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Attendance & Independent Study

Welcome to the 2023-2024 School Year!

  • Attendance Foto

Positive attendance is essential to student achievement and graduation, and we are committed to dedicating our resources and attention to reducing chronic absenteeism rates with a focus starting as early as Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten.

A student is chronically absent when they have missed 10% or more of school for any reason including excused and unexcused absences.  Chronic absenteeism is a proven indicator of academic trouble and dropout rates.

The impact of chronic absences hits students in low-income communities particularly hard if they do not have the resources to make up for lost time in the classroom and are more likely to face systemic barriers to getting to school.

Attendance gaps among groups of students often turn into achievement gaps that undermine student success.  Chronic absence particularly exacerbates the achievement gap that separates students in low-income communities from their peers, since students from low-income communities are both more likely to be chronically absent and more likely to be affected academically by missing school.

All students, even those who show up regularly, are affected by chronic absence because teachers must spend time reviewing for students who missed lessons.

Chronic absenteeism can be significantly reduced when schools, families and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles that keep children from getting to school.  The Alvord Unified School District is committed to focusing on reducing chronic absenteeism, to give all children an equitable opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive academically, emotionally and socially.

FAQ's

Attendance Intervention Process

Attendance Strategies

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FAQ’s, Interventions and Strategies Information

  • We hope you all had a terrific summer and are ready for another successful year her in Alvord Unified School District. In order to ensure your child’s success we would like to remind all parents of our district’s attendance policy.

     

    • How long do I have to clear an absence? Don’t forget to call your school and clear your student’s absence. Parents have 3 days from the day of the absence to clear it. We encourage all parents to call even if it is past the 3 days.
    • What is an unexcused absence? Any full day absence or 30 minutes or more tardy or absence that is not excused per Education Code 48205 is an unexcused absence.
    • What is a Truant Student? A student missing more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three times during the school year is classified as truant.
    • Who do I contact if I have attendance questions? Please contact your schools’ attendance clerk.
    • Why is school attendance important? The student will have better grades, develop healthy life hacks, is more likely to avoid dangerous situations, and has a better chance of graduating from high school.

  • At three absences, truancy letters are mailed out to the parents. School sites may opt to invite parents to a School Attendance Review Team (SART) meeting at the school site. This meeting often occurs when a student accumulated between 3-5 unexcused absences. The SART team is designed to help inform parents about attendance issues and create an attendance support plan that included intervention and support. If unexcused absences continue after the SART meeting, then there will be a district level, School Attendance Review Board (SARB) meeting in another attempt to intervene. After the SARB meeting, if unexcused absences continue, the student and parent(s) will be referred to a District Attorney Mediation (DA Mediation) meeting held at the District Attorney’s office in downtown Riverside.

     

    The Deputy District Attorney then facilitates the legal ramifications during the DA Mediation meeting:

    1) School District Attendance Monitoring

    2) Citation (per parent/per student), the first citation is $500, second citation $1000, and third citation is $2000

    3) Filing of Misdemeanor charges which can result in hours of community service, fines, and/or possible jail time.  

  • 1)  Set Afternoon/Evening Routine

    • Homework Complete, Shower/Bath, Lay Clothes Out
    • Set Bedtime/Enough Sleep(No Cellphone)

    2)  Set Morning Routine

    • Alarm, Grooming(Hair/Teeth), Get Dressed
    • Get to School when Campus opens- FREE BREAKFAST

    3)  Create Transportation Back Up Plans for Various Situation:

                 a) Bad Weather

    b) Car Problems

    c) Driver is sick

    4)  Help your child develop a positive attitude about school, learning and encourage them to participate in school and activities.

    5)  Teach benefits of good attendance and consequences of poor attendance. Research shows a correlation with student success that relates to their Kindergarten attendance.

    6)  Communicate with the school site regarding, all absences right away the morning of the absences.

    7)  Talk openly with your children about their feelings about returning to school. 

    8)  Take a breath and enjoy the new year!! We missed you and are so glad you are back!