Attendance & School Absences

PARKSIDE ATTENDANCE HOTLINE: 763.682.8582

• Health Office:  Jenna LePage 763.682.8513
• District Nurse:  Heidi Gallart  763.682.8818
   
• Spanish Translation Line: 763.682.8516

ATTENDANCE INFORMATION:

Checking Students In and Out of School
We understand that family schedules do not always mix easily with school schedules. When a child is late to school, a parent should come in and sign in your child at the front office. They will receive a pass to go to class. If a child needs to leave early during the school day, please come to the office and sign the student out, and the office will call the classroom for the student. Please send a note with your child in the morning so the teacher is aware that you will be leaving early. The time, date and reason for leaving should be included. A child will be released only to the parents unless the school has been notified by the parent that they have granted permission for someone else to pick up their child. Please do not pick up children mid-day from the playground - you need to go through the office if you are taking them out to lunch or if they are leaving early. Parents should also avoid picking up students early at the end of the day unless they have an appointment or an emergency arises. The dismissal bells ring at 2:25 pm. If you bring your child to school in the morning, please do not drop them off before 7:25 am.

Student Absences
Regular daily attendance is important to school success. It is critical for students to have consistent attendance in order to be successful and have a positive learning experience. If your child is ill or must miss school, please call the school office/attendance line and leave a detailed message stating student name, teacher name, and reason for absence. School work missed during an absence must be made up. Parents will be contacted at work or home if an absence is not reported. The Board of Education defines the following reasons as excused absences: illness, religious observance, death of a family member or close relative, family emergency, or a medical, dental or mental health appointment that cannot be scheduled before or after the school day. Unexcused absences, such as missing the bus, oversleeping, or those that are not acknowledged by note, or telephone call, are subject to truancy procedures. When no excuse is presented to the school, the absence will be considered unexcused.

Health Services
Students arriving at the health office will be monitored for signs of illness based on their concerns. Students with temperatures greater than 100.5 degrees, diarrhea or vomiting will be excluded from school unless special circumstances surround the nature of the illness and the licensed school nurse has deemed it appropriate. 

Keep your child home from school if within the past 24 hours they have had:

• Temperature of 100.5 degrees or higher. Please do not medicate your child with Tylenol or Ibuprofen to mask fever prior to sending them to school.

• Vomiting/diarrhea.

• Antibiotic treatment begun for strep throat, impetigo, pink eye, etc.  Antibiotics must be given for a full 24 hours before returning to school.

There are two full time licensed school nurses who coordinate and supervise the health needs of the children in the district. Also, there is a part time licensed school nurse who manages specific health programs such as asthma education, special school screenings and the district's blood borne pathogen trainings. All licensed school nurses are registered nurses with special school nurse licensure. A full time health assistant is present in the health office throughout the school day.

Vacations
You are strongly encouraged to take family vacations during school holidays such as winter or spring break. In the event this is not possible, the health office as well as the child's teacher should be informed in advance of any special vacation that will cause student absence from school. Since teachers plan lessons according to the daily needs of their students, they are not expected to have assignments ready ahead of time. Please contact the teacher about make-up work when your child returns to school.

Per district policy, all vacations must be pre-approved by the Principal in order to be considered an excused absence.  Please send in a note to the office, or submit your request through the Campus portal. In cases of excessive prior absences, the absence may not be approved as an excused absence.