Please remember to call the attendance hotline each day your student is absent from school.
If your child is absent from school, it is necessary for a parent/guardian to call the office via the Attendance Hot Line (858) 485-0042 x4202. Please leave the following information:
- Student’s name and grade
- Teacher's name
- Day(s) and date(s) of absence
- Reason for absence
- Expected date of return
This is one way we can insure that your child is safe and that attendance does not become a problem. If the absence is for five (5) days or more, a doctor’s statement, in addition to the parent’s note will be required. Parents are encouraged to schedule vacations and trips during non-school days. We also encourage parents to utilize the afternoon of the minimum day, Wednesday, to make doctor and dental appointments when possible. To help us keep classroom interruptions to a minimum, parents are asked to communicate after school plans with their children before they come to school.
When your child has a medical appointment, please send a note to the office. This will be documented as an excused absence. If a child has a fever, they must not return to school until they have been fever free for a 24-hour period.
ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES
Because we value every minute available to students for learning, Chaparral Elementary School believes it is very important that students arrive to school on time, and attend school every day unless they are sick, have a doctor’s appointment, or are attending to a family emergency. If children are absent for any reason, their parents need to call our attendance hotline ((858) 485-0042 x4202) each day the child is absent. If the child went to a doctor’s appointment, it is best to bring a note from the doctor’s office for the school files.
Although this happens rarely, students who are absent without a valid excuse three times in one school year are considered truant. When this happens, a truancy letter is sent to the parents and a copy is forwarded to the Poway Unified School District Student Discipline and Attendance Office. If a formal notification is made three times, the student and his or her parents are referred to the District School Attendance Review Board (SARB) which then has the authority to refer the student to the juvenile justice system.
The purpose of this notification is to provide full disclosure about the legal responsibility all parents have to make sure their children attend school on time, every day. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to provide your children with the finest education.
Excessive Absences and Truancies
The law in California regarding compulsory school attendance for minors is very specific and carries penalties for both parents and minors for failure to comply with these regulations. The process is explained below with the purpose of providing full disclosure about the legal responsibility all parents have to make sure their children attend school on time, every day. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to provide your children with the finest education.
Excessive Excused Absences:
12 full-day excused absences in one school year are considered excessive. Parents will receive a letter from the school office as notification. 16 absences will trigger a second letter, and 20 absences will trigger a third letter.
To avoid this process, please try and provide a medical note from your doctor/dentist if your student has a need to miss school for medical reasons. Any absence excused by a medical note does NOT count toward your student’s number of absences.
Truancy:
Three full-day truancies (unexcused absences) in one school year will trigger a letter home. Six truancies will trigger a second letter, and nine will trigger a third letter.
Copies of the above letters are sent to the district’s Student Attendance and Discipline office. Students with truancies or excessive excused absences will be referred to a Student Attendance Review Team. This team is comprised of Poway Unified School District personnel and works with the student and parents to eliminate attendance problems and issues appropriate disciplinary measures.
ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL
- Students should not arrive at school in the morning before 8:20 a.m. (no adult supervision)
- Students may not go through the halls.
- Students should take all books and other items with them to the playground, not to their classroom.
- Students should put their belongings on their classroom line up area. School begins promptly at 8:45 a.m.
- Students are expected to be in their seats ready to learn at this time.
- Students arriving after the 8:45 a.m. tardy bell, must come to the office for a late slip before going to class.
If it is raining when students arrive at school, they go directly to the MPR.
DURING SCHOOL
Once students arrive at school, they may not leave the campus or playground during school hours without permission from the office. Students must be checked out in the office by a parent or guardian.
During school, students are asked to:
- walk quietly through the halls so
- not to disturb classes at work.
- not to “cut-through” the library to come out another door.
- not to bounce balls in the halls or against the walls of the school.
DISMISSAL FROM SCHOOL
At dismissal time, parents should meet their children by the flagpole in front of school or the designated area in the Cul-de-sac. Kindergarten-and TK parents should pick up their children from the kindergarten playground area in front of the TK room. Parents should NOT meet their children inside the school or by their classroom, as it is a distraction to the learning environment and blocks the hall ways significantly. Please be respectful of students learning time.
