Report Cards:
Each year, students in Grades K-5 get report cards sent home to provide more in depth information on student progress throughout each term. Elementary students across the district have the same report card timelines. Report cards go home in February and June for students in Kindergarten and Grade 1. Report cards go home in December, March, and June for students in Grades 2-5.
Attendance:
With the first round of report cards going home next month for students in Grades 2-5, we want to review the attendance policies for the district that are adapted from the guidelines set forth from the Department of Education. Please see below for some information from the school handbook on these policies. The full attendance policy can be found on pages 35 and 36 of the district elementary school handbooks linked at the bottom of the newsletter.
It is incredibly important for students to be present at school, and on time, as consistently as possible. Attendance is taken each morning during homeroom. Parents/guardians must report a student’s absence and the reason for the absence to the main office: 781-314-5682 or 781-314-5680. The school carefully monitors student attendance and will contact families if a student is absent and the school has not been notified and/or if a student has excessive absences in a term. It is incredibly important that students are consistently in school. Excessive absences (and tardies) can greatly impact student learning and working together to ensure that every student has the best elementary experience possible is our goal.
The following excerpt is directly from the handbook and explains Chronic Absenteeism, as well as explains more on types of absences. Chronic Absenteeism is directly connected to our overall accountability level for the state of MA and is something that every member of the school community can help with:
“Massachusetts defines Chronically Absent as missing at least 10% of days enrolled (e.g., 18 days absent if enrolled for 180) regardless of whether the absences are considered excused, unexcused and/or for disciplinary reasons. Being chronically absent can have a significant impact on a student's ability to read at grade level, perform academically, and graduate on time.
School attendance greatly influences student success in school. The importance of punctuality is also essential to a child’s development of responsibility. Excessive tardies will be reviewed and reported to parents as necessary. We ask that parents/guardians/caregivers help instill this value in their child by helping him/her/them to be punctual for school. The Waltham School Committee strongly urges parents/guardians/caregivers of students not to schedule vacations or family business during periods of time when students are in school. Long-term absences are disruptive
to the teaching/learning process. It is essential that no student miss school when it can be
avoided. It is the responsibility of parents/guardians/caregivers and school personnel to
communicate with each other about a child’s absence from school.”
“The Waltham Public Schools emphasizes immediate notification of an absence to the school office. Consistent with state guidelines, there is no differentiation between the classification of absences. In other words, there are no ‘excused’ or ‘unexcused’ absences. When a student is not in school he/she/they are considered absent, so notification of an absence is important for the school for student safety and to determine if school interventions are necessary.
Reasons for absences may include, but are not limited to:
● Student illness with a doctor’s note
● Student medical appointment with a doctor’s note
● Observance of religious holiday
● Student attends a funeral
● Authorized school field trip
● Student is required to appear in court
Teachers at all elementary grade levels are not responsible for preparing long-term work or
assignments prior to students leaving for a vacation trip. If a family vacation or family business causes a student to miss school, teachers are also under no obligation upon the student’s return to prepare or assess missed work. In such cases of avoidable absences from school, students are not relieved of their responsibility to keep up with the material covered while they were missing school.
The loss of real time instruction with teacher and classmates cannot be replicated and may
impair the absent student’s academic progress. Therefore, parents/guardians and students
should make every effort to prevent any and all intentional absences from school. At the Elementary level, at the discretion of the Principal, excessive absences will prompt a review panel to discuss the student’s promotion to the next grade.”
We hope that by sharing this overview of the policy, we can work together to be proactive with student attendance, provide the most positive impact possible on student learning, and help to ensure that families are monitoring attendance numbers in order to not have students missing more than 10% of the school year this year.
We look forward to working collaboratively this year to support any questions or concerns regarding a child's attendance this school year. Please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Santillo or Mrs. Lamoly with any questions that you may have.
