Steps to ensure the best accuracy of your student's attendance record throughout the school year are as follows:
1. If your student is going to be absent, late, or require an early dismissal from school, send an email attendance@greatriverschool.org. Please include the following: Student name, classroom (if elementary), and reason for the absence, tardiness, or early departure. The Arrival/Departure Change Form can be used for late arrivals, early departures and changes in departure.
2. Robo-texts are sent daily at 9 AM to alert families if their student was marked absent at the beginning of the day. This system is most important when families believe their students are in attendance, but the student has not arrived to their first period class. You will receive a robo-text if your student is tardy and even if you have reported your student’s absence. We have also programmed a robo-text for upper adolescent absences to Wednesday afternoon CAS.
3. SIgn-In/Sign-Out: No matter the reason, students are to sign-in and/or sign-out on the front office iPads if they arrive late, or if they are leaving school. This lets us know whether the student made it to school or left campus. Students must get a pass from the front desk if late to school.
4. Early Dismissal: The best way to let the school know your student needs to be released early is to complete the Arrival/Departure Change Form. This form is for any time your student’s end-of-day plans will be different than usual, including an early dismissal.
Elementary - just fill out the form by 2pm. School staff will work to make sure the elementary student is brought to the front office and ready for pick up when you arrive.
Adolescent - fill out the form. Your student should also stop at the front desk to pick up an “early release” pass. This pass should be given to the guide at the time of departure and the student can sign out at the front desk.
A caregiver may also request an early departure by hand-written note, email, or phone call. For adolescents, the students must stop by the front desk prior to 8:30 to pick up their pass no matter the method of reporting. Students must always have caregiver permission to leave early.
It is extremely important that you plan ahead as much as possible for early departures. Especially with adolescent students, it can be a challenge for us to track down a student quickly for unexpected departures and you may have to wait for us to get them to the office. We want to avoid this stress for both families and office staff.
5. And finally, a reminder from the dean:
Questions regarding the attendance policy should be directed to the Dean of Students, Matt McElrath at mmcelrath@greatriverschol.org.
For more regarding our attendance policy, please read more here.
Thank you for your partnership in improving the processing of attendance and accuracy of your student's attendance records.