Prioritizing Attendance Around the Upcoming Holiday Breaks
With the upcoming holiday breaks, we encourage you to plan family activities around our school calendar to ensure your child is present in school all day, every day. Each day of instruction is vital in helping our students meet their educational goals and maintain their learning progress. Make-up work does not fully help students recover missed instruction, and one student’s absence affects classmates’ progress due to the collaborative nature of learning.
Access the 2024-25 school year calendar to plan appointments and travel around the following breaks:
November Break: Nov. 25-29
December Break: Dec. 23, 2024-Jan. 6, 2025
Note: Some schools may have their own calendars so be sure to also check your child's school calendar for any important, school-specific dates.
Why Attendance Matters in Denver Public Schools
At DPS, it is our collective responsibility as leaders, educators, families and community members that our students not only succeed, but thrive. One critical component of ensuring our students’ success is identifying and removing barriers that keep our students from coming to school each day. When students are not at school, they not only miss out on valuable learning opportunities for the time they were absent, but they can experience long-term impacts that hinder their development in reading by third grade, achieving in middle school and graduating from high school.
One student’s absence also affects their peers and teacher as classroom instruction includes small group learning activities. For each student who is absent, teachers need to adjust plans, gather materials for make-up work and follow up to get each student caught up. Make-up work does not replace the in-person learning activities that happen daily, and students miss out on important social-emotional development that occurs throughout the school.
Since the pandemic, attendance rates have continued to improve. Although we are on the right track, our goal is to get attendance levels back to pre-pandemic levels by the 2025-26 school year.
Chronic Absence vs. Truancy
What’s the difference between chronic absence and truancy?
Chronic Absence:
Counts all absences: excused, unexcused and suspensions.
Emphasizes academic impact of missed days.
Uses community-based, positive strategies.
Truancy:
Counts only as unexcused absences.
Emphasizes compliance with school rules.
Relies on legal and administrative solutions.
Support your child's development - Attending school every day matters!
School start and end times vary by school. It is important for students to be on time and stay for all classes every day in order to improve academic performance and be ready for college and career opportunities.
Children in Colorado are encouraged to attend school from ages 4 to 18.
Children in Colorado must attend school from ages 6 to 16.
DPS students attend school Monday through Friday.
DPS school years begin in August and end in May or June.
When your child misses school, you must notify the school’s front office.
Districtwide school year calendars are available at dpsk12.org/page/calendars. Schools may
also have their own calendars, which can be found on the school’s website or by asking the
front office staff.
A student who misses 10% (the equivalent of one-two days per month) or more of the time enrolled in school is considered chronically absent - this can include late arrivals and early pick-ups from school.
What Can Parents Do?
There are a few practices parents can implement to help ensure their child is set up for success and attending class.
Communicate with the school every time your child wil be late, leave early or will be absent.
Schedule appointments after school or on days where there are no classes.
Schedule vacations and trips on days when there is no school.
Develop a back-up plan to get your child to school if something comes up.
Make sure your child has healthy habits.
Going to bed on time, getting enough sleep and waking up on time.
Lay out clothes and backpacks the night before.
Keep your child healthy and make sure your child has the required shots.
If your child seems anxious about school, talk to teachers or the school counselor.
Monitor your student's attendance on the Parent Portal.
You can find additional information on steps to take to help set routines that lead to strong attendance from the Attendance Works organization.
How Sick is Too Sick?
Keep your child home or seek care if they: | Send your child to school even if they:* |
|---|---|
Have a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher. | Have a mild cold, which may include a runny nose and/or cough. |
Have vomited two or more times in the last 24 hours. | Have eye drainage without fever, eye pain or eyelid redness. |
Have a persistent cough, difficulty breathing or trouble catching their breath or if they develop a fever with the cough. | Have a mild stomach ache. |
Have a rash with blisters that are draining, are painful, look like bruises and/or if a fever develops. | Have a mild rash with no other symptoms. |
Have eye swelling, eye pain, trouble seeing or an eye injury. | Have head lice. Though they are annoying and should be treated, lice are not a reason to exclude a child from school. |
Have a sore throat causing drooling, trouble swallowing or a fever and/or rash. | Haven’t had a fever overnight and they have not taken fever-reducing medicine during that time. |
* If you don’t know whether to send your child to school or have specific concerns regarding your child's health, contact your child’s health-care provider, a local urgent care or the school nurse.
Reporting and Monitoring Absences
Save time by letting us know that your student is going to be absent or arriving late. DPS families are able to use their computers or smartphones to know about absences or late arrivals so they can focus on taking care of their children.
Guardians of DPS students must have an active DPS Parent Portal account to use this new feature. Visit myportal.dpsk12.org to sign up, or to check that your account is active and ready. Learn more about how to use this new feature.