Attendance, Tardiness and Absences
Attendance Expectations
School attendance is a critical component in order to ensure that a child is successful at school.
Our students are developing the habits that will shape their future. When students attend school
daily, they will have a better opportunity of having higher student achievement and feel
confident about their work at school. Tennessee law requires children ages six through 17
to attend school. However, if you suspect your child is ill, please communicate with the office and
your child's teacher. If your child is experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19, please
keep them home and monitor their health.
Did You Know?
- Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) increases the chance that your student will not read
or master math at the same level as their peers.
- Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.
- Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
- Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help
children catch up.
- By being present at school, your child learns valuable social skills and has the opportunity
to develop meaningful relationships with other students and school staff.
What We Need From You
We miss your student when they are gone, and we value their contributions to our school. We
would like you to help ensure that your student attends regularly and is successful in school. If
your student is going to be absent, please contact Mrs. Phyllis McCaleb at 615-333-5059. Parent
or guardian absence notes will not be accepted after 5 unexcused absences or 10 excused
absences, regardless of if the absences are consecutive or not. Physician notes will be required for
students after reaching this number of absences.
Our Promise to You
We know that there are a wide variety of reasons that students are absent from school, from health
concerns to transportation challenges. There are many people in our building prepared to help you
if you or your student face challenges in getting to school regularly or on time.
Please contact Mrs. Alex Reyes, our Attendance Assistant, or Ms. Sarah Gedney or Mr. Ken Stegall, our school
counselors, if you face these challenges.
We promise to track attendance daily, to notice when your student is missing from class,
communicate with you to understand why they were absent, and to identify barriers and supports
available to overcome challenges you may face in helping your student attend school.
School Policies and State Laws
It is important that you understand our district policies and procedures, as well as Tennessee State
Law, to ensure your child is successful in school. State law for mandatory attendance requires
children from age 6 to 17 to attend school. A student is considered truant when he or she has
accumulated five or more unexcused absences in a school year. If a student has five unexcused
absences, the principal may make a referral to juvenile court so the court can intervene if school
level interventions have failed. For more information on district attendance policies, please review
our district's Student-Parent Handbook available on the Metro Schools website.
Tardiness
Students are expected to arrive on time for school each day. This means students must be in
their classroom ready to work and learn by 8:00 a.m. Excessive tardiness and early dismissals are documented and may be turned over to our attendance team if deemed necessary. This can lead to an attendance referral.
When students arrive at school after 8:00 a.m. and there are no staff members in the arrival area, the parent/guardian must exit your car and walk your child into the building.
The parent/guardian is responsible for signing your child in as tardy.
Absences
If you know your child will be absent in advance, please communicate that with your child’s teacher. For unplanned absences, please call the office at 615-333-5059 so we can make note of that in our attendance record. For extended periods of illness, we can only accept a doctor’s note to excuse the absences.
For students with 5 unexcused absences or 10 excused absences, we will only excuse absences with a doctor’s note.
What Absences are Counted as Excused Absences?
- Student's personal illness
- Family member's illness that requires the student's temporary help
- Death in the family (up to three days)
- Deployment of a parent or guardian serving in the military (one day for deployment,
one day for return, and up to 10 days when the service member is on temporary leave at home)
- Head lice (up to three days per infestation)
- Recognized religious holidays regularly observed by persons of the child's faith
- Court appearance or legally mandated meetings
- Documented college visitations (up to three days per year for juniors and seniors)
- A principal may allow the following circumstances to be considered an excused absence if
the parent or guardian submits a written request:
- Unexpected emergencies such as car problems
- Job interview or conference
- Doctor or dental appointments
- Other circumstances requested in writing by the parent or guardian that the
principal considers requiring a child's absence
- Absences for vacations or family trips are not excused, however, we do understand our
children are only little for a short time. While these trips are unexcused, family trips and
memories with our children are meaningful. We will work alongside you and your child in
a reasonable manner to fulfill our state and district mandates if you will please let us
know of these trips in advance and your child has a positive attendance record.
Communication for Absences
When students are absent, parents receive an automated phone call notifying them of the
absence. Due to this being an automated system, there can be mistakes. If you should receive a
call you believe to be in error, please let us know. Likewise, we cannot turn these calls off when
we are aware of the absence in advance.
When students have three absences, the teacher will call the parent or guardian. At five absences,
our school counselors will contact families. For five unexcused absences, Mrs. Reyes will send home
a five-day unexcused letter. At seven absences, school or MNPS personnel will call or conduct a home
visit with the parent or guardian and create an attendance plan. For ten unexcused absences, the MNPS
attendance officer will become involved.
What You Can Do
- Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
- Prepare for school the night before, finishing homework and getting a good night's sleep.
- Find out what day school starts and make sure your child has the required immunizations.
- Don't let your student stay home unless they are truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of a
stomachache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
- Likewise, be aware of the COVID-19 symptoms and keep your child home if they are
exhibiting any of those.
- When possible, avoid appointments and extended trips when school is in session.
- Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family
member, a neighbor, or another parent.
- Keep track of your student's attendance through the Campus Parent Portal.
- Talk to your child(ren) about the importance of attendance.
- Talk to your child's teacher if you notice sudden changes in behavior. Sudden changes in
behavior can be indicative of stress, abuse, or other traumatic experiences.
Illness
Keeping Our Schools Safe and Healthy
Your child’s health and well-being are our top priority. To ensure we maintain a healthy environment for all our students, we ask for your cooperation in following these guidelines:
If your child shows any of these symptoms, please keep them home:
- Fever over 100.4°F without fever-reducing medication
- New loss of taste or smell
- Vomiting, chills, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
- Diarrhea or a rash covering the body
To return to school, your child must be symptom-free and fever-free for 24 hours without medication. If symptoms persist, you will be contacted to pick up your child.
Head Lice
If your child is found to have live head lice, they will need to go home at the end of the day. Please follow the treatment guidelines provided, and your child may return once treated and cleared by a healthcare provider. We allow up to 3 days for absences due to lice.
Strep Throat
Students diagnosed with strep throat may return to school after 12 hours of antibiotics and when they have been fever-free for 24 hours without medication.
COVID Protocols
If you would like your child to wear a mask, please send them to school with two: one to wear while entering the building, and a spare for their backpack. If you prefer, let the teacher know, and extra masks will be available.
School nurses are available to test students showing COVID symptoms or who have been exposed. Please refer to the Student-Parent Handbook on our website for permission forms and more details.
Virtual Learning for Illness
If your child is sent home with COVID symptoms, they will need to access assignments on Schoology. Live classes will not be available virtually this year, but all assignments will be posted weekly.
For the latest COVID updates and protocols, please visit the MNPS website or contact your school nurse.
Inclement Weather Days
In the event of early dismissal or school closures due to weather, updates will be shared via local media, including radio, TV, and social media. Please do not call the school office during these times, as phone lines should remain open for emergencies. Be sure to review your child’s emergency plan with them, and notify teachers of your preferred plan for early dismissal.
Thank you for helping us keep our school community safe and healthy.