Attendance

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The academic success of every student is very important to us. To maximize education and engage in the presentation of information and activities that occur well beyond textbook assignments, daily attendance and arrival on time are critical, and should be the goal of every parent/guardian and child. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to monitor the child’s attendance and require him/her to arrive on time and attend school every day. 

Each student should maintain at least 90% attendance. In order to maintain a Gold Performance Award, as a school we must achieve 97% attendance. For more information read the Texas State Compulsory Attendance Law.

Strategies for Attendance Success

  • Plan out-of-town trips according to the school calendar, and included in your back-to-school packet.
  • Prepare for the following day by planning what to wear, pre-packing lunch/snacks and placing backpacks next to the door.
  • Allow a few extra minutes in the morning to get to school on time.
  • Adhere to our Traffic & Safety Guidelines, as they are designed to evenly distribute morning traffic.
  • Check your AISD Portal on a regular basis to keep track of absences and tardies. Parent Self Serve passwords should be listed on the lower-right corner of every report card.

Attendance Policy

State compulsory attendance law states that students are non-compliant when they have three or more unexcused days or parts of days within a four-week period, or ten or more days or parts of days within a six-month period. For elementary campuses, “unexcused days or parts of days” means or UNX (unexcused absence) or UT (unexcused tardy).

Attendance Process

  • The attendance taking time for Reilly Elementary is at 10:30am. For safety reasons, your child must be physically present in their classroom when attendance is taken in order for them to be counted as present.
  • If your child has an appointment or other excusable reason why they are not with their class at the time attendance is taken, documentation of that must be submitted to Registrar Linda Cortez within 7 days in order for the absence to be excused.
  • Students who arrive late or leave early should be signed in/out in the office by the parent/guardian.
  • The Reilly office will perform attendance check-ups midway through each nine-week grading period. Students who have more than 10% unexcused incidents will receive a letter from the school. Parents of students who receive three letters will be invited to attend the Attendance Matters class.
  • AISD takes attendance snapshots every four-weeks. Students who have three or more unexcused incidents within the four-week period will receive letters from the District.

Absences

The following reasons will be accepted as excused:

  • Illness (If your child runs a fever, please keep him/her home until s/he is fever-free for 24 hours without medication.)
  • Holy days
  • Extenuating circumstances (ie. Funeral, or family emergency as approved by the principal)

Tardies or “Absent Part of Day”

Students who arrive at school after the second bell rings at 7:45am or who leave after 10:00am are counted tardy (absent part of day).

 Students who are absent part of the day due to a medical appointment and who provide a written note from the physician are not considered tardy.

The following reasons will be accepted as excused:

  • Illness – if your child runs a fever, please keep him/her home until fever-free
  • Holy days
  • Extenuating circumstances – e. funeral or family emergency as approved by the principal

  • Shadowing at another school with a note from the school – maximum of 2 days allowed

The following are common reasons for unexcused absences and tardies:

  • Failure to provide documentation when the student is out ill, or failure to list correct dates on the note
  • Being signed in or out during the day for a medical appointment without providing a note from the physician
  • Travel
  • Family event
  • Oversleeping
  • Car trouble or traffic
  • Shadowing at another public or private school without providing a note from the school, or shadowing at a private school more than 1 day

Attendance Codes

UNX
unexcused absence
DI
documented illness
OTH
other/extenuating circumstances (ie. funeral or family emergency)
T
excused tardy (absent part of day)
MED
medical appointment with a physician’s note
All documentation must be supplied within seven days of the incident or the student’s return to school.

FAQs and FACTS

What does “tardy” mean? 
Tardy means “absent part of day”.
My child was only a couple of minutes late.
The tardy bell rings at 7:45am. Students who are not in the classroom when the bell rings at 7:45am are considered tardy.
I told the teacher my child was going to be out.
Teachers cannot code attendance as excused -- only the Attendance Specialist can. While it’s a great idea to let the teacher know your child is going to be out, attendance notes must be sent to the office.
Where should I send the note?
Email the Attendance Clerk, linda.cortez@austinisd.org, or leave a hard copy in the main office (attendance drop box).
If I sent the note, why did I get the automated call?
The school messenger system automatically makes the call/email when it detects an unexcused absence or tardy. If you are turning in notes, you can disregard the call/email.
  • 3 tardies does NOT equal one
  • Missing school one day per week means missing one full year of instruction for every five years in school.
  • Every day a student is absent costs AISD $45 in revenue from the state. Raising the district-wide attendance rate by just one percent would increase revenue by $7 to $8 million per If AISD had 100% attendance each year, the district would receive $30 million in additional funding annually.