Overview 

The mission of P811Q is to promote challenging educational and functional opportunities that will enable all students to become participating, fulfilled members of a multicultural society. To achieve our mission, student attendance and participation in instruction and related services are essential. 

In order for students to meet the skills and  benchmarks set by our curriculum and their Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs), high rates of attendance and punctuality are extremely important. Our goal is for every student to have 95% attendance or higher! We are committed to partnering with our families to remove barriers to attendance so that every student can receive the academic and social emotional support they need to learn and thrive. We want to partner with you to support your child’s daily attendance needs. 

Below you will find some general information regarding attendance, our school-wide expectations for communication and collaboration, and resources you may find helpful. 

General Information 

1. Schools must take attendance to show whether a student is in school or not; it’s the law.

2. Schools mark a student as P for present or A for absent. Latenesses are also recorded and tracked as they impact student learning and progress. 

3. There is no general remote learning option this year. If your child is learning remotely because they either have been asked to quarantine or are enrolled in medically necessary instruction, your child will be flagged as “learning remotely” in the DOE’s attendance system.

4. While schools can mark an absence as “excused” for religious reasons, illness, or some other reasons, the excused absence is still an absence and must be part of the student’s record.

5. Schools must make outreach to families when there are absences or latenesses. This can be done via phone call or a home visit from an attendance teacher. 

6. Students who miss 18 days of school or more are considered chronically absent. This has a negative impact on your child’s progress as they miss a significant amount of instruction and related services. 

7. Please make sure your student’s information is current. Update your child’s NYSCA account with your current contact information so that you or members of your family can be contacted. If you need support accessing or setting up your NYSCA account, please contact our parent coordinator, Sonja Sylvers, via email (SSylvers@schools.nyc.gov) or phone (718-224-8060).

Family as Partners 

We want to support you and work together to ensure your child has the highest rate of attendance possible  to succeed. Below are some general tips, guidance and resources. 

Family Trips/Travel

Please notify the school of any family trips or travel, including what your child’s last date of attendance and return date  If students do not return by the given date, our attendance teacher/team may reach out to discuss plans, next steps or possible discharge. 

Transportation 

Each year, we are faced with a variety of busing issues. Please make sure you notify your child’s teacher or the site coordinator of any busing issues so they can be addressed as soon as possible. In addition, please speak with our Parent Coordinator, Sonya Sylvers. We will work with you to find the best solution possible. 

Supports & Resources 

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact staff at the school, including but not limited to: classroom teacher, site/unit coordinator, parent coordinator and administrators. We are here to help. Please do not hesitate to begin the problem solving process. 

If there are other ongoing personal issues and you need support, please see the links below, which contain resources and support for: transportation, adaptive equipment, mental health/behavioral crisis, financial resources/benefits, OPWDD as well as the application for Home Instruction in the event your child needs short term or long term instruction in the home for medical reasons.