Regular attendance at school is an important part of every student’s success and is necessary in order to gain the greatest benefit from the educational experience. Students who are frequently absent from school miss direct instruction and regular contact with their teachers. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania law and School Board policy requires regular daily attendance. When absences accumulate, it may ultimately result in academic difficulty.

Absences shall be treated as unlawful until the school receives a written excuse explaining the absence. Parents and guardians have 3 days after an absence to submit a written note. A maximum of 10 cumulative, lawful absences shall be permitted during the school
year. Request for excusal of absences after 10 lawful absences shall require a written physician’s note.

An unlawful absence shall be defined as an event in which a student is absent without a valid, acceptable note. A student is considered habitually truant when he or she accumulates 6 or more unlawful absences.

Upon returning from an absence, your child MUST bring a note to school. Without a note (within 3 days of the absence), the absence will become unlawful. A letter will be sent home if a child accumulates 3 or more unlawful absences documenting truancy. If a child accumulates 6 or more unlawful absences, the school will be required to file a referral for court or a Children and Youth Services (CYS) referral.

Go the the PDSD Attendance section and refer to Penn-Delco’s Attendance Policy 204 for more information.

If your child is going to be absent, you must notify the school by calling the school’s attendance line by 8 AM. If your child is marked absent and no call is received, an automated caller will call your primary number to verify the absence. Voice mail is available to take your call 24 hours a day.

Our attendance line number is 610-497-6300 Ext. 3339. Please leave the child’s full name, grade, homeroom, and reason for absence.  Electronic notes are also valid as long as they include a parent or guardian signature. The note must be received within 3 days of the absence.  You may access electronic absence notes here. 

A half-day of absence will be recorded for students who arrive to school after 11:15 at the middle school.

Students are required to complete at least one half day of school (must arrive no later than 11:15 AM) in order to participate in sports, musical programs, or other school sponsored activities. If a student is absent from school he is not permitted on school grounds that day for an athletic event or activity practice or game without a building administrators approval.

Parents of NMS students must call the attendance office on the morning of the student’s absence to notify the school that the student will not be in attendance.

Upon the student’s return to school, a note or absence card must be sent to school outlining the reason for the absence.

When a student is late to school, he or she must report to the office with a note before proceeding to class.

A student is considered late if they come to school after 8:15am.

Absence notes may be submitted to the school as an email attachment with the following guidelines:
Directions on submitting electronic absence notes:

1. Parent or guardian writes the absence note on a piece of paper or green sheet (or downloads one here).
2. Parent/guardian signs the note.
3. Parent/guardian scans the note or takes a picture of the note.
4. Parent attaches scanned note/picture of note to an email.
5. Parent/guardian sends the message to: nms-attendance@pdsd.org

It is expected that all efforts be made to schedule appointments during non-school
hours. However, it is also understood that events occur for which we are unable to prepare. If an early dismissal is needed, requests must be made in written form from a parent/guardian and the note should contain the parent’s phone number, time and date of dismissal, and the reason for the dismissal.