Absence Procedures

ATTENDANCE

Absence Guidelines

Students are expected to come to school on time. Students who arrive more than five minutes after the start of class and/or school are considered late. There is no such thing as an excused late!

Appointments – Under normal circumstances, appointments should be scheduled outside the school day whenever possible.

Students are responsible for making up the work they missed while they were absent. At the beginning of the year, teachers will review the procedures for making up missed work with the students and parents.

Absence Procedure
If a student is absent from school, report their absence by email to absent@ms54.org. If you do not have access to email, call the school at 212-678-2861. The following conditions may excuse a student from school attendance:
  1. Personal illness, injury, or symptoms associated with COVID. A doctor's medical verification note may be required for extensive absences. 
  2. Family illness - an emergency situation requiring the student to be absent from school.
  3.  Death of a relative.
  4.  Observance of a religious holiday consistent with student's established creed or belief
Parent or medical verification notes should be submitted to the child’s homeroom teacher via email on the day the student returns to school. Absences documented with medical verification notes will be noted in the system as an excused absence. Please be sure to note the date of the absence on the letter.Students must be in school for a minimum of one full period to be marked present. 

Students leaving school due to illness, appointments or other reasons are required to have a parent sign them out of the building. Students will not be permitted to sign themselves out under any circumstances. A note from a parent cannot override this regulation. Students may not leave the building during the school day unaccompanied by a parent or guardian

For more information on school procedures, please read the Booker T. Washington MS 54 Handbook.