School attendance is important and in order to receive the best education, students need to Be Here! DoDEA's system-wide attendance policy for students is consistent with those found in many public schools throughout the United States.
School attendance issues have been identified as a serious issue for children throughout the country and military children are no exception.
DoDEA's attendance policy provides specific guidance on attendance, absences and identifies support services for students at-risk for not fulfilling the grade or course requirements.
It's not surprising that regular school attendance correlates directly with success in academic work, improves social interaction with adults and peers and provides opportunities for important communication between teachers and students. Regular attendance also has a cumulative effect of establishing life-long positive traits — responsibility, determination, respect for rules of society -- that are critical for developing career readiness skills, success in college and in life.
The policy establishes a balance between the need for military families to spend time together following deployment, while emphasizing the importance of education. We have and will continue to be as flexible as possible in accommodating the precious time families have together but flexibilities and accommodations have limitations, especially when they impact on student performance and attendance at school.
Procedures for monitoring daily student attendance and communicating with families are established in this policy. Academic penalties will not be imposed for excused absences. Students at-risk will be monitored by the Student Support Team and school administration to include the identification of supports and interventions.
Many families—both military and non-military—underestimate the importance of regular school attendance for young children (kindergarten and first grade) but even missing just 5% of kindergarten—that's just nine days—can be an indicator that a child will fall behind by the fifth grade.
Children take their cue from their parents when it comes to the importance of school attendance. To have a quality education experience, you need to be here.
There are times when a student needs to miss school - everyone understands that. But attendance is important. To have a quality education experience, you need to Be Here.
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This resource will help parents make this important decision.