Attendance

Parents must telephone ECMS before 8:30 a.m. each day that a student will be tardy or absent. The ECMS phone number, available 24 hours a day, is 978-443-1071; press “1” for the absentee line. Leave your child’s name, grade, and reason for absence; if s/he will be out for several days, please note that in your message. Your child’s safety is critical and, while it may be a small inconvenience to call, the effort is a key component in our attendance system. We will call the parent of any absent student who has not been recorded on the absentee line to verify the absence. If we cannot reach a parent or any of the designated emergency contacts and speak directly with them to confirm the absence, the Sudbury Police will be notified. In the case of METCO students, we will notify the METCO director.

Each student absence or tardy will be coded as excused or unexcused.

An excused absence includes:

• Documented illness or injury
• Bereavement/family funeral
• Major religious observances
• Extraordinary family circumstances

An unexcused absence includes, but is not limited to:

• Chronic absences or tardies without medical documentation
• Truancy
• Non-emergency family situations
• Family vacations

Attendance letters will be sent home for students that have more than five (5) unexcused absences and meetings will be requested for students that have 10+ absences from school.  Our hope is to work together with families to ensure all of our students are in school regularly.