Tardiness & Attendance
Please send your child to school every day and always on-time! Make all routine medical appointments before or after school, weekends, or during scheduled breaks. Please review the included calendar for our vacation dates and holidays, and understand that extended vacations are not legally recognized as excused absences. Thank you for your continued support of your child’s education and to Topanga Elementary Charter School.
ABSENCES, ILLNESS, AND MEDICATION
State law requires that we have a written note stating a valid excuse from parents for each pupil absence. You can use our Absence Excuse Form below. Please use this form whenever your child returns from an absence. If you choose to write your own note, please include the information requested on the form. Extra copies of the form are also available in the office.
The first requirement for learning is to be in attendance. Please do not schedule family vacations when school is in session. Our categorical funds that flow directly from the State of California to Topanga Elementary Charter School are based on the actual attendance. When your child misses school for vacations, the school loses money. Please plan your family’s schedule accordingly.
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PERMISSION OF PHYSICIAN OR SCHOOL NURSE required for hepatitis, measles (7 days from onset of rash and otherwise recovered), meningitis, mumps, polio, scarlet fever, whooping cough, tuberculosis and scabies.
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PERMISSION OF PHYSICIAN AND PRINCIPAL required for surgery, stitches, casts, orthopedic appliances, and previous illness requiring hospitalization. Students MUST comply with safety regulations as determined by the principal. A written statement from the private physician with instructions and signature is required for readmission to be considered by the principal.
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PERMISSION OF PRINCIPAL required for pink eye, pneumonia, German measles, mononucleosis, impetigo and pediculosis (head lice).
Prescribed medication in school:
No pupil shall be given medication during school hours except upon written request from a licensed physician who has the responsibility for the medical management of the pupil. Parents are urged, however, to request that the physician develop a schedule so that taking medication in school will be minimized or eliminated. (California Education Code 11753.1). All Requests are processed through the school nurse.
All medications must be stored in the school office in the original prescription bottle, labeled with dosage instructions, and be administered in the office. No pupil should carry his/her own medication or take medication unsupervised. A District Medication Request Form (BUL-3878.1), available in the Front Office, must be completed and signed by a physician if your child needs medication during school hours.
If your child takes medication regularly during non-school hours you should leave a short-term supply in the office to be used in case of an emergency such as an earthquake. A District Medication Request Form also needs to be completed for medication taken during non-school hours. Medication should be labeled in red FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY.
TARDINESS
Our new Standards Based Promotion Policy requires students to meet certain standards. Frequent tardies and absences jeopardize your child’s ability to meet these standards. We appreciate your cooperation with the following.
Children must be in line at the assembly area and ready to go to class at 8:00 a.m. Drop-off time is from 7:30 a.m. to when the first bell rings at 7:55 a.m. There is no grace period for tardies. Parents may not drive their children to classrooms in the upper playground. Kindergarten begins at 8:00 a.m.
If a student is late three times in one reporting period, a notice will be sent home to be signed by the parent. If a student is late more than 6 times, a second notice will be sent (signed by the principal) and your child’s teacher will call you to set up a conference to discuss the reasons for the continual tardiness and to provide assistance as necessary.
ABSENCES
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) believes that student attendance and student achievement are closely intertwined. Students who develop patterns of good attendance are much more likely to be successful both academically and socially than students who develop patterns of poor attendance. If a child’s chronic absenteeism is not addressed in its early stages, the odds are greatly increased that he or she will 1) need costly instructional remediation and/or special services, and/or 2) develop a negative self-concept, experience academic failure, drop out of school, engage in anti-social behavior, and fail to contribute positively to the local community as an adult.
Every child between the ages of 6 and 18 has the right and the obligation to attend school. The LAUSD is committed to the development of programs and practices that foster and encourage both the enrollment and the regular, daily attendance of all students who are subject to the State’s compulsory school attendance laws. The parents or guardians of each student have the responsibility to enroll their child(ren) in school and to send them to school on a daily basis on time.
A student who is absent three full days without a valid excuse, or on three occasions is tardy or absent for more than thirty minutes, or any combination thereof, is a truant (E.C. 48260). Truancy can lead to severe consequences, including fines and criminal prosecution of parents.
If your child is absent, please remember to send an explanatory note when your child returns to school. An unexcused absence is one where the student is not ill or under the care of a physician. Please plan vacations and family events around the school calendar.