Attendance
Student Absent from School
Each day their student will not be at school, a parent/guardian must either:
1. Call the attendance office (817)-949-5500
2. Email dmsattendance@southlakecarroll.edu
Attendance Overview for Parents
Attendance records at the middle school level serve two main purposes:
· To inform the allocation of funds from the State of Texas
· To track the student’s attendance for course credit
State Funding
School districts in Texas receive state funding based, in part, on Average Daily Attendance (ADA) numbers. ADA is based on attendance as of 10:00AM each day for all Carroll ISD campuses. Here at DMS, the 10:00am mark usually falls during 2nd period. If a student leaves school prior to 10:00am or arrives after 10:00am, they will not be counted present for state funding purposes, unless they have a medical appointment and provide a doctor’s note.
Attendance Tracking for Course Credit
While the 10:00am funding time is important, attendance is taken daily in all eight (8) class periods at Dawson Middle School (DMS) in order to determine the student’s eligibility for credit in each of their courses. This is a change from elementary/intermediate school.
· Per The Texas Education Agency, a student MUST be in attendance for 90% of the days that a course meets in order to receive credit for the course.
· Accordingly, a DMS student is allowed NINE (9) ABSENCES per semester in each course. If a student has more than the allowed nine absences in any given course, he or she must make up the missed time or they may be denied credit for that course.
· You can track the number of absences per course through Skyward. In addition, when your student reaches seven absences in a semester during one or more periods, we will send you a warning letter to advise you that they are getting close to exceeding the limit.
· Absences that are not included in calculating the absence count include:
o Absences due to doctor visits (documentation required from healthcare professional)
o Religious Holy Days (parent note or email required)
o Funerals (parent note or email required)
o Appearances in court or legal proceedings (court documentation required)
We strongly recommend providing the school with doctors’ notes as absences occur