Report An Absence

To report an absence or request an early check out for a student

-please call 703-715-4545

-Dial the appropriate number for your student's sub school:

1: Class of 2026 (9th - Freshman) - Kelly Stiehl @email 

2: Class of 2025 (10th - Sophomore) - Mojdeh Nejad @email 

3: Class of 2024 (11th - Juniors) - Suzanne Bruens @email

4: Class of 2023 (12th - Seniors) - Melissa LaBare @email 

5: Special Education Program - Shirley Otoya @email

6: Spanish Attendance Line

Parent/guardian signed absence notes or telephone messages should include the following information:

• the correct spelling of the student’s name
• student’s ID number
• the reason for the absence, including symptoms, if applicable
• your relationship to the student
• a daytime phone number for the parent/guardian

*NOTE - Early morning messages take time to process. Your student’s absence will be excused when the call is retrieved.  Please only call again if you receive the evening automated call out message.  

**NOTE - Students cannot excuse their own absence (including 18-year-old students); the parent/guardian must report an excused absence.

Please be specific about the reason why your student will not be attending school today.

• Student illness
  • If your student is ill, indicate their symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, headache, congestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, mental health, etc.) 
  • If your student has been diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus, please indicate their positive test date and the date their symptoms began
• Medical appointment 
• Observance of a religious/cultural holiday
• Civic engagement/court appearance
• Death in the family/funeral

An absence is considered unexcused if the parent/guardian does not have prior knowledge/consent of the absence. In those cases, UNX will be recorded.  If an absence is not one of the county specified reasons for an excused absence, it will be recorded as UNL. Reasons that this code will be used include: 

• Family and/or student vacations (UNL)
• College visits, college showcases etc. (UNL)
• Childcare situations (UNL)
• Non-school related activities such as college visits, soccer showcases, etc. (UNL)
• Missed school bus (UNX)
  • The bus not showing up is EXC as it is out of the student’s control
• Oversleeping (UNX)
• Other reasons unacceptable to the principal or his/her designee.

 This definition holds for all day and period absences.  

**UNL allows for students to make up work within a timeframe that is agreed upon with the teacher.

Parents/Guardians have 72 hours to contact the school when a student is marked Unverified. If we don’t hear from you then the absence becomes Unexcused.

Prearranged Absences:

Parents are encouraged to minimize absences during school hours, and to plan family trips and vacations during school holidays. Requests for prearranged absences for longer than one school day, must be submitted within a reasonable time (three to five school days in advance) for the school to review. Requests should be restricted to outlined excused absences, and/or significant hardships which prevent the student from attending school and are subject to administrator review/approval.  They will be coded as UNL, unless due to hardship or one of the excused reasons.  

Link to Secondary Prearranged Absence Form

**UNL allows for students to make up work within a reasonable time frame