Attendance and Grading

Attendance

Our top priority is to provide all students with a high-quality education, and we want to be as flexible as possible when it comes to meeting the needs of our families during this unusual time. In December 2020, CPS families with students in grades pre-K–8, as well as those enrolled in cluster programs, were given the option to return to in-person learning in early 2021 or continue learning at home. To accommodate each family’s learning preference, your child’s school created a unique school schedule and implemented specific health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19 for in-person learners. For these reasons, it is critical that families adhere to their preferred learning model. 

Families who chose to return to in-person learning are expected to send their child to school on all scheduled in-person days. If a child does not pass the daily health screener, they are expected to stay home and participate in remote learning if it is available and the child is well enough to do so.

If a child arrives at school when they are not scheduled to learn in person—either because they chose to continue learning remotely full time or because they chose hybrid learning and arrived at school on a day they are scheduled for remote learning—the child will be expected to return home and participate in remote learning that day. The child will not be added to an existing pod of in-person learners. Each pod has been carefully formed to allow for health screening, social distancing, and contact tracing, and changes to a pod could compromise the health and safety of those students and staff. Students who arrive at school without a parent will be supervised in an area away from other students until they can be picked up. 

As has always been the case, families who selected in-person learning may switch to remote learning at any time. Please notify your school if you would like to switch your child from in-person to remote learning. Families who selected remote learning and would like to switch to in-person learning will have the opportunity to do so for the fourth quarter.

In alignment with Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidance, teachers will take attendance at the beginning of each day, as they have been doing for the entire 2020-21 school year. 

Here are tips for building good attendance habits.

Please note that the following circumstances do not automatically qualify as an excused absence.

Mandatory isolation or quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19, and

Failure to pass the daily health screener.

If a child is well enough to learn remotely under these circumstances and their teacher offers remote learning, they will be expected to engage in remote learning. 

As always, student illness will be considered an excused absence.

If your child is learning remotely, their attendance will be taken at the start of real-time instruction.

If your child is unable to participate in remote or hybrid learning for any reason, please report the absence. During the pandemic, it is preferred that you call the school to report the absence. Please provide the following information:

Name of absent student

Date of absence

Reason for absence 

Name of the caller

Caller’s relationship to the student. 

Parents can also report absences by sending a written note to the school. Parents can not report absences via email or text message. 

Absences will be excused for the following reasons:

Student illness

Observance of a religious holiday

Death in the immediate family

Family emergency

Circumstances that cause reasonable concern for a child’s safety or health

Sounding taps  at a military honors funeral held in Illinois for a deceased veteran

A student’s parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat-support postings

Other situations beyond the control of the student (i.e., connectivity)

Grading

The district is continuing its regular grading practices, which align with ISBE guidance. Students should complete all assignments and make up any missed assignments per the school’s policy.