Dear Families,
In an effort to improve student achievement and provide students with the highest quality education, we are synergizing to Make Every Minute Count. Every minute in school is important, and a minute out of school is a missed opportunity for learning. Students who are chronically absent, tardy, or picked-up early miss out on important learning, and also interrupt the learning of their classmates.
If we are able to reduce the number of unexcused tardies, absences, and early pick-ups from school, we will be helping to build positive habits for our children while increasing the learning of all students.
Unexcused Tardies: We are asking our families to plan accordingly when dropping off children at the start of the school day as we know that our parking lot can get congested the closer it gets to the 8:45 morning bell. We believe that leaving for school just 5 minutes earlier, will allow for 100% on-time behavior. Research indicates that there is a correlation between tardiness in school and tardiness in the work place. Additionally, there is a correlation between tardiness and poor performance in school.
Unexcused Absences: When children are sick, it is important to stay home and help the body recover quickly so that children can return to school as soon as they are feeling better. Unexcused absences result when children are out of school without cause, i.e. when they spend the day at Disneyland.
Early Pick-Ups from School: Sometimes appointments have to be scheduled within the school day, we are hoping that when scheduling these appointments, care is taken to avoid conflicts with the school day to the greatest extent possible. If you have a standing appointment for your child (i.e. physical therapy) that requires a regular early pick-up and that cannot be changed, please bring in a doctor’s note to verify.
- This year there will be no student check out during the last 20 minutes of the school day. We know this will help to maintain consistency in our school day, and help the office to run more efficiently. Please plan accordingly.
- Students who have zero unexcused tardies, unexcused absences, and early pick-ups from school will be entered into a drawing each semester.
We hope that you will embrace the importance of your child’s attendance at school to include drop off and pick up within school hours, which will contribute to greater learning for all of our children.