Virginia law requires all children of compulsory attendance age to attend school each day that school is in session unless otherwise excused under School Board policy, regulation, and the mandatory attendance laws.
If a student is absent from school, parents should provide an excuse to the school within five days of the absence. Cases in which an excuse is not received within five days of the absence will be referred to an administrator.
For more information on Attendance Policies and the Truancy process, please look at the PWCS regulations.
Regulation 724-1 – Attendance, Absences, Excuses, and Tardies
How to Report an Absence
ParentVUE should be used to report FULL-DAY absences for the current and future days (up to 30 days in advance).
If you must submit an excuse for a prior day or late arrival, email our Attendance Secretary, Mrs. Luisa Lachapel, at [email protected].
Hand-written or doctor’s notes can also be dropped off at the front attendance office. A note must include a parent's signature.
If you need to have your student dismissed early, you do not need to call or email the office in advance. Once you arrive at the office and your I.D. has been verified against the emergency contact list, your student will be called to the office for dismissal. Please arrive before then with your ID if you need to pick your student up early.
If your student is marked absent from just one period, parents should email the teacher directly to find out what happened. The teacher will then work with the attendance secretary to determine if a correction to attendance is required.
Extended Absences
Preapproved absences of more than five school days are discouraged and will only be granted by the principal or their designee on a case-by-case basis. If a student is out of the building for over five school days, the parent should submit the absence request in ParentVUE.
Parents should keep in mind the 2026-27 School Year Calendar to schedule vacations on days that do not interfere with school days.
The principal will review the request, and if it is approved, the student's teachers will be notified. Due to the varied demands on teachers for make-up work, teachers shall have discretion to determine the type/amount of work and when students shall make up work for preapproved absences.
For more information on Attendance Policies and the Truancy process, please review the PWCS regulations.
