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Attendance

Mrs. Emily Johnston is our Registration Clerk.  Email Link
Mrs. Karen Winant is our Attendance Clerk.  Email link

Our school day begins at 7:30 am and ends at 3:15 pm.  It is imperative that students are at school from bell to bell to maximize instructional opportunities.  Our doors open for students to arrive beginning at 7:05 am and a student is considered tardy if arriving after the 7:30 am tardy bell. 

Regular school attendance is essential for a student to make the most of his or her education—to benefit from teacher-led and school activities, to build each day’s learning on the previous day’s, and to grow as an individual. Absences from class may result in serious disruption of a student’s mastery of the instructional materials; therefore, the student and parent should make every effort to avoid unnecessary absences. Two state laws—one dealing with the required presence of school- aged children in school, e.g., compulsory attendance, the other with how a child’s attendance affects the award of a student’s final grade or course credit—are of special interest to students and parents.  See the MISD Elementary Student Handbook for further detail. 


Official Attendance-Taking Time (All Grade Levels)

The district must submit attendance of its students to the TEA reflecting attendance at a specific time each day.  Official attendance is taken every day at 9:15 am as required by state rule.  A student absent for any portion of the day, including at the official attendance-taking time, should follow the procedures below to provide documentation of the absence.

 

Documentation After an Absence (All Grade Levels)

When a student is absent from school, the student—upon arrival or return to school—must bring a note signed by the parent that describes the reason for the absence. A note signed by the student, even with the parent’s permission, will not be accepted unless the student is age 18 or older or is an emancipated minor under state law. The campus will document in its attendance records for the student whether the absence is considered by the district to be excused or unexcused. Please note that, unless the absence is for a statutorily allowed reason under compulsory attendance laws, the district is not required to excuse any absence, even if the parent provides a note explaining the absence.

Submitting an Absence in Skyward

  • Log into your Skyward account and select the Attendance Tile under your student's name.
  • Click on the green Add Absence Request button on the top right of the screen.
  • Complete all required fields including Start Date, End Date, & Comments. If you have a medical/dental note to submit, then you can upload that document by clicking on ‘Add Attachments’.
  • If you would like to enter an absence for a date in the past, Skyward will not allow you to back-date in the Start and End Date fields, but you can enter the current date and state the date of the student’s absence(s) in the Comment field.
  • Click the Save Button at the top left of the screen.

 

Doctor’s Note After an Absence for Illness (All Grade Levels)

Within [2] days of returning to school, a student absent for more than [3] consecutive days because of a personal illness must bring a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the student’s extended absence from school. Otherwise, the student’s absence may be considered unexcused and, if so, would be considered to be in violation of compulsory attendance laws. Should the student develop a questionable pattern of absences, the principal or attendance committee may require a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the student’s absence from school in order to determine whether the absence or absences will be excused or unexcused.
 

General Parent Notes

Up to seven (7) absences are allowed with a general parent note each school year. For example, if a parent writes a general absence note for a student who misses two days of school, that one note counts for two separate absences.