Daily Attendance Matters!
Please call 619-560-4809 to report an absence
Students are expected to attend school every day. Children who miss school miss out on opportunities to learn, build lasting friendships, and develop the skills and attitudes needed to become good citizens and valued employees. There is a clear connection between student attendance and student performance in school. This is especially true for English Learners in terms of their gains on the English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics portions of the California Standards Tests (CST).
Student absences also affect school budgets. Schools and school districts get a significant amount of their funding based upon the number of students who actually attend school each day. This is called Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Potential losses in ADA revenue affect all students because they can lead to budget cuts affecting a variety of programs, as well as individual schools. To learn more, visit the district's Calculating ADA page.
Absences - When a student is absent, the student's parent/guardian must call or send a note to the Attendance Office. The district's Connect-Ed system will make automated phone calls and send automated emails when students are absent or tardy. Please be sure to have your correct contact information on file with the Attendance Office.
Excessive Absences - Students who have excessive absences may enter in to a process called Student Attendance Review Board (S.A.R.B.), which may lead to court intervention if absences continue to be a problem.
Excused Absences - The State of California only excuses certain types of absences, which include illness, doctor or dentist appointments, injury or personal/family emergencies. For details regarding district and state attendance policies, please check the district's website at www.sandi.net.
Doctor's Appointments, Early Dismissal - A parent/guardian must request an early dismissal for a student by phone call or note to the Attendance Office - not the child's teacher. Please call as soon as possible. It may take up to 15 minutes to retrieve the student from a classroom, especially PE class. Any student leaving campus early without a blue release slip is considered truant.
Extended Absences/Contracts - If your child is going to be absent for 5 or more days, please contact the attendance office at least 5 days in advance so that teachers can prepare a homework packet for your student. Students are required to have homework completed and submitted to their teachers upon return to school in order to receive credit. Late notifications will not guarantee homework.
Letters for Excessive Absences - The district has a set schedule of when letters are mailed home regarding absences they consider to be more than normal. Please view your child's attendance record through your Parent Connection account or call the Attendance Office if you have a question.
Tardies and Truancies - If a student is tardy or truant, he/she will receive lunch detention. In an effort to notify parents in a timely manner, the school reports tardies via an automated phone call to phone numbers on file.
Tardy Sweep - Unannounced sweeps will take place during the school year. During a tardy sweep, teachers are instructed to close their doors when the bell rings and send students who are tardy to the auditorium. All students who are tardy to school on the day of a tardy sweep may be issued lunch detention or after school detention.