Attendance Matters

Every school day counts in a child's academic life and a missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. In this era of increased accountability by states, districts, and schools, the connection between student attendance and learning is being studied more than ever before.  If your child is absent and you would like to send in an excuse (doctor's note, appointment notification, etc...), please email it to vheattendance@apsk12.org in addition to your student's homeroom teacher.

Absences & Tardies

Students are expected to be present and arrive on time to school. Students are marked as tardy at 7:45 am, and parents must escort the child into the building.  Students who are absent or tardy miss valuable instructional time and other important school activities and are less likely to master those skills, concepts, and principles needed for success.  The state of GA deems six absences or more as excessive. Our school strives to keep each student’s number of absences between zero and five. Calls and/or letters will be given to families of students with three or more absences. In addition, students will receive positive recognition for good attendance monthly and yearly. We appreciate your efforts in getting your child to school on-time every day.

Absenteeism is factored into our school's overall College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRP) score released by the Georgia Department of Education. 

Make-Up Work
Students are responsible for completing all missed work when absent from school. Upon returning to school, the student or parent must arrange with the teacher to secure the student make-up work. Students must return makeup work in a timefram that is equal to the days absent from school. Make-up work may include, but is not limited, assignments, tasks, tests and projects. We ask that make-up work be obtained at the end of the school day in order to limit interruptions.

Personal Appointments: Dentist, Doctor, Etc.
When possible, please schedule these appointments before or after school hours. If your child must leave school for an appointment, send a note to your child’s teacher on the day your child will need to leave early. Please go to the office to pick up your child. Students leaving early must be signed out in the office by a parent. A child must be in school for 3 hours and 15 minutes to be counted present for the day. 

No early dismissals will be granted after 1:45 pm in order for the school to prepare for an orderly dismissal.

Inclement Weather, Emergency School Closing and Delayed Openings
In the event of severe weather or other emergencies, official information about school closing will be broadcast on Atlanta area radio and television stations. Parents should be aware that severe weather or other emergencies could cause school to be canceled during the school day and should plan accordingly.

Atlanta Public Schools works closely with local television and radio media outlets to inform the public when school closings occur. The following media outlets will provide up-to-date information to the public in the event of a school closing or if the student day must be shortened due to emergency conditions: WSB radio and local television WSB (ABC), WGCL (CBS), WAGA (FOX), WXIA (NBC) are the official stations for APS announcements of school closure.

Should schools close during the day when students are already in attendance, information will be provided through our local media outlets and VHE Digital Newsletter to parents, and bus transportation will be provided in the same manner as during the regular close of the school day. Please keep your Parent Portal information updated, as it could be used for email, phone, and text communications.