Absence Procedures

ABSENCE GUIDELINES

Students are expected to come to school on time. Students who arrive to homeroom after 8:50am are late. There is no such thing as an excused late. Late is late.

Please fill out the attendance form for anything related to your child's attendance. This includes absence, lateness, and early pickups. Students are not allowed to self-dismiss and early pickups are allowed until 2:40pm. In an emergency, call the school at 212-678-2861 x1381. It is also a good idea to email your child’s homeroom teacher.

The following conditions may excuse a student from school attendance:

  1. Personal illness or injury (Please do not send your child to school if they have a fever over 99 degrees)
  2. Family illness - an emergency situation requiring the student to be absent from school
  3. Death of a relative
  4. Observance of a religious holiday consistent with student's established creed or belief

The following situations are (unexcused) not reasons to be absent:

  1. Family vacations, visits, and events
  2. Lessons (tutoring, sports, music, dance, etc.)
  3. Oversleeping, rain, transportation delays

Parent or medical verification notes should be submitted to the child’s homeroom teacher via email on the day the student returns to school. Absences documented with medical verification notes will be marked in the system as an excused absence. Please be sure to note the date of the absence on the letter. These can also be emailed to absent@ms54.org. If you are emailing, please be sure you have your child’s full name, homeroom number, and date of the absences on the letter.

Please plan vacations during school holidays. Teachers will provide students with some of the work they missed when they return. It is not always possible to provide all of the work. (The policy for late work does not apply to days missed for vacations and family trips.)

Students leaving school due to illness, appointments or other reasons are required to have a parent sign them out of the building. Students will not be permitted to sign themselves out under any circumstances. A note from a parent cannot override this regulation. Students may not leave the building during the school day unaccompanied by a parent or guardian

For more information on school procedures, please read the Booker T. Washington MS 54 Handbook.