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School Attendance Matters

School Attendance Matters

Young students and a teacher in a classroom at the Belmont Street Community School in 2023.

This page explains why daily attendance is the key to a student’s success in education.
All of the information on this page is also listed in the PDF links in multiple languages.

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It is OK for a child to be absent from school when they are sick. However, too many absences can harm a child’s education. Building good habits in the early years is a major contributor to a child’s success.

Attendance Matters Facts:

  • Parents, especially in the early years of a child’s life, are best positioned to ensure children attend school and to build expectation around attendance.
  • Too many absences – excused or unexcused – can keep students from succeeding in school and in life.
  • A student who is chronically absent in high school is 7.4 times more likely to drop out.
  • Missing 10% of school days, just 2 days each month, can put children at risk of academic failure.

When Your Child is Absent, Please Do the Following:

  1. Call the school to report the absence.
  2. Send a note to the teacher explaining the reason for the absence.
  3. If you take your child to the doctor because of illness, get a note and provide the note to the school. The doctor’s note will explain the absence, but it will not excuse the absence.
  4. Check to see if there is any work your son/daughter could do at home to make up any time that was missed.
  5. Ask your school if there are any other steps you must take.

How to Help Your Child Develop Routines to Get to School On Time:

  • Set a regular bed time and morning.
  • Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
  • Breakfast is served at school everyday. If children eat a good breakfast, they are ready to learn.
  • Talk to children about the importance of school.
  • Ask children what they did at school each day and make it a positive detailed conversation.
  • Don’t let your child stay home unless he/she is truly sick.
  • If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school adjustment counselors or other parents for advice on how to make him/her feel comfortable and excited about learning.
  • Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor or another parent.
  • Avoid medical appointments and extended trips when school is in session.

School Attendance Guidelines:

Here is a summary of the Worcester Public Schools’ attendance guidelines, which are based on Massachusetts law.

  • State law REQUIRES students between the ages of 6 -16 attend school.
  • At seven absences, a court complaint can be filed against a parent/guardian for failing to send a child to school.
  • At eight absences in a quarter, a court complaint can be filed on the child for
  • At fourteen absences, a student can lose credit in a class and risk retention.

Why Attendance Is So Important:

  • Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school – and themselves.
  • Research shows that the earlier a child learns that school is his or her job and that he or she has important work to do, the more successful children will be in their education.
  • Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college and at work.
  • Being late to school may lead to poor attendance and missed learning opportunities.
  • Learning begins the moment children settle into their morning routines. When a child is late for school, even by a few minutes, learning is interrupted.
  • Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two every few weeks.
  • Being chronically absent (missing 10 percent of school) can make it harder to learn to read.
  • Two absences a month equals 20 absences a  year.
  • If a child has 18 absences per year, by the time they finish Grade 9, they have missed one full year of school!