Friday January 15, 2021
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Happy New Year! As we begin 2021 I want to once again, share the NYC DOE and our PS 38 Attendance Policy.
The DOE 2020-2021 Attendance Policy can be found on the Info Hub at: https://infohub.nyced.org/school-year-2020-21/return-to-school-2020/attendance-and-chronic-absenteeism/attendance-policy-for-school-year-2020-21
As per New York State and NYC DOE requirements, it is our responsibility as educators to collect daily attendance for all students both remote and in-person. Chancellor’s Regulations mandates students’ daily attendance and engagement both in person and remotely and enforces attainment of at least 90% attendance regardless of your learning preference.
At this time we are closely monitoring all students who fall below the 90% and these families will receive an attendance letter in their child’s Google Classroom. We are also closely monitoring students who are chronically absent and fail to attend Virtual Meets.
Children do get sick and that is understood, however not all absences are due to illness. Any substantiating medical documentation should be shared with the school for children absent 2 or more days from school. This does not eliminate the absence, but merely documents that they were ill.
Let’s define what “In Attendance or Present” means:
In Person Students: In order to be marked “In Attendance/Present” a student must be physically present in the school building and in their classroom for instruction during the scheduled school day.
Remote and Blended Remote Students: In order to be marked “In Attendance/Present,” students who are remote and blended remote must be logged on for Synchronous/Live Google Meets instruction with their teacher during all sessions.
***All students are also responsible for completing asynchronous independent assignments to be submitted when due.
****Remote Students and Blended Remote students will be marked “Absent” if: They are not logged on for their scheduled Google Meet sessions.
Please note: Students should attend all synchronous Google Meets sessions on their schedule for the day. Each session is another subject area and a live teacher will be teaching them new lessons and strategies which they will use to complete their Homework and independent assignments. Treat this as a regular school day. In order to receive a grade in each subject, they must be present.
Remember in order to learn students must be present with their teachers and complete their work… Attendance Counts!
Synchronous Instruction are live virtual meets between the teacher and students each day at scheduled times, communicated in advance to parents and students. A remote student is present for synchronous instruction when logged on for their scheduled Google Meets. Students should be on time, come prepared with their materials, be dressed appropriately and have a learning corner set up in which they will work. Asynchronous Instruction is when students work independently at their own pace without their teacher on assigned tasks connected to the lessons which were already taught. Teachers are not interacting at this time. Asynchronous independent assignments are connected to what children have learned with the teacher and provide them an opportunity to show what they have learned and can do on their own. All students should try their best and complete all assignments.
PS 38 Attendance Team Protocols:
We have a wonderful attendance team and family outreach team who works with Administration to track and monitor all students’ engagement whether learning remotely or in person. I work collaboratively with your children’s teachers, our Parent Coordinator Mrs. Chow, and these teams to ensure all students are in fact engaging in virtual meets and coming to school whether remote or in person and we use the DOE Insight tool which tracks all student’s engagement.
When we notice a child is not engaged our teams will make and document multiple attempts to reach out to the family in support. We work closely with our School Support team and District Attendance monitor to reach out to families of students who are frequently or chronically absent.
In cases when all outreach has been exhausted, the Agency for Child Services can be contacted and an EDUCATIONAL NEGLECT complaint will be made.
All attendance is submitted to the DOE before 4:00 P.m. each day. Attendance is very important, it teaches children from the onset to be responsible and value education. Children who are excessively absent lose interest in school and do not perform to their full potential.
Please continue to partner with us in this initiative.
ATTENDANCE IS THE KEY TO A DOOR OF OPPORTUNITIES AND SUCCESS.
Thank you for continuing to be partners in your child’s learning!
“Partners with Families…Partners In Learning”
Believing In Children...
Inspiring Young Minds,
Nancy Murillo
Principal
January Attendance Policy Letter 2021 1.docx
DOE RTS - Health Investigation Complete - Cleared.docx
12-22-20.docx
November 23 2020.doc
10-28-20.docx
Town Hall letter to families.docx
welcome letter to families.doc
town hall flier aug 6 2020.doc
PS 38 Re-Opening Fall 2020-2021- Town Hall 8/6/2020