School attendance is an important part of student success at The Main Street Academy (TMSA). Being present and on time allows students to fully participate in classroom instruction, learning activities, and the school community. TMSA asks families to make attendance a priority and to communicate with the school when a student must be absent.
Reporting an Absence
If a student will be absent, TMSA should be notified immediately, either in advance or within five (5) days of the absence. Families should report absences via email to [email protected] and include the following details with the email notifications
- Student Name
- Student FCS ID Number (lunch number)
- Parent/Guardian Name
- Parent/Guardian Email & Phone Number
- Reason for excuse
- After three (3) consecutive ill/sick absences, a doctor’s note may be required
- After 10 late arrivals or early checkouts, a doctor’s note may be required
- Preapproval of absences due to family events or other reasons must be sent 5 days in advance
- Any student who accumulates seven (7) or more days of absence for any reason (this excludes days accumulated during an Assigned Remote designation
What Counts as an Excused Absence?
The following are excused absences:
- Personal illness or when attendance in school would be detrimental to the health of the student or others
- A serious illness in the student’s immediate family necessitating absence from school
- A death in the student’s family necessitating absence from school
- Students are excused for up to 4 days due to the death of an immediate family member
- Students are excused for up to 2 days due to the death of a non-immediate family member
- Observance of religious holidays necessitating absence from school
- Compliance with a court order or an order issued by a governmental agency mandating an absence from school
- Visitation with an immediate family member who is on leave from or is being deployed to military service
- Important family events/celebrations for an immediate family member (graduation, wedding, religious ceremony, etc.)
- Compliance with an order for a pre-induction physical examination for service in the armed forces
- A specialized, supplemental, or extracurricular program/event
- Other absences pre-approved by the principal
The Importance of Being On Time
Attendance is more than simply being present at school. Being on time matters, too.
Tardy Policy
Students are expected to demonstrate a commitment to on-time school attendance. Unexcused tardiness is interrupts classroom learning for both the tardy student and the other students in the class.
What is a unexcused tardy?
An unexcused tardy is defined as the student not being in his or her classroom at the start of the school day without a valid, documented excuse.
If a student accumulates more than three unexcused tardies in a school year, the student is considered chronically tardy. This may result in the following corrective actions: warning; counseling; detention; family/school meeting; or an attendance contract. If chronic tardiness continues after the first corrective action is taken, resulting in three or more additional tardies, TMSA may take additional action, including but not limited to suspension or expulsion of the student.
Plan Ahead for Early Dismissals
TMSA encourages families to make every effort to follow regular dismissal procedures.
No student may be picked up for early afternoon dismissal after 2:00 p.m. Parents attempting to have a student dismissed between 2:00 and 3:30 p.m. will be referred to the carline for regular dismissal.
When an early dismissal is necessary, parents must call the school at least one hour in advance or send a note with their child. Only authorized adults listed in the school’s records may pick up a student, and all adults must be prepared to present valid identification.
For complete attendance guidelines, families can visit the TMSA Student Attendance webpage.