IMPORTANT

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for taking time to read this important message.  First let me say how proud I am of so many parents for their support of their children here at Harborview.  We have an incredible range of ethnic groups participating in our school community, making for a culture rich in diversity.  Let me assure you that we will always do our best to honor all students, regardless of race or creed.

CONCERN
I do want you to know that I am very concerned for any students who are chronically tardy or who have excessive absences.  This really is an adult issue as it is our responsibility to get our children to school on time ready to learn.  Children are dependent upon us for that responsibility we hold as parents.  Of course when children are sick or have excused reasons for not being in school, that is another matter entirely.

PURPOSE
The purpose of my letter is to inform you of our practices pertaining to truancy/absenteeism here at Harborview.  As stated earlier, many of our students are on time and come to school regularly.  That is always our goal. 

When students miss school we cannot teach and instruct them.  And when they arrive late they miss a very important part of the day as well.  There are volumes of research data that relate chronic truancy and absenteeism to problems in junior and senior high school, substance abuse, behavioral problems including gang activity, further adjustments problems in adulthood, including an increased propensity for violent behavior and incarceration. (Bell, Rosen, and Dynlacht, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990; Kelley et al., 1997).  The list goes on and on.  

HIGH STANDARDS
As Harborview’s principal, I want to hold all of us to a high standard of accountability.  Every child ought to have the same opportunities for success; being late and absent often prevent that from happening.  We need to take action and hold each other accountable.  I implore you as a parent to consider the embarrassment as a child enters the classroom late, or who is chronically absent without excuse.  If left unchecked, by the time students reach 1st or 2nd grades, they can be severely behind socially and academically.  Consequently when a child arrives chronically late or not at all in school, they miss out on strong friendship bonds that occur, they miss out on the morning circle and greeting time.  In a nutshell they miss one of the most important parts of a day, that being the preparation, planning, and goal setting part.

PLAN
During the 3rd Trimester, (Feb. 23 through the end of the year), I will be monitoring chronic unexcused truancy and absenteeism.  If students are more than 5 times truant or absent (unexcused), I will call for a meeting between parents, teacher/s and myself to address a plan in which improvement can be made.  This is in the best interest of our children.  We can’t expect students’ achievement to go up when students are late or not coming to school.

BOUNDARY EXCEPTIONS
Students who are at Harborview on a Boundary Exception must maintain strong attendance and punctuality. (not more than 5 unexcused tardies or absentees, or any combination thereof during each semester).  If chronic unexcused truancy and absenteeism does occur, students may likely be sent back to their home attendance school.  We can no longer hold seats available for students who are chronically late or absent.  I want to remind parents that when initial requests were made for a Boundary Exception, you signed off and agreed that if tardiness and absenteeism were a problem, the result could be that the Boundary Exception would be revoked.  In plain language students will be sent back to their home school when this occurs.  Each trimester and in August when Boundary Exceptions are typically renewed, we will be looking at the number of truancies and absences of each student to determine whether or not a Boundary Exception renewal will be granted. 

THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is we want all of our students to succeed.  Our goal is for 0 truancies and excellent attendance throughout the year.  If there are extenuating circumstances, tell us.  We will assist in any way that we can, however we do expect strong attendance from all of our students.  Student attendance will be a major point in considering boundary renewal for SY 2012/13 and thereafter.  This is a parent issue that we can address responsibly, and we can be successful if we make it a priority and give it our attention.

INCREASE STUDENT ATTENDANCE
If you have any questions regarding this issue, please do not hesitate in setting an appointment to meet with me.   I look forward to working with you to increase student attendance and performance in our school.  We have a terrific community of learners.  Let’s give them our very best shot at success!



Sincerely,



Dave Stoltenburg
Harborview Principal