Students need to be in school every day to stay on track. Teachers’ lesson plans are carefully constructed to introduce new concepts, reinforce them with learning activities, and then move on to new skills and ideas. When children aren’t in school, they fall behind. And the more days they miss, the harder it is to catch up. That’s where parents come in.
Report In. Schools are required to track attendance of every child in every classroom every day. It is essential that you always contact the school if your child is going to be late for class, will need an early dismissal, or will be absent.
Get the Work. When you know ahead of time your child will be missing class, give the teachers plenty of notice so they can provide your child with makeup work to do. Be sure that your child follows through—you’ll need to be his or her “teacher” on those days, so be available to explain concepts or monitor the work. If your child is out unexpectedly, due to illness or other reasons, in addition to contacting the school attendance office, make arrangements with your child’s teachers to pick up a packet of work/ readings from the school. If the absence will be lengthy (e.g., for surgery), alert the teachers as soon as you know and get updated assignments and work packets as the days go on.
Religious Absences. It is inevitable that some families’ important religious observances will fall on school days. Let your children’s teachers know early in the year precisely which days your children will not be attending.
How Sick Is Too Sick? It’s impossible to say categorically when a child should go to school or stay home. However, one typical guideline is that a child is usually fine to attend school if his fever is under 100° and there is no rash, “pink eye,” nausea, or diarrhea. The decision to keep a child home from school is best made between you and your child’s health care provider. If the doctor or nurse recommends that your child stay home, find out exactly how long and on what conditions he or she can return to class.
Vacation Plans. It’s tempting to pull your kids from school for a family trip, but it’s a bad idea. Why? First, it gives your children the impression that their schooling is not your top priority. And when they miss classwork, even if you ask for make-up work to be sent home ahead of time, they can fall behind because they’re missing many hours of instructional time each day. Instead of thinking of how you can miss the crowds by taking trips during the school year, think about what it could be costing your child in the long run.
Check Those Appointments. Schedule your kids’ doctor and dental appointments for after-school or weekend hours unless there’s an emergency. Schedule your children’s twice-yearly dental appointment during winter and summer breaks, and schedule school physicals, immunizations, and other routine care for school holidays or summer break.
Finally, remember to show and tell your child that attendance is important—whether it’s as a child in school or as an adult on the job.
This article is adapted from a piece in the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ journal, Report to Parents.
