Attendance and Truancy

1. Excused absence refers to absence for any one of a number of legal reasons. Excused absences include: death in the immediate family, subpoenaed court appearance, pupil’s illness, major religious holidays, pre-approved absence and other urgent reasons.
2. If the attendance clerk does not receive a verbal or written explanation of the absence from the parent/guardian within two weeks, the absence will automatically be recorded as illegal.
3. Consecutive absences of more than 3 days require a physician’s note.
4. Written excuses/phone calls do not necessarily mean that the absence is excused. Such reasons as “visiting,” “away from home,” “missed the bus,” “overslept,” are classified as unexcused absences. Students who accumulate three unexcused absences will receive a” first offense” notice from the Attendance Office. Subsequent absences will be referred to the District Magistrate
5. Trips must be approved prior to the trip to be considered excused (See family trips below).

Days absent because of a trip or tour will be considered excused only when a prior request form has been signed by the parents, and is on file in the school. Absences due to family trips without the prior request will be considered unexcused and may result in a first offense notice. Please note that only five (5) days will be considered excused for trips. Additional days will be considered unexcused per Methacton School Board policy.

If you have completed an educational trip form and your family is vacationing out of town, we do not expect you to call in each day. Your previously completed form will provide us this information for the duration of your child’s absence.

Lateness to class is a disruption to the educational process. Please call the Child Check Line at your child’s school if your child will be late for any reason and leave a brief message. If students arrive late, for any reason, they MUST BE “SIGNED IN” by a parent/guardian, by coming to the main office. Students must be accompanied into the building by a parent/guardian.

Please make every effort to obtain medical appointments after school hours. When an early dismissal is necessary, a parent must report to the main office for the student to be called down. Photo ID (driver’s license) is required to sign students out of school early.

As a courtesy, please provide a written request for an early dismissal to the teacher on the morning of the dismissal. For safety reasons, no child will be permitted to leave school alone other than at regular dismissal time.

Family vacations and trips during the school year are discouraged. However, if your family is planning a trip please be sure to complete and Educational Trip Form (click here for the High School Form) AT LEAST TWO (2) WEEKS PRIOR TO YOUR TRIP.