Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy
The Illinois revised statutes require “whoever has custody or control of any child between the ages of 7 and 16 shall cause such child to attend school the entire time it is in session during the regular school term”. Provisions in the law provide that non-public schools such as St. Mary’s School fulfill the provisions of this requirement.

An accurate accounting of the dates and number of days a student is absent or tardy during the school year will be kept in the School Office. A student who misses 5 or more periods will be considered absent for the whole day.

If a student is away from school on a school-sponsored activity (as an institute or retreat) they will be considered in attendance for school.
Students are to remain on school property from the time they arrive at school until they are dismissed.

Excused Absences
Absences that involve the consent of school and parent/guardian are considered excused absences. Following is a partial list:

1. Illness verified by the parent/guardian – notification to the school office should be made by phone no later than 7:30am. Call 815-625-2253 Press for Menu #3 then Attendance Line #1. This option is available 24 hours a day. If a child is absent and the school has not received notification by 8:30am, the school secretary will call the parents/guardian.

2. Students should be fever free/symptom free for 24 hours (without medication) before returning to school.
   A fever is considered 100.4 as determined by WebMD. 

3. Doctor/Dentist Appointments – Appointments should not conflict with regular school hours unless absolutely unavoidable. If unavoidable, the student should have verification from the Doctor/Dentist to submit to the office to receive admission to class when returning to school.

4. Funeral of a direct relative

Emergency-In these cases the school will determine what constitutes an emergency.

Truancy
School attendance is compulsory in the State of Illinois.  The responsibility of compliance with the law belongs to the parents, but the school is obliged to keep an accurate record of daily attendance.  The record is placed in the student's permanent file at the end of each school year.

The principal will investigate and involve the parent/guardian if

• there is a suspicion that a student is truant;
• A student returns to school with no excuse or one that might not be valid;
• a student continues to be absent with apparent reason.

Often extraordinary circumstances are involved and the principal, parent and counselor should work together to remedy the situation.

When all efforts to persuade the student to regular attendance fails, and the student's absences for non-medical or non-family emergency reasons exceeds more than five percent (5%) of the total student attendance days in the school year, written notice shall be sent to the parent/guardian stating that the matter is being turneed over to the truancy department of the Regional Office of Education.  Additionally, the school may drop the student from enrollment.