Due to circumstances outside of our control, our last few school years have caused students to be out of the classroom more than ever before. As we continue to adjust our health and safety policies to reflect the current guidance, attendance is a top priority to help students achieve academically. 

If your child missed a day, you can send a physical excuse in with your student, or send an email to our elementary attendance email group with the date your child missed, the reason for their absence and your signature/name. 

Our attendance email is Email ES Attendance.. This email group includes our principal, attendance secretary, truancy monitor, guidance counselor, and community school director. Teachers will also forward excuses to this email to ensure all parties are kept in the loop. 

Any unexcused absence is considered truancy. This means full days and periods of time. At Union City, if you have not returned an excuse for an absence after 5 days, the absence becomes an illegal absence. After 3 illegal absences, your student is considered truant. After 6 or more illegal absences, your student is habitually truant. 

Too many absences (excused and unexcused) can keep students from succeeding in school and learning the important things they need to thrive. 

How many are too many? A student is chronically absent when they miss 10% of the school year. That's just 18 missed days or 2 days a month to knock students off track. School absences, even in Kindergarten, can cause children to fall behind in school. Missing just a day or two every month can make it harder to learn to read by the third grade. 

We know that things come up, and missing school is not always something you can control. If there is anything our school can do to help your student attend regularly, please let us know by emailing the attendance team: Email ES Attendance

Our Truancy Monitor is Miss Nagy; she serves all students in the Union City School District through a contract with Bethesda's Truancy Program. Bethesda Lutheran Services provides many schools in Erie County with a Truancy Monitor that works within the school. Miss Nagy is well-versed in truancy laws and attendance policies, and can answer any questions you may have. 

You can contact her at Email Miss Nagy or 814-438-7611 ext 5409