Bell Schedule

Children need daily structure and consistency in order to feel secure and to optimize their learning experience. Regular attendance is an important component of effective early childhood education. Children who do not consistently attend school have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships with adults and peers, experience difficulty with transitions, and may not receive the full educational benefits of the school experience.

RPS Preschool Attendance Policy:

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher to discuss specific reasons for the absence. It is the parent’s responsibility to contact the school/center if a child will not be in attendance for the day.

• Head Start/Early Head Start: Parents must make contact within an hour of the start of school. If not, Head Start staff are required to contact the family and document the reason for the absence.
• VPI and Early Childhood Special Education: Parents are expected to make contact with the school to explain a child’s absence prior to the start of the school day.
• All families should strive for 85% attendance monthly (no more than three absences per month). If attendance falls below 85%, a meeting will be held with members of the school team and the parent/guardian to develop an Attendance Success Plan.
• Parents are responsible for bringing their child to the center in good health and capable of participating in the day's activities. Teachers will consult with their Health Specialists or the school nurse if they believe a child is ill. The parent will immediately be notified to pick up the child. The child must be picked up within one (1) hour of being notified. Information will be provided to the parent indicating the type of illness, what steps must be taken to return, and when the child can return.
• Caregivers are encouraged to call each day the student is absent and to provide a doctor's note upon the child's 
• An absence is excused for one of the following reasons:
  • The child is sick (fever of 100.4 or more, vomiting or diarrhea, nasal discharge, constant coughing, sore throat, severe headache or earache, uncontrollable pain, red, irritated eye with pain/drainage, rash of unknown origin).
  • The child is incapacitated due to serious illness or injury.
  • The child has other health ailments which temporarily prevent attendance such as asthma, communicable disease, hospitalization.
  • Family situations, e.g., death in the family; illness of a parent, family emergency, community violence and/or severe weather.