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Prairie Ridge High School

Wolf Way All Day

Attendance

Attendance Hotline

Students during a passing period at Prairie Ridge.

24-Hour Attendance Hotline: (815) 893-5600

Parents/guardians must call the attendance hotline and state:

  • The student’s legal first and last name
  • The parent/guardian’s name and the relation to the student
  • The specific reason for the absence 
  • The parent/guardian’s contact information

If you are calling your student out sick:

  • Please provide the specific symptoms, such as fever, cough, or sore throat
  • Along with any diagnosed medical condition

Attendance is the most important factor in a student’s success, research states. As a district, we are committed to ensuring that every student is present in class every day, as it’s essential to their academic achievement, personal growth, and overall well-being.

  • A parent or guardian must call the school each day a student misses all or part of his/her school day.
  • You may leave information on the automated voicemail system 24 hours a day, or you may call the switchboard between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Written notes are not acceptable to excuse absences.

Attendance Procedures Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

D155 attendance procedures align with the state. Students have 5 parent excused days per semester to help reduce chronic absences while maintaining flexibility. Vacation and college visit days are no longer separately excused; students must use their 5 parent excused days for these. Students will still have 5 additional mental health days per year.

  • Future absences will be considered unexcused without proper documentation. Please see details below about the proper forms of documentation.

  • Per District 155 policy, unexcused absences can affect a student’s academic progress, see below. Any unexcused absence may also result in disciplinary consequences such as detention time, in-school suspensions, etc.

    Excused Absence

    Unexcused Absence

    Summative Assessments
    • Due upon return
    • Eligible full credit
    • If not ready upon return, eligible for late work policy per Course Learning Team
    • Due upon return
    • Up to, but not more than, a two-grade deduction is possible (deduction must be agreed upon by Course Learning Team or division)

    Formative Assessments
    • 2 days per 1 day makeup time
    • Eligible full credit
    • If not ready after the 2 days, per 1 day make-up time, eligible for late work policy per Course Learning Team
    • Due upon return
    • Not eligible for credit (unless decided upon by CLT or division)

     

  • A student is considered chronically absent if they miss 18 days of the school year (over 10%). This includes both excused and unexcused absences.

  • A student is considered chronically truant if they miss 9 days of the school year (5%) with unexcused absences. This only applies to absences that are not excused.

  • Please submit your doctor’s note to the appropriate school personnel. Doctor’s notes excusing specific absences from school will be coded E-DR and will not be counted towards their 5 available parent excused days.

  • Yes. Without proper documentation, calling your student out sick due to vomiting or fever will count toward their 5 available parent-excused days per semester. Please contact the school nurse with any questions or concerns.

  • Our nurses are licensed and certified medical professionals. If the nurse deems that a student is too ill to remain in school, then the nurse will code the absence as excused, and it will not count towards their 5 available parent excused days.

  • All students with a chronic health/mental health diagnosis should have an Individual Health Plan, and proper documentation will need to be provided to the appropriate school personnel.

  • We discourage any extended absences from the classroom if possible. School attendance is the number one indicator of success. If taking a vacation during the school year, parents will need to utilize their 5 available parent excused days for each semester.

  • Again, we discourage any extended absences from the classroom if possible. If taking your student out for non-school-affiliated competitions during the school year, parents will need to utilize their 5 available parent excused days for each semester.

  • Yes. If you are excusing a tardy, it will count towards their 5 parent excused days per semester.