Attendance Procedures

Online Attendance Form

Importance of attendance

Attendance is taken Monday through Friday. Please notify the office and classroom teacher any time your child won’t be able to attend school due to illness, an appointment, travel, or etc.

Absence

 3 Ways to Notify the Office:

  • If your child will be absent from school, please notify us by calling the attendance line 571-226-4444 
  • You can also submit an absence using our online attendance form.
  • Or you can email us at @email.

 Notify Your Child's Teacher:

  • Send their teacher a message via TalkingPoints
  • Copy your child's teacher on your email to the office, so both the office and teacher are aware.

Families of students not reported absent by 9:30 a.m. will be notified of the absence.  

Tardy Arrival or Early Release

Tardy Student Arrival

  • Tardy students arriving at school late must first report to the office for correction of attendance records. Car riders arriving tardy should be brought to the front of the school building and accompanied into the office by a parent/guardian as the back door is locked at 8:30 a.m. The first bell rings at 8:30 a.m. Teachers begin the instructional day after the tardy bell at 8:45 a.m. Students who arrive in their classroom after 8:45 a.m. will be marked tardy. Students who are repeatedly tardy in a school year will have a letter placed in their school file. If the student continues to be tardy a meeting with the principal, counselor, student, and parent will be held to discuss the situation.

Release of Student

  • If a child must leave early, parents are requested to send a note in advance and must sign the child out in the office at the appropriate time. The note should specify the name of the adult, listed on the emergency care card, picking up the child if it is not the parent.  To protect instructional time, students will not be called to the office until a parent arrives at school to pick them up. Please allow sufficient time for your child to get to the office and for you to arrive on time to your scheduled appointment.
  • We will not release any child to any adult other than the parent/guardian or persons listed on the emergency care form.  Students may be released to either parent unless prohibited by a court order. If restricted custody has been legally established, a parent must furnish a copy of the custody order to be kept on file in the school office.

Dental and Medical Appointments

Dental and medical appointments are excused; however, we ask that such appointments be kept to a minimum during the instructional day. If a child must leave early for a medical or dental appointment, parents are requested to send a note in advance and they must sign the child out in the office at the appropriate time.

To protect instructional time, students will not be called to the office until a parent arrives at school to pick them up. Please allow sufficient time for your child to get to the office in order for you to arrive on time to your scheduled appointment.

Unexcused Absences

Absences for family and student vacations are unexcused. Students are responsible for completing any missed assignments. Teachers will provide the student and parent or guardian with missed work but will not provide assignments prior to family or student vacations.

Virginia State Law

Virginia State law requires that each student who is absent from school must be reported each time by a responsible person. An excused absence is one for which parents/guardians have prior knowledge, consent, and a legitimate reason. Legitimate reasons include: illness of the student, death in the family, and observance of a religious holiday. Absences for family and student vacations are unexcused. According to School Board Regulation 2234, after the fifth unexcused absence, the school is to refer the student to the attendance officer.

Attendance Line and Absence Follow-up 

When reporting an absence please indicate the following:

Be specific about the reason why your child will not be attending school today

Please indicate whether your child has any of the following symptoms: 

  • Feeling feverish or chills
  • Fever greater than or equal to 100.4 F
  • Headache (not due to another health condition, hunger, menstrual cramps stress, or injury)
  • A new cough (not due to another health condition)
  • Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties (not due to diagnosed respiratory condition or if different than normal pattern of chronic condition)
  • A new sore throat (not due to another health condition)
  • Congestion or runny nose (not related to allergies or health condition)
  • Fatigue (more tired than normal or sudden onset)
  • New muscle pain (not due to another health condition or that may have been caused by a specific activity such as physical exercise))
  • New loss of taste, smell, or appetite
  • Abdominal pain (not due to hunger, constipation, injury, or stress)
  • Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

FCPS staff will be responsible for contacting those parents/guardians who have not provided information as to why their student is absent. FCPS staff will also provide the school health team with information regarding any student that has remained home due to the above COVID like illness symptoms.