Attendance Letter Samples SAMPLE 1 – Annual Notification Rocky Mountain High School 100 Capps St Rocky Mountain, TX 76106 September 4, 2008 Dear Larry or Cathy Smith: According to Senate Bill No. 1432 all school districts at the beginning of each school year are required to notify parents and person (s) standing in a parental relationship with a student about what is often called the Compulsory Attendance Law. This letter is to comply with that requirement, and is intended to inform parents and guardians in advance about the legal action that the Rocky Mountain District is required to take to enforce this law and the penalties that can result. For your information, truancy may result in assessment of penalties by a court of law against both the student and the student's parents or guardians. A complaint against a parent or guardian for contributing to truancy may be filed in the appropriate court if the student is: 1), absent from school ten (10) or more days or parts of days within a six month period in the same school year, or 2), absent from school three (3) or more days or parts of days within a four week period. A complaint may also be filed against the student for failing to attend school for the same time periods, or a referral may be made to the juvenile court. Parents or guardians who commit the offense of thwarting the Compulsory Attendance Law can be ordered to pay fines and court costs. For more detailed information, your attention is directed to Sections 25.085, 25.093, 25.094 and 25.095 of the Texas Education Code. A copy of those provisions of the law is available for your review at the District's main administrative office. It is our hope that by working together, we can avoid any truancy problems, and any necessity for using any of the laws mentioned above. Thank you in advance for your attention to this letter, and for all the help we know you will provide in ensuring your child's attendance this school year. Sincerely, Dr. Rocky Smith Superintendent of Schools SAMPLE 2 – Four Week Truancy Rocky Mountain ISD 100 Capps St PO Box 369 Fort Worth, TX 76059 817-556-9992 Fax 817-556-2227 Rocky Smith, Superintendent To: Rebecca Smith Parent/Guardian of: Cameron L. Barnfield. This letter is to inform you that our records show that your child, Cameron, has 3 unexcused absences from entire days or parts of days within a four-week period. If your child receives another unexcused absence during this four-week period he/she will receive a citation for offense under TEC 25.094. Our students are valuable and important to us as well as to you as parents. Excessive absences can hinder a student's progress and the districts ability to provide for his/her educational needs. We need your help by making every effort to have your child in school every day. If you have any questions, or feel that our records may be incorrect, please contact us. Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Sandra Dee Ted Owen Principal Attendance Coordinator Rocky Mountain High School Rocky Mountain ISD Texas Education Code 25.085 A child who is required to attend school under this section shall attend school each day for the entire period the program of instruction is provided. (b) Unless specifically exempted by section 25.086, a child who is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six years of age and has previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has not yet reached the child's 18th birthday shall attend school. (c) On enrollment in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, a child shall attend school. Texas education Code 25.092 A student may not be given credit for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90% of the days the class is offered. Texas Education Code 25.094 a)An individual commits an offense if the individual: (1) is required to attend school under Section 25.085; and (2) fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year or on 3 or more days or parts of days within a four-week period. An offense under this section may be prosecuted. List of Absences Period 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Date Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd 01/22/2008 U U U U U U U U U U 01/23/2008 U U U U U U U U U U 01/28/2008 U U U U U U U U U U High School 817-461-8483 * Junior High 817-461-9232 * Elementary 817-461-6363 SAMPLE 3 – Mail Out Dear Bobby Boop, To the Parent of Betty Boop: Senate Bill 530 requires each Texas school district to administer a physical fitness assessment to all students in grades 3-12. FITNESGRAM is a health-related fitness assessment developed by the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research and is a research-based, standards based assessment. RMISD considers FITNESSGRAM a quality assessment for three reasons: 1. FITNESSGRAM establishes a baseline of a healthy fitness zone from which students can set goals and check their progress (non-competitive) to plan for lifelong physical activity and to maintain and improve their fitness level. Health-related fitness assessment measures students' aerobic capacity, muscular strength/endurance, flexibility and body composition. 2. FITNESSGRAM provides recommended activity program options that will help students reach healthy fitness zones in those areas where they need to improve. 