Poway Unified - About Us

Attendance Information

ATTENDANCE HOTLINE: 858-538-5692 -- Available 24 hours

Attendance Secretary:

Deb Nunez, MVMS Attendance Clerk
dnunez@powayusd.com
538-5478 ext. 3104

Notifying the school of absences and tardies:
Please call the Attendance hotline (which is available 24/7) for all student absence and tardies. The messages are checked throughout the day, but we appreciate you calling as early as possible. For planned absences or planned tardies due to appointments, you can always call days in advance.

**As a reminder, only parents and legal guardians may call the hotline.

Medical Notes: When your student misses any amount of school for a doctor/dentist appointment, it is beneficial to his/her attendance record to bring an official medical note to the attendance desk. Any all-day absence excused by a medical note does not count toward your student’s absence total.

OFF CAMPUS PASSES (Early Release):

Student safety is a major concern for us. Students must be signed out at the attendance desk before departing early. Students are not allowed to wait in front of the school to be picked up during school hours.

If your student needs to leave early from school, please send a note with your student (see needed information below). Notes should be given to the Attendance secretary, NOT your student's teacher, BEFORE school. If you forgot to send a note with your student, please call the Attendance Hotline (858-538-5692) at least 2 hours in advance of the pickup time to have an off campus pass sent to your student in advance so you are not waiting and to minimize interruptions to the classrooms.

When writing a note, please indicate:
Your student's first and last name
Reason for the early departure
The time your student needs to leave school
Whether or not your student will return that day

Please meet your child at the attendance desk to be signed out at the time of departure. Be prepared to show your identification when checking out your child.

If your student returns to school after being picked up early, please have him/her check back in at the Attendance desk before heading to class.

CLEARING ABSENCES:

If your student is absent, please call the Attendance hotline as soon as possible each day your student is absent (unless you give us a date range for multiple days). A parent or legal guardian must make this call.

In the message, please state:

Your student’s first and last name
Their grade
The date of the absence(s)
The reason (if sick, please list symptoms)
Your relationship to the student
A phone number where you can be reached

Students are considered truant after 72 hours of the absence if we do not receive a call or note from a parent/guardian.

Excessive Absences and Truancies
The law in California regarding compulsory school attendance for minors is very specific and carries penalties for both parents and minors for failure to comply with these regulations. The process is explained below with the purpose of providing full disclosure about the legal responsibility all parents have to make sure their children attend school on time, every day. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to provide your children with the finest education.

Excessive Excused Absences:
12 full-day excused absences in one school year are considered excessive. Parents will receive a letter from the school office as notification. 16 absences will trigger a second letter, and 20 absences will trigger a third letter.

To avoid this process, please try and provide a medical note from your doctor/dentist if your student has a need to miss school for medical reasons. Any absence excused by a medical note does NOT count toward your student’s number of absences.

Truancy:
Three full-day truancies (unexcused absences) in one school year will trigger a letter home. Six truancies will trigger a second letter, and nine will trigger a third letter.

Copies of the above letters are sent to the district’s Student Attendance and Discipline office. Students with truancies or excessive excused absences will be referred to a Student Attendance Review Team. This team is comprised of Poway Unified School District personnel and works with the student and parents to eliminate attendance problems and issues appropriate disciplinary measures.

TARDIES:

If a student is not in their seat by 8:00 am (9:20 am on Wednesdays), he or she is considered tardy. If your student’s tardy is to be excused, please do ONE of the following:

Accompany your student to the office, and sign them in at the Attendance desk OR
Call and leave a message on the Attendance hotline OR
Send a note with your student to bring to the attendance office window when they arrive

Students whose tardy should not be excused still need to check in at the Attendance desk when they arrive, but a parent/guardian is not required to accompany them or send a note.

All students need to check in with Attendance when they are late, regardless of whether their tardy is excused or not, and regardless of the method you are using to excuse their tardy.

Parents may not excuse tardies which occur between classes during the school day.

If your student believes a tardy was given incorrectly, please have him/her notify the attendance office.