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WEEKLY MESSAGE
Dear Parent/Guardian,
One of the ways St. Johnsbury Academy realizes its mission is through the partnership with our families. The last few years have highlighted ways we can further fortify this connection, including school attendance.
St. Johnsbury Academy is committed to supporting student achievement and success. We want to ensure that all students fully benefit from their educational experience. One of the ways we can help with this is by promoting consistent attendance. When students are absent, whether for health-related reasons or otherwise, they miss critical opportunities to learn from and to contribute to our learning community.
Administration and faculty spent time this summer considering attendance and how to best support our students. Our goal, first and foremost, is student health and safety, as well as supporting their academic progress. As such, when students miss four or seven days of class, they meet with Mr. Eaton, Dean of Academics, to check in about academic progress. Together they create a plan to address missed work and get any academic help that is needed. So that our families are aware of the plans in place, we also send a letter home. In the event a student’s total absences reach 10 or more days, they are in danger of not receiving credit for their courses. At that point, we will contact a family to set up an in-person or phone meeting to address how to best move forward.
Planned absences of three or more days should receive prior approval. Students can pick up the “Student Absence Preapproval Form” from the Academic Office. We also ask that our college bound Hilltoppers complete this form to attend college visits and accepted student days.
We understand that students may be absent from school due to illness, family emergencies, important cultural events, or other reasons. If your child is going to miss school, there are several ways you can let us know:
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You can email attendance@stjacademy.org. If you wish to email us, please provide your student’s name, the date of absence, and reason for the absence.
- You can call the dedicated attendance line at (802) 748-7799. In your message, please tell us your student’s name, the date of the absence, and the reason for the absence.
- Students can also bring in a note on the day they return to school. Students should bring the note to the Main Office before Chapel on the day they are back. This note should tell us their name, the date of absence, and reason for the absence.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support of our work.
Sincerely,
Binaca Hanson
Assistant Headmaster for Academic & Student Life
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