Per Texas State Law, in order to receive credit for a course or grade level, a student must be in attendance 90% of the time. Absences whether excused or unexcused count towards the total.
But even more important than the law is that when your child misses school, they miss the amazing instruction that is happening and there's no way to ever truly make that up. Last year, our students missed a total of 3,320 days of instruction which equals 24,900 hours of awesome teaching that went unexperienced.
We want all of our students to be able to take advantage of as much great teaching as possible, so that's why this year we are encouraging all parents to "Strive for 5!" Strive for 5 or less missed days for your child this school year. Please do not misunderstand- if your child is sick, please, please, please keep them home. However, try to plan vacations around our school holidays so that your child can avoid missing as much instruction as possible.
Many parents don't realize that the vast majority of our funding from the state is directly tied to our daily attendance. Each student that is present each day equates to about $37 in funding. If a student is absent, that amount is lost. $37 may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly! When looking at last year's numbers, LVMS lost $122,840 in funding due to attendance.That funding could allow us to hire more teachers equating to smaller class sizes to benefit our students.
Again, if your child is sick, please keep them home. The last thing we want is for your child to be miserable here at school and to possibly cause another child to be sick. What we are trying to limit is avoidable absences.
Attendance Reminders
- The tardy bell rings at 8:40. Instruction begins immediately at this time.
- Official attendance is taken each day at 9:45. If your child is not physically present at that time, they are counted absent.
- All attendance notes should be given to your child's teacher or emailed to Terri Harkins at tharkins@lagovistaisd.net. Notes should be returned within 3 school days of the absence or appointment.
- Typically, the later in the school day you can schedule needed appointments, the better. You definitely want to avoid the 9:45 time frame if possible.
