Attendance

Regular attendance is crucial to success in school. Students who are regularly late to school or miss school almost always fall behind and have a difficult time catching up to their classmates.

It is expected that your child will attend school and be on time to school every day. If your child is absent, you must call the school at 651-293-8680. All absences require a phone call or written excuse from a parent or guardian. A written absence note should include the child's name, the date of the absence, the reason for the absence and the signature of the parent or guardian. If we do not receive a phone call or note of explanation, the absence will be considered unexcused.

The following are acceptable reasons for absences:

• Illness
• Religious holiday
• Extreme family emergencies, such as a death in the family, a house fire, etc.
• Scheduled doctor or dentist appointment

The following are unacceptable reasons for absences:

• Student needs to babysit
• Travel/vacation without prior approval
• Transportation problems (e.g. or won't start)
• Missed the bus
• Overslept
• Weather

State law requires that children between grades K-6 attend school. After three cumulative days of unexcused absences, Maxfield staff will contact the parent or guardian by letter or phone call to share our concerns.

Tardiness

Children who are tardy miss important instructional time. Please help your child be on time every day. If you know that your child will be tardy, please call or provide a written excuse for the tardiness. Children who arrive late at school should report to the office before going to class. Habitually tardy students will be treated as truant.

Excessive Absences or Tardiness

Families who have students experiencing excessive absence or tardiness will be referred to the Family Truancy Intervention Program (FTIP) for assistance. FTIP will send a letter to the family expecting them to attend a meeting with the Assistant Ramsey County Attorney. Families in the FTIP program will be monitored by the school's attendance team. Further action by the County Attorney may be required if no improvement in attendance or on-time arrival is shown. Continued unexcused absences may result in a referral to the Ramsey County Child Protection office.

Medical and Dental Appointments

Your cooperation in arranging regular medical and dental checkups outside of school hours is appreciated. If a student must be excused for such an appointment during the school day, please send a note to the school stating the time the child will need to leave school and who will pick up the child. Your child will be expected at school before and after the appointment.

** We celebrate perfect attendance, so be sure your child arrives at school on time and is here every day! We'll be honoring our students with perfect attendance every month and at the end of the year.**