Regular attendance  (on time, every day)  is very important to our scholars’ academic success and social/ emotional well-being.

Absences

Colorado State attendance law requires that students miss no more than 10 school days per year.  It is essential for students to attend school daily in order to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to be college- and career-ready. Parents, guardians and students are all responsible for making sure students are on time and ready to learn. 

When scholars are going to be out of school, we require parents to call the Attendance Line, 720-424-8810, to report absences each day.

Excused Absences

  • Students can be excused for absences due to: funerals, illness, injury, legal obligations, medical procedures, religious observations, and extenuating circumstances as determined by the principal. Please notify the school of these absences no later than 24 hours following the beginning of the absence. Proper documentation is required for a multiple day absence. 

Unexcused Absences

  • An unexcused absence is any absence not described above.  If we do not receive a call letting us know why your student is absent, the absence defaults as unexcused.

Chronic Absenteeism 

  • Colorado State Attendance Law states that when a scholar reaches 4 absences in a month and or 10 absences within the school year,  their attendance is considered in the truant range.  
  • If the level of absences reaches this level, we will work to support the family beginning with an attendance intervention meeting.
  • Once an intervention is in place, if daily attendance does not show improvement we are required to refer the family for a truancy hearing.  
  • Truancy process is also outlined below. 

 

Tardies

When children arrive late on a regular basis, they are missing breakfast, opportunities to build relationships with their classmates, and most importantly they are missing academic instruction.

  • Schools will begin with breakfast at 7:30. If your scholar is not in the building by 7:40, they will be marked as tardy.
  • As a note, minutes missed because of tardiness will add up overtime to unexcused absences. This can affect your scholar’s attendance report.

 

Early Checkout & Appointments

At Cheltenham Elementary, we work to utilize all of our school minutes for teaching and learning. Whenever students leave early, it disrupts the routine of teaching and learning. For this reason, please follow the below early checkout procedures:

    • Please make an effort to schedule any necessary appointments outside of school hours. 

 

  • Please send a note with your child on the day he/she is to be checked out early.

 

  • We work to minimize early dismissal between 2:10-2:30.  If the event of a family emergency we will do our best to release a scholar, but we ask for patience as this is a particularly complex time of day to dismiss.  

 

Truancy

School attendance is required by state law for students up to age 17 (Colorado School Attendance Law – C.R.S. 22-33-101 et seq.).

  • We understand that families have complications that come up, but our team will work with every family to ensure that scholars attend school on a daily basis to grow and succeed.
  • Parents, guardians and students are all responsible for making sure students are on time and ready to learn.
  • At 15 days absent, our attendance team will file truancy. You will receive multiple forms of communication prior to filing. 

 

Attendance Links