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Attendance & Truancy Guidelines

Elementary Schools - Reporting Student Absences, Late Arrivals & Early Dismissals

For parents/guardians with children in elementary school:

If your child is late to school, absent from school, or needs to be dismissed from school early, please email the information below to the building secretary and to your child’s homeroom teacher. You may also send in a paper excuse, which is available for download by clicking this link: School Excuse Form.pdf.

Information to include in the absence email:

Student Name:

Student Grade:

Date(s) student was tardy, absent, or is to be dismissed early:

Reason for tardy, absence, or early dismissal:

For early dismissals, person who will pick up child:

Phone number where parent/guardian can be reached:

Excuses must be sent in within three days of the student returning to school or the absence will be marked as illegal. Medical documentation can also be email to the building secretary:

Fred L. Aiken Elementary School
Karen McKay
[email protected]

Dormont Elementary School
Judy Wareham
[email protected]

Myrtle Avenue Elementary School

Shelia Humlan

[email protected]

Middle & High School: Reporting Absences, Late Arrivals & Early Dismissals

Keystone Oaks Middle School and Keystone Oaks High School utilize an email address solely for attendance purposes.

The email address for Keystone Oaks High School: [email protected]
The email address for Keystone Oaks Middle School: [email protected]

These email addresses should be used for reporting all aspects of attendance:

Daily Absences
Early Dismissals
Late Arrivals
Vacation Requests

The email address can also be used to send the school a copy of a medical excuse. Simply take a picture of the medical excuse and send it to the appropriate email address. These email accounts are monitored.

For dismissal changes after 2 p.m., please contact the school directly:

Keystone Oaks High School: 412-571-6000, Option 1
Keystone Oaks Middle School: 412-571-6000, Option 2

Attendance & Truancy Laws and Guidelines

Showing up for school has a significant impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.

To help ensure that students attend school regularly, the Pennsylvania Department of Education requires school districts to follow its Compulsory Attendance and School Attendance Improvement Plan. This law is a cross-agency collaboration with the Department of Human Services and the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, and aligns with state agency efforts to provide comprehensive guidelines for schools, families and communities.

Additional information is also included in Policy 204: Attendance, which is available online.

These are the guidelines for unexcused absences for children in first grade through age 18, per state regulations and as outlined in Keystone Oaks Policy #204: Attendance.

Three Unexcused or Illegal Absences
- A letter will be sent to parents/guardians within 10 days of the third absence.
- The District may offer a School Attendance Improvement Conference with parents to discuss the issue.
More Than Three Unexcused or Illegal Absences
- The District will hold a School Attendance Improvement Conference with parents/guardians to create a School Attendance Improvement Plan.
- Legally, the parent/guardian and student must be invited to the conference, but are not required to attend. The team, which includes appropriate school personnel and recommended service providers, will meet to develop a plan.
Six Unexcused or Illegal Absences
- Students will be referred to CYS (Children and Youth Services) or a school-based or community-based Attendance Improvement Program.
- The District MAY file a Citation with the District court if the child is under the age of 15. For students ages 15 & 16, a Citation MUST be filed with the District Court.
A medical note is needed on the 16th excused/unexcused absence and beyond.

We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when students miss too much school, regardless of the reason, it can cause them to fall behind academically. When your child is absent, an excuse must be turned in within 3 days of the absence.

It is important that your child attends school every day and arrives on time. If you have questions about the district’s attendance policy or the new state guidelines, please contact your building principal.

Contact Information

For questions about truancy and attendance, please contact your child's building principal or:

Suzanne Hanna
Director of Pupil Services
412-571-6013

[email protected]