Attendance

Attendance Resources:

• Attendance Expectations
• OSPI Attendance Policies
• Attendance Works Flyer
• Excused & Unexcused Absence Policy
• Excused & Unexcused Absence Procedures

School attendance is an essential first step for students to learn. Impact Public Schools wants you to know that our schools are committed to supporting your scholar to attend school and access their education!

DID YOU KNOW?

• By being present at school, your child learns valuable social skills and has the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with other students and school staff.
• Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
• Missing 10 percent (just two days a month or about 18 days in a year) increases the chance that your student will not read or master math at the same level as their peers.
• Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.
• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with schoolwork, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

• If your student is going to be absent, please contact your school directly via email or phone to report the absence:
  • Impact | Puget Sound Elementary: 206-712-7640 x1; ipseops@impactps.org
  • Impact | Salish Sea Elementary: 206-712-7640 x2; isseops@impactps.org
  • Impact | Commencement Bay Elementary: 206-712-7640 x3; icbeops@impactps.org
  • Impact | Black River Elementary: 206-712-7640 x4; ibreops@impactps.org
• We miss your scholar when they are not in school and we value their contributions to our community. We would like you to help ensure that your student attends regularly and is successful in school. 

ATTENDANCE POLICIES

• If your scholar has 3 unexcused absences or 5 excused absences in one month, we will need to schedule a conference to identify barriers to the student’s regular attendance and the supports and resources that may be available to improve attendance.
• If a scholar has 7 unexcused absences in one month or 15 unexcused absences in the school year, the school is required by law to file a truancy petition with Juvenile Court. 

We know that there are a wide variety of reasons that students are absent from school, from health concerns to transportation challenges. There are many people in our building prepared to help you if you or your student face challenges in getting to school regularly or on time. We promise to track attendance daily, to notice when your student is missing from class, communicate with you to understand why they were absent, and to identify barriers and supports available to overcome challenges you may face in helping your student attend school.