3. FITNESSGRAM does not place an emphasis on skill or sports-related fitness such as speed measured by an individual's 40 yard dash time. It does not compare students to other students. FITNESS GRAM tests all students regardless of age, gender, or ability. Students are encouraged to be self-aware of health-related fitness and take responsibility by setting personal fitness goals. When students focus on the process of doing their personal best, a more positive lifelong impact is achieved. RMISD has selected a team of staff members to administer the test at each campus using guidelines and directives from TEA. Some students will be tested in P.E. or athletics, while others will be tested on specific dates and times that have been designed by the campus team. You and your child receive specific information from your school. On your child's test day, she should wear athletic shorts, a t-shirt, socks and tennis shoes underneath an appropriate warm-up suit (jacket and pants) or underneath standardized dress. Testing in warm-ups is permitted and your child may wear the warm-up suit the entire day. If your child forgets proper testing attire she will proceed with the fitness test in standardized dress. At the conclusion of the testing period, RMISD will report the results of Betty’s assessment to you. We will not compare your student to others. The data gathered will be utilized by the state to create programs to enable all students to lead a more active and healthy life style. For further information concerning the FITNESSGRAM Assessment, please refer to http://www.fitnessgram.net/texas Sincerely, Rocky Smith, Superintendent SAMPLE 4 – Mail Out Michelle L. Bee 3012 River Oaks Rocky Mountain, TX 75555 ID# 101877 - GRADE 09 Dear Parents: With current national attention being focused on children's health and wellness issues, Rocky Mountain Independent School District's Food Service Department is excited to provide parents a convenient, easy, and secure online prepayment service to deposit money into your child's school meal account at any time. This service also provides parents the ability to view your child's account balance through a web site called NoChildLeftHungry.com. By having money in each child's account prior to entering the cafeteria, we find the lunch lines move along much faster so your child has more time to eat and be with friends. Also, parents will have the ability to print out a copy of their child's eating history report. This history report will show you all dates and times that your child has purchased a breakfast and or lunch within the past thirty days. These services will be available on Monday, January 21, 2008. To access these services: 1. Go to the district web site at www.rockymountain.isd.tx.us 2. Click on the "For Parents" link under the "Parents & Students" heading on the home page. 3. Click on the "Cafeteria Online Payment" page on the left side. 4. Open and read or print the Instructions link. 5. 5. Click on the "NoChildLeftHungry.com" link. From this site you will create your account and add money to your child's school meal account. All you need is your child's name, student ID number (located at the top of this letter) and the school ZIP code of 76106. The instructions will guide you through the easy online account set up procedures. Things to know: If you have more than one child in the District you can handle all online prepayments from the same online account. Payments can be made through an existing PayPal account or with a major credit or debit card. We are very excited to offer these new services, and are confident this new system will benefit you, your child and our District. However, if you choose not to take advantage of the online prepayment service, you may continue to make advance payments via check, which should be made payable to the Rocky Mountain Independent School District. Please write your child's full name on the check. If you have any questions about these new services, please feel free to contact my office at 817- 123-4665. Sincerely, Betsy Brown, Director of Information Systems & Technology SAMPLE 5 – Semester Abs. First Warning Rocky Mountain High School 100 Capps St Rocky Mountain, TX 76059 First Warning Letter January 31, 2008 To the Parents/Guardians of: Cameron L. Barnfield , 041276 1234 Main St Ft. Worth, TX 76106 This letter is to inform you that Cameron has been absent from school the following dates during this school year: List of Absences Period 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Date Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd 01/22/2008 U U U U U 01/24/2008 A A A A 01/30/2008 U U U U U U U U U According to the Compulsory Attendance Law: "A student may not be given credit for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90% of the days the class is offered. (No more than 8 days per semester and/or 16 days for the entire year) An attendance committee may give class credit to a student who is in attendance less than the number of days required because of extenuating circumstances." If your child reaches 9 absences during a semester and/or 17 absences for the year, you may be asked to appear before the attendance committee. Please make a STRONG effort to send Cameron to school daily and on time. We understand that children of school age get ill, and we understand when they are too ill to come to school, but each of our schools has a registered nurse who can examine Cameron when you believe he is ill and then determine if he is able to remain in school or should be sent home. If an absence is necessary, you must send a parent or medical excuse with your child for each absence immediately upon his return to school. After five (5) parent notes, your school principal will require only medical/dental notes to excuse an absence. We thank you for your continued support and hope to see your child's attendance improve during the semester/school year. Sincerely, Sandra Dee, Principal Rocky Mountain High School SAMPLE 6 – Semester Abs. Second Warning Rocky Mountain High School 100 Caqpps St Rocky Mountain, TX 76106 Second Warning Letter 02/07/2008 TO THE PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF: Brianna L. Ricker, 102145 7725 Main St. Ft. Worth, TX 76106 This letter is to inform you that Brianna has been absent from school the following dates during this school year: List of Absences Period 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Date Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd 