Attendance Calls Start Tomorrow!

Regular school attendance is important for student academic success, starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Parents/caregivers play a key role in making sure students get to school each day and reinforcing why attendance is important for success in school and in life.

Let's kick off the school year by setting a few attendance goals:

• BCS student will arrive to school on time.

• BCS student will attend school every day.

• BCS student will participate and make academic progress.

• Let us talk about the importance of school attendance every day. Be sure your child knows you do not approve of them missing school.

• Communicate with the school often to monitor attendance, academic progress, and address concerns.

Like you, we want your student to be successful in school. To keep you informed, beginning Friday, September 15th, BCS K-12 families/caregivers will receive a text, email and phone call notification if their student has been marked absent from school. These messages will be sent to the primary caregiver according to the following schedule:

• High and middle school messages will be delivered at approximately 9:45 am.
• Elementary and Intermediate school messages will follow at 10:45 am.

Please recognize that these notifications are a way to create an awareness for your family so that a partnership can be created, if needed, with your student's school to address any barriers a student/family may have to regular attendance. Instructions on how to follow up or contact your schools will be included in the message.

We know students may miss school for illness, emergencies, or for religious reasons, but we want to see every student in school every day. Regular school attendance is an important factor in student success at Berkeley County Schools.

If a student must miss school, for one or more days, the student must submit an excuse from his/her parent or guardian stating the reason for the absence in order to receive an excused absence.

HOW CAN I SUBMIT AN EXCUSED ABSECE NOTE: Notes must be submitted within three (3) schools days of the student’s return. An online portal for submitting an excused absence note is available on your school website, on the school district website (see below), or by responding to the absence notification received from the school.

I want to thank you for being an invested partner in your student's attendance and academic success. If you have any questions or concerns about attendance, please reach out to your school.