Attendance and Tardies

REGULAR ATTENDANCE MATTERS! 

Regular attendance is critical to your child’s education.  Disruptions to your child’s school attendance can have a significant impact on their academic performance. Please see that your child attends school every day. If your child must be out for part of the day due to illness, medical/dental appointments, bereavement, or on religious holidays, please have your child return for the remainder of the day as much as possible. Your child should attend school consistently and should be absent only for illness or emergencies. Please do not schedule extended family vacations during school time. 

The KSD attendance policy states that every pupil must attend school regularly to achieve the goal of maximum educational benefits. Attendance Letters from KES will be mailed home each month starting in October to the homes of those students who have shown excessive attendance challenges. When a child is excessively absent, a principal-teacher-parent-student conference may be held. If the problem continues, students with excessive absences may be referred to a school level attendance review committee to determine if a recommendation to truancy court is appropriate to assist students in getting to school regularly. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD IS GOING TO BE ABSENT 

  1. If the child will be absent and you know ahead of time, please email your absence to the classroom teacher no later than 7:00 AM of the day that your child will be absent.  Any time after 7:00 please call the front office at 208-423-4170 ext 3035.  If we don’t answer leave a message and we will mark the attendance accordingly. 
    • When you call, please clearly state: 
      • Your name 
      • Your child’s name 
      • The name of the classroom teacher 
      • The reason for absence 
      • Duration of absence 
  2. Let us know if your child has a contagious disease, confirmed by your child’s physician, so we help make sure that we watch out for any outbreaks in the classroom our school. 
  3. In the case of illness, please provide the front office with a note from your physician indicating when your child needs to be absent from school and when they can return. This will become even more important should multiple days of absences be needed for healing. 
  4. A child who is absent due to a fever must be symptom free for 24 hours (without fever reducing medications) before returning to school. 
  5. If your child has been absent due to a lice outbreak, please have him/her meet in the front office before returning to class. 

WHEN STUDENTS ARE LATE 

We expect students to arrive at school on time. A student entering class late not only impacts his/her own learning but also disrupts the flow of the classroom and the entire community of learning. A student shall be considered tardy if he/she is not in the classroom when the tardy bell rings. Upon arrival, tardy students must check in at the office accompanied by a parent/guardian. If your child has several tardies, the school office will send home a letter. If your child has excessive tardies and efforts have not improved, a principal-teacher-parent-student conference may be held. If the excessive tardies continue, you may be referred to a school level attendance review committee. Please teach your child punctuality. 

PICKING UP YOUR CHILD EARLY 

If you need to take your child out of school before the end of the school day: 

  • Go to the school office. Sign the checkout list on the office front counter. 
  • The office staff will then call the classroom and your child will meet you in the front foyer.  
  • All adults must be prepared to show photo identification. 
  • We will not release a student to anyone except the parent, legal guardian, or a person you have authorized to pick up your child.   

This simple procedure protects your child.