01/22/2008 A 01/23/2008 A 01/25/2008 A 02/05/2008 A 02/07/2008 U According to the Compulsory Attendance Law: "A student may not be given credit for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90% of the days the class is offered. (No more than 8 days per semester and /or 16 days for the entire year) An attendance committee may give class credit to a student who is in attendance less than the number of days required because of extenuating circumstances." If your child reaches 9 absences during a semester and or/17 absences for the year, you may be asked to appear before the attendance committee. Please make a STRONG effort to send Brianna to school daily and on time. We understand that children of school age get ill, and we understand when they are too ill to come to school. But each of our schools has a registered nurse who can examine Brianna when you believe she is ill and then determine if she is able to remain in school or needs to go home and remain there until she is well. If an absence is necessary, you must send a parent or medical excuse with your child for each absence immediately upon her return to school. After five (5) parent notes your school principal will require only medical/dental notes to excuse an absence. We thank you for your continued support and hope to see your child's attendance improve during the semester/school year. Sincerely, George Jones Principal SAMPLE 7 – Semester Abs. Third Warning Rocky Mountain High School 100 Caqpps St Rocky Mountain, TX 76106 Third Warning Letter 02/25/2008 TO THE PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF: Brianna L. Ricker, 102145 7725 Main St. Ft. Worth, TX 76106 This letter is to inform you that Brianna has been absent from school the following dates during this school year: List of Absences Period 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Date Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd 01/22/2008 A 01/23/2008 A 01/25/2008 A 02/05/2008 A 02/07/2008 U 02/11/2008 U 02/12/2008 U 02/15/2008 U 02/19/2008 U 02/21/2008 U According to the Compulsory Attendance Law: "A student may not be given credit for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90% of the days the class is offered. (No more than 8 days per semester and /or 16 days for the entire year) An attendance committee may give class credit to a student who is in attendance less than the number of days required because of extenuating circumstances." If your child reaches 9 absences during a semester and or/17 absences for the year, you may be asked to appear before the attendance committee. Please make a STRONG effort to send Brianna to school daily and on time. We understand that children of school age get ill, and we understand when they are too ill to come to school. But each of our schools has a registered nurse who can examine Brianna when you believe she is ill and then determine if she is able to remain in school or needs to go home and remain there until she is well. If an absence is necessary, you must send a parent or medical excuse with your child for each absence immediately upon her return to school. After five (5) parent notes your school principal will require only medical/dental notes to excuse an absence. We thank you for your continued support and hope to see your child's attendance improve during the semester/school year. Sincerely, George Jones Principal SAMPLE 8 – Six Month Truancy Rocky Mountain ISD 100 Capps St PO Box 369 Fort Worth TX 76059 817-556-9992 Fax 817-556-2227 Rock Smith, Superintendent 02/22/2008 To: David & Jennifer Smith Regarding: Brianna L. Ricker This letter is to inform you that our records show that your child, Brianna, has 10 unexcused absences from entire days or parts of days within a four-week period or has failed to attend school 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year. If your child receives another unexcused absence during this four-week period he/she will receive a citation for offense under TEC 25.094. Our students are valuable and important to us as well as to you as parents. Excessive absences can hinder a student's progress and the districts ability to provide for his/her educational needs. We need your help by making every effort to have your child in school every day. If you have any questions, or feel that our records may be incorrect, please contact us. Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Sandra Dee Ted Owen Principal Attendance Coordinator Rocky Mountain High School Rocky Mountain ISD Texas Education Code 25.085 A child who is required to attend school under this section shall attend school each day for the entire period the program of instruction is provided. (b) Unless specifically exempted by section 25.086, a child who is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six years of age and has previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has not yet reached the child's 18th birthday shall attend school. (c) On enrollment in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, a child shall attend school. Texas education Code 25.092 A student may not be given credit for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90% of the days the class is offered. Texas Education Code 25.094 a)An individual commits an offense if the individual: (1) is required to attend school under Section 25.085; and (2) fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year or on 3 or more days or parts of days within a four-week period. An offense under this section may be prosecuted. List of Absences Period 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Date Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd Cd 10/01/2007 U 10/23/2007 U 11/25/2007 U 12/15/2007 U 01/08/2008 U 01/31/2008 U 02/12/2008 U 02/15/2008 U 02/19/2008 U 02/21/2008 U High School 817-461-8483 Junior High 817-461-9232 Elementary 817-461-6363