Attendance
We look forward to welcoming your child to school every day!
Daily attendance with on-time arrival gives each student the opportunity to start the day with a healthy breakfast, time to socialize with their peers and experience optimal learning.
Full-day attendance is critical to academic achievement and creates a sense of belonging in our school. A missed school day is a lost opportunity to learn.
Communication with parents/guardians about the health of their children is our first line of awareness to provide support to the student as well as inform the school of illnesses that could impact the health of others. Missed school days add up quickly and it is our intention to partner with you to respond quickly and appropriately when a student is absent.
Reporting an absence?
- 612-668-4524
- northrop.attendance@mpls.k12.mn.us
If you have a planned family activity or vacation, please follow complete an absence request form (details below).
Reporting Absences
The Health Office should be notified of all absences in one of three ways:
- By telephone: 612-668-4524.
Please leave a message with your student’s name, spelling of the last name and reason for absence (please include symptoms of illness for communicable disease tracking). - By email: Northrop.Attendance@mpls.k12.mn.us.
Please provide us with your student’s name and reason for absence (please include symptoms of illness). - If you have a vacation planned in advance, please fill out the Family Vacation Request form and send it to northrop.attendance@mpls.k12.mn.us
(paper copies are also available in the Main Office).
You need to notify us if your student will be late due to a planned appointment. Please call the attendance line and let us know who your student is, when their appointment is and your estimated time of arrival. After your appointment, please ask your provider for a doctor's note or send northrop.attendance@mpls.k12.mn.us a verified appointment reminder.
If your child misses school for a health care visit, please bring us a note from the clinic excusing the absence. Most clinics have an established policy for excusing absences due to doctor visits and will happily provide you with a note to bring to school.
Note: If you forget to notify school when your student is absent you will receive a robocall at 12:15 pm. Please call the attendance line at that time to excuse the absence.
When to Keep Your Student Home Due to Illness
The transition back to school after a global pandemic has left a lot of families with uncertainties about when it’s okay to send your child to school. A child should not come to school (and will be sent home from school) if they have or have had:
- A fever of 100 degrees F (orally) or higher in the past 24 hours
- Vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours
- An undiagnosed skin rash
Please notify the school if your child has a contagious condition like chicken pox, strep throat or head lice.
Please refer to the district Health Services website for additional information on when to keep your child home from school.
School Outreach about Absences
If you forget to notify school when your student is absent you will receive a robocall at 12:15 pm. Please call the attendance line at that time to excuse the absence.
Students who accumulate 10 total absences in a school year (or 6 absences in a row) due to illness will receive outreach from the attendance team. Students who accumulate this many absences due to illness are encouraged to seek medical advice from their clinic or provider and bring a note to school documenting the visit.
MPS Attendance Policy
The goal of the MPS Attendance Policy is to promote student attendance and assure that absences are effectively addressed and learning resumes as soon as possible.
Minnesota law states that all students are required to attend school from age 7, or when they enroll in kindergarten (whichever comes first) until they are 18 years old. School staff are mandated reporters and directed by state statute and MPS policy to report students who are chronically absent. A student’s failure to attend school without a valid excuse may lead to legal action for the parents/guardians and the student.
It is our goal to work with students and families to promote daily attendance and engage students in learning. MPS has set 95% attendance as the minimum standard.
Elementary students arriving one hour after the start of instruction or leaving one hour early will be coded half-day absent due to the loss of learning time.