Attendance at school is important for students to learn and grow; however, we do not want our students to attend school if they are ill for any reason. An important factor in keeping schools open in our district's Health & Safety Plan is to self-monitor for symptoms and stay home when sick.
As a reminder, students who are experiencing symptoms that could be related to COVID-19 should stay home from school. Students who are returning to school after a COVID-19 related absence must report to the school nurse immediately upon returning to school to ensure that necessary documentation has been received and/or that required periods of isolation or quarantine have passed.
The following are some procedures and information regarding attendance at the Middle School:
A student must always present an excuse signed by a parent or guardian when returning to school from an absence. Here is the online excuse form:Absence Excuse Form (pdf)
Excuses from home should be emailed to the attendance email account (MSAttend@ldsd.org) the day a student returns from the absence. If an excuse is not turned in after five school days, the absence will be declared unexcused.
For early dismissals or late arrivals, please contact Ashley Pheasant, the middle school attendance secretary, at apheasant@ldsd.org or (717) 566-5345. A note from the doctor, dentist, etc., must accompany all requests for early dismissals/late arrivals or one must be shown when the student returns to school.
If you communicate directly with teachers about your student’s absence, please be sure to also email/call Ashley Pheasant so she can mark the attendance accurately.
Parents should contact the middle school office in cases where the student will be out of school longer than two days.
Students who are absent from school are not permitted to attend any school-sponsored events the day of the absence.
The school will not automatically contact parents on days a student is absent.
Calls will be made periodically from the school office to check on a student's absence.
Educational trips need to be pre-approved. Go HERE for more information.
FAQs:
What if your student is marked unverified for a class, but they are supposed to be in school?
Don’t panic - this does not necessarily mean your student is missing. All of our doors are monitored/alarmed so that we know when a student leaves the building. In addition, just because a student was initially entered as unverified (UNV), does not mean that is how it must stay. Attendance can be updated and adjusted as needed. There may be any number of reasons why the student was temporarily marked unverified. For example, the student went to band/orchestra lessons, the student stayed late to talk to another teacher, the student went to the nurse, etc. Many times, the teacher will update the attendance before the end of that school day. You are welcome to email the teacher to ensure the classroom attendance was accurate. The teacher may not respond immediately, as they will be running a class; however, they should respond within 24 hours.
