Attendance
ABSENCES
To Report an Absence, please call the Bancroft School Office at (925) 933-3405 (leave voicemail after-hours) or email besattendance@mdusd.org to report an absence by 10:00 a.m. the day of the absence.
Consistent attendance is paramount to the annual success of our students. This includes an on-time arrival. Parents are notified by a school/district issued letter when absences and/or tardies begin to accumulate and could indicate a potential problem. For more information, please visit MDUSD’s Attendance webpage.
It is strongly recommended that a student not be removed from school for family trips/vacations.
Student Illness: Keeping our students and staff healthy is a priority. All locations of the school are supplied with antibacterial soap and sanitizer. Students are taught, reminded to wash or sanitize on a regular basis. Students running a fever must be “fever free” for 24 hours (without medication) before returning to school.
Excused Absences: Regular school attendance is a key to successful learning. Parents need to notify the school of student absences. The office needs to know the reason for student absences in order to determine if the absence can be excused; thus preventing the student from being identified as truant.
Chronic Absenteeism: Effective April 10, 2023, if a student is chronically absent, the parent/guardian must provide medical verification for future absences to be excused. Once a student is identified as chronically absent they will be required to follow these procedures until the end of this school year. Chronic absenteeism means that a student has missed 10 percent or more of school days (to date) due to absences for any reason—excused, unexcused absences and suspensions. Absences can cause students to have difficulty learning to read by their third-grade benchmark assessments, affect academic achievement in middle school, or affect student motivation to do the work required to graduate from high school. Remember “Every School Day Counts. Attend today, Achieve for a lifetime!
INDEPENDENT STUDY CONTRACTS (ISC)
If necessary, Independent Study Contracts are available upon request and subject to Principal approval. Parent may be asked to meet with the principal and /or classroom teacher to discuss this need. The request for Independent Study is necessary at least two weeks prior to the absence and can only be provided if a student will be away for a minimum of 5 days to a maximum of 14 days of consecutive absences. Please come to the School Office to initiate your request for a contract prior to contacting the classroom teacher. It is strongly recommended that a student not be removed from instruction for family trips/vacations. Instruction missed is very difficult to duplicate even through an Independent Study Contract.
RELEASE OF STUDENTS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY
Parents must come to the office to sign the child out of school during the School Day. The Office staff will then call the classroom to ask that your child be sent to the office. For your child's protection, it is our policy not to release your child to anyone other than the parent, emergency contact, or guardian without your written permission.