Shamokin Area School District
Dedicated To Excellence In Education
Fast self-service attendance
For a routine absence, choose the student’s grade, open the correct form, and complete every required field. Staff reviews the submission afterward. If the form does not fit your situation, use the notice or support route below.
Do this first
Select the student’s grade and complete the form. Staff can then review the submitted absence information.
The four questions we hear most
Choose the statement that matches your question. Complete the listed steps before calling unless the attendance record is wrong or the online form does not work.
Use the online absence form so the school receives the written explanation it needs.
Good to know: reporting the absence starts the review. The school still applies Policy 204 to decide how it is recorded.
The attendance system may show the absence before a written excuse has been reviewed.
Good to know: “absent” describes whether the student was present. “Excused” or “unexcused” is determined after the explanation is reviewed.
The notice means the record has reached a Pennsylvania attendance threshold. It is a prompt to review the dates, provide missing documentation, correct an error, and address anything making attendance difficult.
The supportive next step: a School Attendance Improvement Conference is designed to identify the root cause and build a workable plan with the family.
The fastest solution is to create a new, traceable submission instead of trying to determine where the paper copy went.
For the future: an online confirmation shows when the family submitted the information and makes follow-up much easier.
Our promise to families
Attendance decisions are not based on one staff member’s opinion. Pennsylvania law and District Policy 204 govern the process. Staff can listen to the full situation, review the record, correct mistakes, explain every notice in plain language, and connect support. The law still sets limits the school cannot simply ignore.
If the form is not enough
Most routine absences begin with the form above. Use these routes for a notice, the governing rule, or a situation that needs support.
More detail: absence submission
The online forms collect the student’s name, grade, dates, reason, and parent or guardian contact information. The school applies the current attendance policy after reviewing the submission.
Elementary and Middle/High use separate district forms. SPEAR uses the same grade-band route.
Complete every required field and follow the current deadline and documentation rules in Policy 204.
The school may contact the family if information is missing or another attendance step is needed.
Use the Elementary Absence Excuse Form for students in kindergarten through grade 6.
Use the Middle/High School Absence Excuse Form and select the student’s current grade.
Use the Middle/High School Absence Excuse Form and select the student’s current grade.
Choose the district form by grade, then review the SPEAR attendance section for the virtual-program routine and support route.
SAIC & SAIP in plain language
The School Attendance Improvement Conference is the conversation. The School Attendance Improvement Plan is the written record of supports, responsibilities, and next steps.
Staff reviews the record and explains why the law or district policy requires another step.
The student, family, school staff, and appropriate support people discuss what is causing the absences.
The plan records the help being offered, each person’s next step, and how progress will be checked.
Staff and family review attendance, adjust support when appropriate, and respond to later absences.
The elementary team coordinates the conference and brings in the student, family, Guidance, health, or other supports as appropriate.
The Middle/High team coordinates the meeting. The current online SAIP form is designed for grades 7–12.
The team can connect attendance concerns with credit, graduation, career, and other individual planning needs.
SPEAR helps identify the virtual-learning barrier and coordinates with the applicable school, Guidance, and student-support team.
A supportive next step
The meeting is designed to find the root of the attendance problem, listen to the child and family, connect the right support, and develop the child’s School Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) together.
The separate Attendance & Truancy Support guide explains the legal thresholds, grade-band handbook directions, what to check first, what happens at the meeting, and how to prepare.
Official rules and guidance
District staff cannot simply ignore compulsory-attendance requirements. Policy 204 explains the local procedure; Pennsylvania’s guidance explains the law, truancy process, SAIC, and SAIP.
Review the district’s attendance expectations, absence procedures, notices, conferences, and improvement-plan process.
Read Policy 204 ↗Read PDE’s current explanation of compulsory attendance, unlawful absences, truancy, SAIC, SAIP, and support-focused response.
Read the state guidance ↗Pennsylvania law defines compulsory attendance and the framework the school will follow.
Policy 204 explains how Shamokin Area applies that framework locally.
The school’s written notice explains what the family needs to do in the student’s situation.
Policy and law apply; the elementary team provides the building-specific directions and support contacts.
Policy and law apply; the Middle/High team provides the next step and coordinates SAIC or SAIP when needed.
Policy and law apply, with Guidance included when attendance affects credits, graduation, or future planning.
The same district policy and state requirements apply. SPEAR’s page explains the virtual attendance route and daily responsibilities.
We’ll help you start in the right place
Families should not have to know the school’s organization chart. Pick the closest situation below. Starting with the right team reduces transfers and gets the concern reviewed faster.
Use the correct grade-band form. This gives the attendance team the date, reason, and family contact information in a traceable submission.
Best first step: the online attendance form. Keep the confirmation.
Contact the building attendance office with the student’s name, exact date, and any submission confirmation. Staff can review the record and explain or correct it.
Best first step: the building attendance office, which can review, explain, or correct the record.
Call the school nurse for symptoms, injury, medication, a medical plan, or a health question. If you are only reporting an absence or submitting a doctor note, use the attendance form.
Best first step: school nurse for health questions; attendance form for routine documentation.
Begin with the school nurse and building administrator. Depending on the student’s needs, the school may also convene the IEP or 504 team and include special education or other appropriate staff.
Best first step: nurse plus building administrator. The school should coordinate the team when more than one department is needed.
A school counselor can help with academic progress, course or credit concerns, graduation and career planning, and social-emotional support. The counselor can join an attendance plan when those issues are part of the barrier.
Best first step: school counselor when the concern is academic, career-related, or social-emotional.
Start with the school office or attendance team. Staff can connect transportation, the homeless or foster-care liaison, student services, or an appropriate community support.
Best first step: school office or attendance team. Tell them the barrier so they can route the concern without making the family call every department.
You do not have to diagnose the whole problem. Start with the option that most closely matches what is happening now.
Provide the student, dates, concern, and any confirmation or documentation. Use a private conversation for sensitive details.
If the concern crosses departments, the starting team should connect the appropriate people so the family is not left to build the team alone.
Routine absence and doctor documentation start with the K–6 form. Nursing can answer health questions, and Guidance can help with learning, social-emotional, or ongoing support needs.
Routine absence and doctor documentation start with the 7–12 form. Call nursing for medical questions. The office can route nonmedical support concerns.
Nursing can answer health questions. Guidance can help when attendance affects courses, credits, graduation, career planning, or social-emotional support.
Contact SPEAR for virtual attendance, technology, coursework, or scheduling. Contact the SPEAR school nurse for a medical concern.
Start with the attendance contact on the notice or the student’s building office. The SAIC gives the child, family, and school a structured way to identify the cause and develop the SAIP together.
Pennsylvania requires accurate attendance records, an attendance policy, and appropriate school personnel and service providers in the SAIC and SAIP process, but it does not prescribe one identical first contact job title for every district. This routing tree uses current Shamokin Area contacts and Pennsylvania role guidance. District Policy 204, current school procedures, and individual notices control if a summary differs.