• 10 or Less for School Success!

    Madison Elementary School teachers and staff are working very hard to become a school where students are achieving at their highest abilities. Regular student attendance is essential to this goal. Research shows that attendance is the single most important factor in school success. Those students who miss a lot of school do not do as well in school; it is difficult to fill in the gaps they have missed and school becomes harder for them. Our passion is to teach your children and we need them here. You may be surprised at how much learning happens in one day of school.

    As a school, our goal is for students to miss “10 or less for school success.”  We do not expect perfect attendance.  We understand that there are times when students will be absent but these should be limited and under special circumstances.  Those special circumstances tend to be medical and with notes from a doctor. For this reason, absence due to family vacations exceeding 5 missed school days will be unexcused. Excused versus unexcused is important under the “Becca Bill.”  This is Washington’s truancy law that requires students age 6 to 17 who are enrolled in public schools to attend regularly Monday through Friday. 

    We treasure and value our time with your child and feel that regular, on-time attendance is an important piece of the academic and social development of your child.  Please let us know if we can help: We hope to work together to improve your child’s attendance this school year. 

    Tips to prevent absences:

    • Talk about family expectations about school attendance.
    • Discuss family expectations for earning a high school diploma.
    • Praise positive behaviors and achievement in school.
    • Look for attitudes from your child that indicate unhappiness with school or fear of attending school. Listen to what they say and ask questions. Address issues of concern with the school. Start with the teacher or the counselor.
    • Work with your child to create morning and bedtime routines.
    • Identify a “back up” plan for getting to and from school.