Attendance and Vacations
If your child is absent from school, it is your responsibility to inform the school by emailing decatur.attendance@seattleschools.org or by calling the office at 252-3230 by 8:50 a.m. If you are leaving a message, please let us know the name of your child, teacher’s name, your name, and reason for the absence. You will need to telephone or email each day that your child is absent. If a call or email is not received by 8:50 a.m., the office will confirm your child’s absence by calling you that morning.
If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent 2 or more days due to a medical situation, if they will be absent for a funeral, religious holiday or other one-time special events or if they will be out of town, you must fill out the Pre-Planned Absence form (found at the bottom of this linked page) 3 days prior to the absence and return it to the office. We only need the form for 2 or more consecutive full-day absences
Please note that family vacations are no longer considered an excused absence. They will be marked as an unexcused vacation. The teaching schedule is tightly packed with little room for alterations to accommodate extended student absences. Classroom teachers are rarely able to supply make-up work that adequately replaces missed learning experiences.
The preplanned absence form must be returned to the office at least 3 days prior to the child’s absence.
Late Arrivals
Any student arriving after 8:55 a.m. must stop by the office to check-in and get a late dot before going to class. All late students will be marked UNEXCUSED LATE, unless they have a note from their doctor, dentist or therapist.
Early Dismissal
If your child needs to leave school early for any reason, the teacher must be notified by either a written note or email. Please come into the office to sign your child out and we will call them to the office. Only adults listed on your emergency form will be allowed to take your child out of school.
All students leaving before 3:25 p.m. (2:10 p.m. on Wednesdays) will be marked UNEXCUSED LEFT EARLY, unless they have a note from their doctor, dentist or therapist.
After School Plans
Teachers must keep very close track of where each child is going after school (on the bus, home with a parent, home with a nanny or friend, to after school clubs, etc.). You and your child will find it less stressful if everyone, including the teacher, knows the dismissal plan for the day. Please send a note or email to your child’s teacher whenever there is a change in plans. Please notify the Transportation Department (252-0900), as soon as possible if there are concerns related to busing. If you are picking your child up after school and you are running a little late, there is no need to call because all students who are still in the parent pick-up area at 3:35 are brought into the office.