Grant High School

2024-2025 Attendance Procedures

Per district policy, it is the parent’s responsibility to clear unexcused absences within three schooldays or 72 hours of the absence or the absences(s) will remain unexcused. (Administrative Directive    4.10.012-AD)

*We recommend that you memorize or keep handy your Student's ID number. This will be required on many forms.

At Grant High School, attendance is extremely important. Research shows that regular attendance has a direct correlation to a child’s academic success. Students need to be in every class every day to benefit from the teacher’s instruction, the interaction with peers and the exchange of ideas that leads to a more in-depth understanding of content. The intent of Grant High School’s attendance policy is to encourage consistent attendance from each student so that can meet their academic potential. Regardless of age, all students are expected to provide parent/guardian notification in order to excuse absences. Please make sure to submit the phone number that you prefer to have to receive these automated phone calls. Cell phone numbers may be used for this purpose.

The expectations for students at Grant are:

* Attend classes regularly.

* Be on time when reporting to school and to classes.

* Make up all the work missed due to an absence or being tardy in order to not miss the learning opportunity.

* Use FLEX to make up assignments, labs, classwork missed during an absence.

Parents who monitor attendance closely increase the likeliness of success for their students. You can help by:

* Encourage your child to become involved in a club, sport or campus activity. Students that are involved and connected to their school have fewer absences!

* Being informed about attendance policies.

* Sending a written note to school with your student following an absence. (Remember to include: Student's name, ID number, Date(s) of absence and time if the student is gone for part of the day. Reason for absence and Signature of the parent/guardian with a current contact phone number)

* Excusing your child for illness, doctor, dental and family emergency.

* Check Synergy regularly to monitor your students' attendance as well as academic progress.

* Make sure the school has your accurate daytime contact information, including cell phone number and/or e-mail address.

* Communicate often with your child’s teachers.

* Make the school aware of any problems that may cause your child to miss school.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What do I need to do if my child is absent, and I didn't excuse them in ParentVue?

Fill out this Google form with absence information.

Absence Reporting Form

Be sure to talk with your teachers about the work you have missed. You will only have a limited amount of time to make up that work.

What do I need to do if I am arriving late or leaving early?

Students needing to leave before the end of the school day must be excused by a parent/guardian prior to leaving.  Parents/guardians should fill out the Absence Reporting Form. This submission must include a date, time, the student’s name and ID#, and the reason for leaving. Students who return to school before the day is over must sign back in the office.

Students who arrive to school late must sign in at the office. Please also note that if half of the class is missed, the student will be marked absent for the entire class period.

What makes an absence excused or unexcused?

Excused absence means that the parent or guardian provided an excusable reason for the absence in writing (on ParentVue or the GRANT Absence Reporting Form) either prior to the absence or within three days after the student’s return to class.

Why am I getting letters and phone calls about my absences?

Each evening, automated Remind messages will be sent to parent/guardian to notify them of any student absences. These calls are for notification purposes; a return call is not required or helpful. Please make sure to submit the phone number that you prefer to have to receive these automated phone calls in ParentVue. Cell phone numbers may be used for this purpose – parents should contact with any questions or concerns.

In the event that your child has accrued a significant number of absences, has a drastic change in attendance or is missing one (or more) classes routinely, you will be contacted by a teacher, a counselor or an administrator. The intent is to ensure that parents are aware of their students' attendance record, identify any issues that may be keeping the student from class and to work cooperatively together to remedy the situation.

What if a significant attendance problem arises?

Before a chronic problem arises, the attendance team, counselors and administrators will work with the students and parents to identify the issues behind these absences and work to alleviate the problem. These interventions may include phone calls, parent conferences, attendance contracts, closed campus, in-school suspension and/or Saturday school.

ParentVUE 

Parents can report same day FULL DAY or upcoming FULL DAY absences  through ParentVUE. Log in to the ParentVUE website or download and open the phone application. In either case, look for the "Report Absence" button to the right of your student's photograph. Select start date, end date, and a reason from a drop-down list. Add a note if needed. Remember to click SAVE and you should receive a popup confirmation. Find more detailed instructions here. 

ABSENCE REPORTING FORM

Parents/guardians may use this form for CURRENT partial-day absences, and PAST full-day or partial-day absences.  Please note that the parent or guardian must excuse an absence or tardy even if the student is 18 years old. 

Remind Attendance Messages
Remind attendance messages go out twice a day and are sent on the day a student is marked absent. If a student was marked absent in a class before lunch, a robocall is sent at 12:30pm. For missed classes after lunch, the robocall goes out at 4:30pm. (Please note that the first class after lunch can be tricky. Robocalls go out in the middle of that class period and an attendance code can change during the class.) Robocalls are turned on at the district level. We have no control over them at high school. 

If you receive an attendance message:

• Please use the Absence Reporting Form if the absence is excused and a parent/guardian forgot to contact the attendance office.

• If a parent/guardian receives a call but your student believes this is an error, please have your student contact their teacher or pick up a Blue Correction Slip at the attendance office.

Please note, due to the daily high volume of excuses being reported, we are extremely busy and we may not get attendance updated prior to Remind messages going out. You do not need to call, email or fill out the form again. Attendance will get updated.

CALLING STUDENTS OUT FOR APPOINTMENTS, ETC.

We recommend giving as much notice as possible when you need to have your student leave school for an appointment or other reason.  With advance notice, you can use the ABSENCE REPORTING FORM to let us know when you will need your student called out of class. Without advance notice, please call 503-916-5171. Please do not leave a message as it may not be heard in time.  Instead, please call back until you reach someone. Our main office is 503-916-5160 if the attendance office is busy.

ARRIVING LATE

•  If a student is tardy or arriving late to school for any reason, please go directly to the attendance office to sign in.
  Parent/Guardian, please use the ABSENCE REPORTING FORM if the late arrival is excused.

• If your student signed out for an appointment but has returned to school, they should check in with the attendance office upon return. This should be one of the few times a student needs to get a tardy slip.

*If you are unable to report using our Absence Reporting Form or ParentVue, please call for assistance, and report absence via email at grantattend@pps.net or call us at 503-916-5171 and leave a message.