Report an Absence

Attendance Recorder: 847-963-3701

If a student is absent due to illness, a parent or guardian should call the attendance recorder at (847) 963-3701 by 8:30am. Note that this is different from the regular school number.

Children who exhibit any of the following should be kept home:

• Fever (child must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school)
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Contagious diseases such as chicken pox or fifth disease
• Rash of unknown origin

If a parent call has not been received, the school will attempt to notify the absentee’s parents. State law requires that student absences must be verified daily. Parents may call the absence recorder number any time after school hours the day before the absence. Please give your child’s name, section number, and a brief description of illness, if infectious. The school should always be advised of all cases of communicable diseases (measles, mumps, head lice, etc.). Notice of exposure will be sent to other parents.

Regular on-time attendance is very important. Children who are absent unnecessarily miss vital classroom instruction time that may have a negative impact on their academic progress and grades. . Repeated absences may have a negative effect on a student’s progress, work habits, and attitude. Please make every effort to schedule vacations and medical appointments so they do not interfere with school attendance.

The Illinois State Board of Education dictates what adds up to a full day of school vs. a half day of school, as well as tardies and truancies. District 15 follows the standard shown below:

• Any student who is late for school 30 minutes or less will be marked tardy.  (We understand that school buses sometimes run late due to unforeseeable circumstances and in these instances students will not be marked tardy.)
• Any student who leaves 30 minutes or less before the end of the school day will be marked with an early pick-up.
• Any student who is in attendance for more than 150 class-time minutes (the lunch/recess hour does not count) but less than 300 class-time minutes will be marked absent for a half-day.
• Any student who is in attendance for less than 150 class-time minutes (the lunch/recess hour does not count) will be marked absent for the full day.

Our first concern when a child is absent is to verify the child’s safety. For that reason, it is very important that the school office knows the whereabouts of your child(ren) when they are absent or will be late arriving at school. When your child is absent, it is your responsibility to call the school absence line or the school office to notify the staff of your child’s absence. Please state your child’s full name, the teacher’s name, the date of the absence, and the reason for the absence.

If your child’s whereabouts are unknown, every effort will be made to reach you using the phone numbers you have provided. Please make sure that your child’s school office has all current phone numbers on record. If you have not notified the school with the reason of an absence and the school office has exhausted all attempts to reach you, your child will be marked truant for that school day and any other school day that your child is unaccounted for.