Reporting Attendance
#youbelonghere Attendance Letter to Families
Elementary School Hours
Regular School Day: 8:55 am - 3:25 pm
Early Dismissal: 8:55 am - 12:00 pm
2-Hour Delay: 10:55 am - 3:25 pm
Middle and High School Hours
Regular School Day: 7:45 am - 2:41 pm
Early Dismissal: 7:45 am - 11:10 am
2-Hour Delay: 9:45 am - 2:41 pm
To report an absence to your child's school, please email and include your child's full name and grade in the subject line as well as a reason for your child's absence citing one of the approved reasons.
Note: If you email, you do not have to call the office.
- Enfield: en_attendance@sdst.org
- Erdenheim: er_attendance@sdst.org
- Middle School: ms_attendance@sdst.org
- High School: hs_attendance@sdst.org
If you choose to call the office or are in need of a last minute early dismissal, please dial:
- Enfield: (215) 233-6080
- Erdenheim: (215) 233-6085
- Middle School: (215) 836-3006
- High School: (215) 233-6030 (Option 1)
If you choose to call, you must follow up with an email or a written note within 3 school days for the absence to be excused.
The following are School Board approved conditions for an excused absence to be granted based on Pennsylvania School Code:
- Illness
- Quarantine
- Family Emergency including a death in the family
- Family Educational Travel, Tours, and Trips (with prior approval by SDST administration)
- Impassable Roads
- Recovery from Accident
- Required Court Appearance
Absence Note for reporting an absence, lateness, or early dismissal Spanish Version
FAQ Attendance Questions for Elementary
FAQ Attendance Questions for Secondary
Educational Trip Pre-Approval Form for any requests for educational travel (not vacations) to be pre-approved for possible excuse from school. This for is only required for families who are requesting their absence from school be excused for educational purposes.
An educational trip might include the following:
- Attendance at a seminar, conference, or training.
- Trip designed to include a variety of cultural or experiential museums, historical sites, or educational experiences.
- Trips required for participation in a club, activity, sport, or event which may be sponsored by a school or a community group.
Each request is reviewed with building administrators with consideration for the developmental level of the student and the educational connections.
If you are taking a vacation, please email the attendance in your child's building and while the absence will be unexcused, we will make a notation of family vacation in our records.
Regular school attendance is key to your child's success and achievement in school. Families who are struggling with attendance are encouraged to reach out to our District Social Workers for support in improving school attendance.
Developing Good Attendance Habits
Elementary: Too sick to go to school?
Secondary: Too sick to go to school?
Our School Social Workers are here to help guide parents if there are factors preventing your child's attendance at school.
Social Worker
Social Worker
Social Worker
MSW, HSV
In February 2017, all public school districts in Pennsylvania were notified that Act 138 of 2016 regarding changes to School Truancy had been signed into law. As a result, the School District of Springfield Township (SDST) is in the process of updating our procedures for attendance, excusal of absences, and School Board Policy to be compliant with these new regulations. As such, it is important that all parents/guardians of students in grades K-12 are aware of these mandates for the 2017-2018 school year. The goal is to improve school attendance for all our students and deter truancy through a comprehensive approach.
Definitions:
- The new law defines truancy as 3 or more unexcused absences within a school year.
- Habitual truancy is defined as 6 or more unexcused absences within a school year.
In addition, the new law mandates a process school districts must follow for reporting truancy:
- Notifying parents/guardians in writing within 10 school days of the child’s third (3rd) unexcused absence. The district must indicate that the child has been truant and include a description of the consequences if the child becomes habitually truant. The district may offer an attendance improvement plan meeting up and including the 3rd unexcused absence. If the child accrues additional absences, an attendance improvement meeting must be held.
- If a child under 15 years of age becomes habitually truant, the school is required to refer the child to a school or community-based attendance improvement program or the county Children and Youth agency. In addition, a citation may be filed against a parent of a habitually truant child in magisterial district court.
- If a child is over 15 years of age and becomes habitually truant, the school is required to refer the student to a school or community-based attendance improvement program or file a citation against the student or parent in magisterial district court.
- In addition, this law provides local judges with considerable discretion to provide appropriate penalties in individual cases which may include increased fines and/or suspension of a student’s driving license, as examples.
It is the goal of SDST to avoid these additional consequences by creating systems to improve attendance, ease parental reporting of absences, and to provide clarity on excused/unexcused absence regulations.