Attendance Policy

Regular school attendance is important. Students must attend school regularly to achieve in the classroom.  Parents who make regular school attendance a top priority help their children become dependable and responsible.  The importance of being in school every school day applies to students at all grade levels. Being absent from school hurts the student. Modesto City Schools’ data shows that students who do not attend school regularly achieve at a lower level than their classmates. Poor school attendance is the most frequently identified symptom of the potential school dropout. On average, students who were on track to graduate were absent eight (8) days during the entire school year. On average, high school students who are not on track to graduate (down 1-10 units) are absent seven (7) or more days in a semester, or 16 days in a school year.  On average, students who are absent one-and-a-half or more days a month ARE NOT on track to graduate with their classmates regardless of the school they attend, their grade level, the courses they take, or their ethnicity.

Absenteeism hurts other students. When students who have been absent return to school, they need more individual attention from their teacher. They often deprive their classmates of the teacher’s full attention. 

Absenteeism hurts your child’s school. State funding to schools is linked to student attendance. The more absences, the less funding a school district receives from the state and the total educational program suffers.

Absenteeism hurts our community. Students who are chronically absent are not prepared to join the work force or continue their education beyond high school. The Modesto Police Department confirms that daytime criminal activity increases when students are not in school.