Students & Family

This year, McCleary School District is making a special effort to ensure that all students fully benefit from their education by attending school regularly. Student attendance is an essential first step for students to learn. The pandemic created many barriers for students, and we want you to know that our school is committed to supporting your student to attend and access their education. Your students’ futures are our first priority, and we want to partner with you to ensure their success.

Did you Know?

• By being present at school, your child learns valuable social skills and has the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with other students and school staff.
• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with schoolwork, dealing with a bully, or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
• Starting in kindergarten, too many absences (excused and unexcused) can cause children to fall behind in school.
• Missing 10 percent (just two days a month or about 18 days in a year) increases the chance that your student will not read or master math at the same level as their peers.
• Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
• By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th-grade test scores.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU 

We miss your student when they are not in school and we value their contributions to our community. We would like you to help ensure that your student attends regularly and is successful in school.  If your student is going to be absent, please contact the school office at 360-495-3204

OUR PROMISE TO YOU 

We know that there are a wide variety of reasons that students are absent from school, from health concerns to transportation challenges. There are people in our building prepared to help you if you or your student face challenges in getting to school regularly or on time.  We promise to track attendance daily, to notice when your student is missing from class, communicate with you to understand why they were absent, and identify barriers and supports available to overcome challenges you may face in helping your student attend school.