Attendance
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Consistent attendance at school is important for students to make academic progress and also provides them with opportunities for social and emotional growth.
Excused Absences
Under state law, excused absences include:
- Illness
- Family emergency
- Death of a family member
- Medical or dental appointments
- Authorized school activities
- Educational travel* (with prior approval from building principal through a written application), and
- Court hearings as required by a county, youth agency or juvenile probation office.
Absence Procedures
When your child is absent from school:
- Submit a written excuse from a parent/guardian or a doctor excusing the student for the entire school day. This must be submitted within five (5) school days after the last day of absence.
- If a student is absent for three (3) consecutive days, they must present a doctor's excuse upon returning to school. If your child returns to school without a doctor's excuse, the absence will be marked unlawful.
A maximum of 10 (ten) days excused with a parent note are allowed per year. If you reach the maximum of 10 (ten) days excused with a parent note, you will be required to provide a doctor's excuse for all additional absences; otherwise, those absences will be marked unlawful.
Stay Red Knight Ready
Students should miss no more than nine (9) days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track to graduate. Attendance is an important life skill that can help your child succeed in school and beyond. Our educators work hard to provide meaningful instruction throughout the day and we expect students to have good attendance so they may fully participate in the learning process.
Thanks for your partnership in ensuring your children are at school and ready to learn!
*Educational trips must receive prior approval from your school's principal through a written application. Approval is based on the educational value of the trip and the student's attendance record. A maximum of five (5) days can be used during a school year with no more than two (2) educational trip requests per year; requests affecting PSSA testing will not be honored.
Did You Know?
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Each student's report card includes a list of excused, unlawful and tardy days. In addition, phone calls are made at 6 p.m. to inform parents if their child was absent from school that day. Parents could also receive phone calls from the Home and School Visitors or a Parent Outreach Assistant.
Frequently Asked Questions
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My child is ill; should I keep them home from school?
If your child is ill, it can be difficult to know when to send them to school. How sick is too sick for school? Here are some guidelines:
Send your child to school if:
- They have minor cold symptoms but no other symptoms.
- They have not taken any fever-reducing medicine for 24 hours, and have not had a fever during that time.
- They have not thrown up or had any diarrhea for 24 hours.
Keep your child at home if:
- They have a temperature higher than 100 degrees even after taking medicine.
- They are throwing up or have diarrhea more than once.
- Their eyes are pink and have yellow or green.
Call the doctor for your child if:
- They have a temperature higher than 100 degrees for more than two days.
- They have been throwing up or have diarrhea for more than two days.
- They still have asthma symptoms after using asthma medicine (and call 911 if they are having trouble breathing after using an inhaler).
Home and School Visitors
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All of the Home and School Visitors are SAP trained, and they work with students, parents and staff to address truancy issues. The essential functions of our Home and School visitors include:
- Visit the homes of students who are experiencing challenges in school, such as attendance, academics and discipline.
- Work with parents to assist them in finding appropriate community agencies and resources, such as Job Corps, SAM and psychological services.
- Attend assigned District Justice and Juvenile court proceedings.
- Canvas assigned areas of the city.
- Work with assigned alternative school programs and provide services to students attending those schools.
- Work with school nurses and school counselors to address attendance issues.
Main Contacts
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Department Contacts
Linda Pauley
Pupil Accounting and Attendance
610-371-5868Wynton Butler
Social Services Director
484-258-7103 Ext 60201
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Elementary Schools
Coverage areas:
- 12th and Marion Elementary
- 13th and Union Elementary
- Riverside Elementary
- Glenside Elementary
- Northwest Area Elementary
- Lauer's Park Elementary
David C. MarrellaHome and School Visitor484-769-0915(Also covers Northwest Middle and Northeast Middle)
Coverage areas:
- Tyson-Schoener Elementary
- Amanda Stout Elementary
- 16th and Haak Elementary
- Millmont Elementary
Elizabeth Hernandez-CollazoHome and School Visitor610-371-5934 Ext. 54017(Also covers Southern Middle, Southwest Middle and Learning Academy at Thomas Ford)
Coverage areas:
- 10th and Penn Elementary
- 10th and Green Elementary
- 13th and Green Elementary
Jacquline GuerreroHome and School Visitor484-769-0923(Also covers Central Middle and Reading Virtual Academy)
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Middle Schools
Coverage areas:
- Northwest Middle
- Northeast Middle
David C. MarrellaHome and School Visitor484-769-0915(Also covers 12th and Marion Elementary, 13th and Union Elementary, Riverside Elementary, Glenside Elementary, Northwest Area Elementary and Lauer's Park Elementary)
Coverage areas:
- Southern Middle
- Southwest Middle
Elizabeth Hernandez-CollazoHome and School Visitor610-371-5934 Ext. 54017(Also covers Tyson-Schoener Elementary, Amanda Stout Elementary, 16th and Haak Elementary, Millmont Elementary and Learning Academy at Thomas Ford)
Coverage areas:
- Central Middle
Jacquline GuerreroHome and School Visitor484-769-0923(Also covers 10th and Penn Elementary, 10th and Green Elementary, 13th and Green Elementary and Reading Virtual Academy)
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High School Campuses & Career and Technology Center
Coverage areas:
- Reading High School
- Reading-Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center
- RKAA-Glenside Campus
- RKAA-Thomas Ford Campus
- RKAA-City Line Campus
Jerome SingletonHome and School Visitor484-769-0159
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Reading Virtual Academy
Jacquline GuerreroHome and School Visitor484-769-0923