character. Parents and guardians can help their children by refusing to allow them to miss school needlessly.
Accordingly, parents/guardians will provide an explanation for the absence or tardiness of a child. This will be required in advance for types of absences where advance notice is possible. Teachers are not required to provide assignments in advance for known absences, unless otherwise agreed upon with the family or by a student’s 504 or IEP Team.
An absent student shall neither be penalized nor denied an advantage provided to others if their absence is for a School Committee-approved reason. However, if a student is absent due to illness, quarantine, or observance of a religious holiday that extends throughout the entire day, the student will be prevented from participating in sports and other extracurricular activities on the same day as the absence.
In instances of chronic or irregular absence reportedly due to illness or disability, the school administration may request a physician's statement certifying such absences to be warranted.
If a student will be out of school for fourteen or more days due to illness or disability, parents/guardians must provide the school administration with a Physician’s Statement for Home/Hospital tutoring. Where a student is or reportedly will be out for more than sixty (60) days in a school year for these reasons, an IEP Team will be convened to evaluate the student and, assuming that the student is eligible for special education, to propose a new IEP or consider amending an existing IEP.
Depending upon the circumstances, the District may take legal action against students who
willfully fail to attend school for more than eight (8) full days in a quarter or parents/ guardians
who fail to send their children to school for more than seven (7) full days in a semester.
Student Absence Notification Program
Each Principal or designee will notify a student’s parent/guardian within 3 days of the student’s absence in the event the parent/guardian has not informed the school of the absence.
Each Principal or designee shall make a reasonable effort to meet with any student, and that student’s parent/guardian, who has missed five (5) or more unexcused school days (a school day shall be equal to two (2) or more class periods in the same day) in a school year. The meeting shall be to develop action steps to improve student attendance and shall be developed jointly by the Principal or designee, the student, and the student’s parent/guardian. The parties may seek input from other relevant school staff and/or officials from relevant public safety, health and human service, housing, and nonprofit agencies.
SOURCE: MASC October 2014
LEGAL REFS.: M.G.L. 76:1; 76:1B; 76:16; 76:18; 76:20
Approved by the School Committee: May 6, 2020
From the District Attorney's Office
Welcome Back-to-School Letter to Families
Truancy Letter to Families
Truancy & Attendance Information