Please complete this Google Form to report your child's absence. This form will alert the school of your child's absence and will serve as an absence note for your child's return. You are not required to send a separate note after completing this form. If your child has been absent for multiple days due to illness, a doctor's note may be required.
Option 2: For Extended/Discretionary absences, meaning travel or other non-illness-related absences:
Complete this form regarding your child's extended or discretionary absence.
FOR ABSENCES OF UP TO 3 DAYS, the principal may determine whether the absences will be
lawful/excused or unlawful/unexcused. This completed form should be submitted to the principal in advance.
FOR ABSENCES IN EXCESS OF 3 DAYS, the principal in consultation with the administrative directors will determine if the absences will be lawful/excused or unlawful/unexcused. If the request is for 15 consecutive days or more, the written request should be submitted 2 weeks in advance.
STUDENTS WITH UNLAWFUL ABSENCES OF 10 CONSECUTIVE SCHOOLS DAYS or more may be withdrawn from school and may be allowed to re-enroll, provided they meet enrollment requirements, upon their return.
STUDENTS RETURNING FROM LAWFUL ABSENCES- have an equal number of days to complete make-up work.
For an absence that will extend past 10 days, please contact Mrs. Stanilaus, in the front office, for additional assistance (amy_stanilaus@hcpss.org or 410-880-5890).
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Is your child arriving late to school?
Your child must be in their classroom by 8:45am
Tardiness should be a rare occurrence and avoided to the best of your ability. You may think a few minutes isn’t a big deal, but it can be. It is disruptive to the teacher, your child’s classmates, and to the front office. It also puts your child behind to the start of their day. Let’s work together to give your child the best start to their day possible. Please do your very best to have them in their classroom by 8:45. You may need to look at your morning routine if you are noticing a trend of being tardy. Perhaps set your alarm a few minutes earlier. We appreciate your attention to this very important issue.
Procedure: . You will need to park and escort your child into the building. Parents must sign any tardy students in on the appropriate sheet It is not necessary to call nor do you need to use the absence reporting forms. Simply come to school and sign them in.
Children dropped off without a parent signing them in will be given an unexcused tardy.
*Understandably, medical/dental appointments happen occasionally during a school day resulting in an excused tardy.
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Will your child be having an EARLY DISMISSAL?
Procedure: Do not call the front office. We cannot call your students down for dismissal until you have signed them out in the vestibule.
Email teacher as a courtesy so they can be prepared for the dismissal.
Come to the vestibule outside the front office and sign your child out.
Be prepared to present your photo id upon request.
Please do not ask for dismissals after 3pm as it interferes with dismissal procedures.
*Note: Students can only be released to parents or individuals listed on their Emergency Contacts list, so please be sure your Family File is up-to-date.
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September 27, 2023
Research is clear that showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic and social success, starting from pre-kindergarten and continuing through high school.
Missing 10% (or about 18 days of a school year or 2 a month) can drastically affect a student’s academic success at each grade level.
By the 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that can indicate if a student is at risk for dropping out of high school.
In the 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
Please help us support a culture of showing up to school every day!
Please review Policy 9010: https://policy.hcpss.org/9000/9010/
If your student is absent or will be absent, please complete this Google Form to report your child's absence. This form will alert the school of your child's absence and will serve as an absence note for your child's return. You are not required to send a separate note after completing this form. If your child has been absent for multiple days due to illness, a doctor's note may be required.
Discretionary Days
HCPSS students are granted 3 days a year to use at their discretion for scheduled interviews with prospective employers, visits to post-secondary institutions, family trips, civic engagement, and other special events.
Such absences may not occur during exam or state-mandated testing periods unless authorized by the principal/designee.
A written request for such absences to be lawful/excused should be submitted at least one week in advance to the principal/designee. Complete this form regarding your child's extended or discretionary absence. Or download the PDF fillable Discretionary Absence Form . The form is also available in Chinese, Korean, and Spanish
If you are requesting a day for a religious holiday not identified by the Howard County Public School System school calendar, please download the PDF fillable Religious Obligation Form and email it to amystanilaus@hcpss.org.
With the collaborative effort of HCPSS parents, staff and students, we are confident that all students can have successful attendance. This will improve student success in school and in future life!