2024-2025 Attendance Information and Resources
Research is clear that showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic and social success, starting from pre-kindergarten and continuing through high school.
Missing 10% (or about 18 days of a school year or 2 a month) can drastically affect a student’s academic success at each grade level.
By the 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that can indicate if a student is at risk for dropping out of high school.
In the 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
Please help us support a culture of showing up to school every day!
Please review Policy 9010: https://policy.hcpss.org/9000/9010/
Reporting an Absence
If your student is absent or will be absent, please contact us at the following email address to explain the reason: emmsabsence@hcpss.org. In the email please Include the following information:
Student First and Last Name
Grade
Reason for absence (e.g., illness, bereavement, observance of a religious holiday, lack of transportation)
Parent/Guardian name and contact information
Upon receipt of the email, the attendance record in Synergy will be updated per HCPSS policy. Please review HCPSS Policy 9010 – Attendance for guidelines on what is considered to be a Lawful (Excused) Absence.
A student has five days from the date of the absence to send a note. If the note is received after the five-day grace period, the absence will remain unexcused. If a note is not received, the absence will be documented as Truant (unexcused). Please see the Secondary Student Handbook for more information.
What is considered an excused absence?
A lawful absence is an excused absence for any portion of the day under the following conditions:
Illness of the student
Death in the immediate family
Court summons
Observance of a religious holiday - complete THIS FORM if you need to be absent for a religious observance
Hazardous weather conditions (as determined by the Superintendent)
State emergency (as determined by the Governor)
Suspension
Lack of authorized transportation (school system transportation)
Discretionary Days
HCPSS students are granted 3 days a year to use at their discretion for scheduled interviews with prospective employers, visits to post-secondary institutions, family trips, civic engagement, and other special events.
Such absences may not occur during exam or state-mandated testing periods unless authorized by the principal/designee.
A written request for such absences to be lawful/excused should be submitted at least one week in advance to the principal/designee. Please download the PDF fillable Discretionary Absence Form and email it to emmsabsence@hcpss.org. The form is also available in Chinese, Korean, and Spanish
If you are requesting a day for a religious holiday not identified by the Howard County Public School System school calendar, please download the PDF fillable Religious Obligation Form and email it to emmsabsence@hcpss.org.
Late Arrivals
Students who arrive late to school will enter through the main entrance to report to the Front Office. The student will sign in with a front office staff member before reporting to class. Students will be provided with a late pass to share with their teacher.
If it is an excused tardy, parents should email a note to emmsabsence@hcpss.org. We will not accept handwritten notes. Please include:
Student first and last name and late arrival in the subject line
Send from the e-mail address on your family file
Indicate the reason for the late arrival
Parent name and contact information
Early Dismissals
There will be no early dismissal after 3:00 pm daily. There is not enough time to process a dismissal before the regular dismissal time.
When a parent/guardian arrives at the school, please come to either vestibule entrance with your driver's license or official ID and press the call button.
Indicate that you are here for an early dismissal of your student(s).
You will then be given access to enter the building to then enter our Front Office. You will be asked to show your ID and sign your name and your student(s)' name.
Once confirmed that you are eligible for pick up, you will be asked to return to your vehicle or to either vestibule to await the arrival of your student.
With the collaborative effort of HCPSS parents, staff and students, we are confident that all students can have successful attendance. This will improve student success in school and in future life!