Attendance
Student absenteeism can significantly affect a child’s learning and achievement. Regular school attendance is highly correlated with student success and achievement. Therefore, we strongly encourage students to attend school on time each day and remain in school for the entire day.
Students are marked tardy after 9:15 am. Students who arrive tardy to school must be accompanied into the front office by a parent/guardian to sign the student in and provide a reason for being tardy. Early checkouts are also part of a student’s attendance record.
If your child must be absent from school, please:
- notify the school between 8:15-9:15 the morning of the absence.
- provide a written excuse to the teacher on the day your child returns from an absence.
Please make every effort to schedule doctor, dentist and other appointments before or after school hours to ensure your child’s regular attendance.
Student Attendance Policy
Student attendance is a cooperative effort among schools, parents, and students. To achieve optimum learning, good attendance by students K-12 is crucial. Tardies (check-ins) and early dismissals (checkouts) are disruptive to the instructional time of the entire class. Each parent or guardian is responsible for the student’s regular and punctual attendance.
Virginia Standards of Accreditation
Starting in the 2018-19 school year, part of your school’s accreditation with the State of Virginia is tied to attendance, regardless of reason. This is called chronic absenteeism, which includes all absences (excused and unexcused). MCPS codes absences as excused or unexcused.
Examples of excused absences include (for a full explanation see MCPS policy 7-2.3)
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court appearance
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death in the family
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religious holidays
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college visit or work based learning opportunity
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Illness
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doctor/dental appointments
The Code of Virginia requires MCPS address unexcused absences by (for a full explanation see Virginia Code 22.1-258):
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contacting parents
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developing attendance plan
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holding attendance conferences
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involving the court system if all interventions are unsuccessful
We ask that you join with us to help our students form good habits such as:
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Getting plenty of sleep
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Eating a good breakfast (either at home or at school)
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Encouraging good study habits so that students are on time and ready to learn
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Seeking additional support if needed
The policy regarding Attendance is available online via our BoardDocs system. Use the drop-down boxes on the left-hand side to navigate to Policy 7-2.3.
AUTOMATED MESSAGE SYSTEM/SCHOOL MESSENGER
Montgomery County Public Schools and Gilbert Linkous Elementary School will utilize Blackboard, an automated phone/email system, to assist in mass communication about school related events. It is important for the main office to have accurate phone numbers and email addresses to effectively use this system. If you are not receiving information, please contact the main office.