Attendance
Regular attendance in all classes is an expectation of all Gorzycki MS students. State law and District policy state that students must be in attendance for 90% of the instructional days for a class to receive credit. A student who misses more days than allowed by AISD policy, excused or unexcused, may not be given credit for that class unless time and/or work is made up for the absences. Students will work with the grade level administrator to complete the appropriate steps to reach compliance.
Absences exempt from the 90% rule:
- School field trips
- UIL activities and events
- Other school-related events
- Documented medical appointments
When returning to school after an absence for any reason, a student must submit a note to the attendance clerk in the front office, signed by the parent or doctor, describing the reason for the absence. All notes for absences must be submitted within 48 hours of the student’s return to school in order for the absence to be excused. Failure to submit notes in this time frame will result in the absence remaining unexcused in the student’s attendance record. Any notes signed by the student even with the parent’s permission will be considered a forgery and the student will be disciplined.
Absence Notes can be easily submitted here
or by emailing gorzycki@austinisd.org
Illness
A student with a fever of 100.0 must be sent home and cannot return to school until the student has been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. If a student has been absent because of illness, a signed note from the parent stating that the student was ill must be turned in. If a student has been out more than 5 days because of illness the parent note must be accompanied by a doctor’s note/receipt, in order for the extra days to be excused. Additionally, the school will accept up to 5 parent notes for illnesses during the course of the school year. After 5 parent notes, the student will be required to submit a doctor’s note for any other illnesses (regardless of the number of days out) for the remainder of the school year in order for the absences to be excused.
Medical Appointment
When returning from a medical appointment, a signed note from the doctor is required. This ensures that the school receives funding from the state of Texas for the student when they were absent. In order for the school to receive this funding, the student must have attended school for part of the day on the day of the appointment.
Family Emergencies
We all have family situations that arise and Gorzycki Middle School is sensitive to that. Please clearly explain the nature of your family emergency in order for the absence to be excused. Excusing absences for family emergencies will be decided on a case by case basis with the final decision being made by the administration.
Funerals and Weddings
Students will be excused for up to two consecutive school days for family weddings and funerals. We realize that sometimes travel for these special events will keep a student out longer, and extra days for absences will occur. Again, the administration will determine whether any extra days required for attending a family funeral or wedding will be excused.
Family Vacations and Out of Town Trips
School days missed due to family vacations, out of town trips, taking extra days to extend the weekend, and time taken off for non-AISD extracurricular activities will not be excused.
Notification of absences
An automated phone message or email will be sent to the primary contact of any student who is given an absence on the day the absence is recorded. On the third and tenth absence, the district’s central office automatically mails a letter to the residence of the parent of the student. Ten or more unexcused absences may result in the campus pursuing legal action.
For more information on attendance requirements, visit the district website.