Pine Grove Middle School

The student’s first period class is the attendance base. Students shall be considered late to school if they arrive after morningnannouncements.

The Compulsory Education Law requires the regular attendance of all children between 6 and 16 years of age and requires that you remain in attendance until the last day of the school year in which you become 16 years of age. Your parent/guardian is responsible to see that you conform to all attendance regulations and procedures. Repeated violation of attendance rules will be considered insubordinate behavior and subject you to disciplinary measures

• If you arrive late to school for any reason, report to the Attendance Center immediately upon arrival. You must sign in and receive a late pass.
• All absences will be considered illegal absences until an email from the parent/guardian is received or the student brings a note, which must be submitted to the Attendance Center within 5 days of the absence. The note, signed by a parent, should indicate day(s) and reason(s) for the absence(s).
• Be aware a note from a parent/guardian does not necessarily make an absence legal and not all written excuses change an unexcused absence to an excused absence. Examples of legal absences are personal illness, visits to a clinic, illness or death in the family, quarantine, impassable roads, religious observance, required court appearances, or other excuses accepted by the NYS Commissioner of Education. Excuses such as babysitting, needed at home, job interview, hunting/fishing/sports outside of school, appointment, errand for parent or self,  and car repairs are not legal.
• The district reserves the right to require a doctor’s note.
• To report an absence or other attendance issue, you may call: 315-434-3051 or email: pgattendance@esmschools.org Otherwise, you will be contacted by ParentSquare using the phone numbers in your contact information.
  • Please keep your contact information current, call the attendance center with any changes in phone numbers, addresses, etc. Our contact with parents/guardians is vital to identify children who are truant and out of school without your knowledge.
  • We will still need a note when your child returns for our records; the Commissioner has stated that it is entirely proper and necessary for school officials to require documentation of the reasons for a pupil’s absences in order to fulfill the school district’s responsibility under the Compulsory Education Law.
  • Parents who allow their children to be excessively absent without adequate explanation can be charged with educational neglect in Family Court until the child’s eighteenth birthday.

When you’re excused early from school, you must bring a written request to the Attendance Center before going to first period. You will receive an early dismissal p ass that will allow you to leave class at the time you are to be excused. Before leaving, you must sign out in the Attendance Center. The request must contain the following information:

1.  Date
2.  Student’s First and Last Name
3.  Time to be excused
4.  Phone number where a parent or guardian can be reached
5.  Signature of your parent or guardian
6.  A pattern of truancies could lead to any of the following:
   • Principal’s Hearing
   • Home visitations
   • Superintendent’s Hearing

Tardy to School:
Students are expected to be punctual to school. Students who are tardy to school must report immediately to the attendance office to sign in and receive a late pass to class. Students arriving late to school also need a note with the following information:

1.  Date
2.  Student’s First and Last Name
3.  Reason for Lateness
4.  Phone number where a parent or guardian can be reached
5.  Signature of parent/guardian

Students arriving late without a note will be considered: Late Unexcused.

Exemplary Attendance: No absences with the following exceptions, all of which will be verified by appropriate personnel:

• Death of an immediate family member
• Mandated court appearance
• College visit or job shadowing experience with prior approval by the school counselor
• School sponsored field trip
• Religious observation

Once you have arrived on school property, you are not to leave under any circumstances without permission from either your parent/guardian or an administrator. In order to leave the school property, you must be signed out at the Attendance Center. Attendance procedures for leaving the building must be followed. According to the law, schools operate under the concept of in loco parentis which means we are legally responsible for you and your safe whereabouts for the duration of the school day.