Absences

The Anchorage School District considers regular school attendance to be one of the most important determinants of student academic success. All students are required to attend school regularly unless authorized by the parents or school to be absent. Our School Board and Birchwood ABC have created policies and procedures to encourage regular attendance and
ensure communication between the school and parents. Regular and timely attendance by all our students is a goal of our district. Please let us know if there are obstacles preventing your child from attending school regularly and on-time. We are here to support you. We miss your child when s/he is not here.

Parents are asked to call the school by 9:00AM each morning their child is absent from school to excuse him/her from that day’s attendance. Automated calls will be made to families starting at 10:30AM when a child is absent from school and no notification has been received from parents. If your child is going to be gone for a prolonged absence, please complete a Pre-Planned Absence Form (one form per child in the family) to notify the school of your child’s absences. Please submit one week in advance. School Board policy outlines the following conditions that may result in an excused absence from school:

1. illness,
2. serious illness or death in the immediate family,
3. attendance at a school sponsored event,
4. extenuating circumstances approved by the principal and
5. attendance at religious services.

Any absence that is not excused is considered a truancy. The school will contact parents if their child has excessive absences and tardies. For more information about the Anchorage School District’s attendance policies, please refer to the ASD 2022-2023 Elementary School
Student Handbook at www.asdk12.org/ and the Birchwood ABC attendance policy at. This handbook can be found online at https://www.asdk12.org/birchwoodabc.

Teachers shall be responsible for providing and evaluating assignments given during a student absence or an alternative. A student will usually have 1 day to complete make up work for every 1 day he/she misses. It is the principal's discretion to work with the teacher to decide if additional time is warranted.