Student Attendance and Absences
Student Attendance and Absences
Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism
Attendance is a critical building block for student learning. If students are not present, they cannot engage in learning.
Why are we focusing on attendance?
Every absence, excused or unexcused, is a learning opportunity lost and can have significant impacts on a student’s success in school and life. A student who misses 18 or more days in a school year—just two days a month—for any reason is considered chronically absent. Chronically absent students are more likely to fall behind in reading and math and less likely to graduate from high school. Addressing chronic absenteeism and developing good attendance habits is a solvable problem for which we all share responsibility.
Mt. Adams School District encourages everyone, staff and students, attend school five days a week, every week, during the school year.
- Parents- Student absence notes can be sent electronically to building offices to excuse absences.
- Email: Harrah Campus Office at: harrahabsent@masd209.org to excuse elementary and middle school student absences.
- Email: White Swan High School office at: whiteswanabsent@masd209.org
- Contact our District Attendance Liaison at ljohn@masd209.org or (509) 874-8614.
- Parents- Phone calls to your student’s building office can also be made to excuse absences.
- Harrah Campus Office: (509) 848-5701 or (509) 848-5702 to excuse elementary and middle school student absences.
- White Swan Campus Office: (509) 874-8626 to excuse high school student absences.
Remember, notes need to be received within five (5) days of the student's absence in order to be excused.
Field trips and sports related trips will not be counted as absences for our students.
Did you know? Mt. Adams School District honors the cultural education students receive outside of school!
To recognize vital learning opportunities like hunting, berry-picking, and trips abroad to reconnect with family, MASD offers a Cultural Activity/Ceremony Documentation Form.
In other words, the days students spend participating in cultural activities outside of school will NOT be counted as absences from school.
To receive this attendance compensation for cultural activities, families need to pick up and submit a completed Cultural Activity/Ceremony Documentation Form to their school's front office.
This form (see below) would ask the student/family to make connections about the cultural activity and their learning by participating in it.
For students who complete and submit this assignment to the school building office where they attend within five (5) days of the cultural/traditional activity/ceremony, there will be no absence recorded. Students are still required to make up missing work from their classes.
If you have any questions regarding this, please contact your building principal.
Cultural Activity/Ceremony Documentation Form in English & Spanish
See below for attendance resources.