Attendance

Every Day Counts!

Good attendance is one of the most important factors in your child’s academic success. When students are in school consistently, they build strong relationships, develop critical skills, and stay on track for future success. Whether it’s learning to read in kindergarten or preparing for graduation in high school, showing up every day makes a big difference.

We’re here to support you every step of the way. Let’s work together to make attendance a top priority—because every student matters, every day.

Attendance Requirements

At Sycamore Community Schools, we believe that regular school attendance is essential for student success—academically, socially, and emotionally. Being present at school each day helps students stay connected, keep up with learning, and build strong habits that lead to lifelong achievement.

In Ohio, attendance is not only important—it’s also part of the law. The state has specific guidelines to help schools and families monitor and support student attendance. Here are a few key terms to understand:

Excessive Absences: When a student misses 38 or more hours in a month or 65 or more hours in a school year, with or without a valid excuse.
Habitual Truancy: When a student has 30 or more unexcused consecutive hours, 42 or more unexcused hours in a month, or 72 or more unexcused hours in a year. This requires the school and family to create an Attendance Intervention Plan to support regular attendance.
Chronic Absenteeism: When a student misses 10% or more of the school year for any reason (excused or unexcused). This can affect learning and may require extra support.

Our goal is to partner with families to help every student attend school regularly and succeed. If your child is struggling with attendance, we’re here to help!

Religious Expression Days

As required by Ohio Law, Sycamore Community Schools adopted policy JEDC on October 30, 2024 that reasonably accommodates a student’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system.

Students in grades kindergarten through 12 will be excused for up to three religious expression days per school year to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief systems, or participate in activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church or other religious or spiritual organization. No academic penalty will be imposed on a student who is absent for such reasons in accordance with this policy and all requirements of State law

To request these days off, a parent or guardian must notify the school within 14 school days of the start of the school year, or within 14 days of a new student enrolling. Notice can be given in person, by mail, or by email to the school's attendance address.

If a religious expression day conflicts with a test or academic activity, the school will work with the family to find a solution.

Students are permitted to participate in interscholastic athletics or other extracurricular activities on a religious expression day.

Please note: These three days do not count toward the state's count for excessive absences.

Non-exhaustive List of Major Religious Holidays

2025

Muharram (Islamic New Year) – June 26, 2025 (begins evening prior)
Rosh Hashanah – Sept. 22–24, 2025
Yom Kippur – Oct. 1–2, 2025
Sukkot – Oct. 6–12, 2025
Shemini Atzeret – Oct. 13, 2025
Simchat Torah – Oct. 14, 2025
Diwali – Oct. 20–21, 2025
Hanukkah – Dec. 21–29, 2025

2026

Epiphany – Jan. 6, 2026

Orthodox Christmas – Jan. 7, 2026

Ash Wednesday – Feb. 18, 2026

Ramadan – Feb. 18 – Mar. 19, 2026

Purim – Mar. 2–3, 2026

Holi – Mar. 4, 2026

Eid al-Fitr – Mar. 20, 2026

Pesach (Passover) – Apr. 1–9, 2026 (first two days most widely observed)

Good Friday – Apr. 3, 2026

Easter – Apr. 5, 2026

Yom HaShoah – Apr. 13–14, 2026

Vaisakhi – Apr. 14, 2026

Vesak (Buddha Day) – May 1, 2026

Shavuot – May 22–23, 2026

Declaration of the Báb – May 22–23, 2026

Eid al-Adha – May 27, 2026

Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh – May 28, 2026

Inclement Weather & Delays

In the event of inclement weather, the district may implement one of the following plans:

Schools Closed: All Sycamore schools will be closed for the day, latch-key programs will not operate, and all after-school activities will be canceled unless those involved are notified otherwise.
2-Hour Delay: School buses will run on a 2-hour delay, and morning preschool, morning kindergarten, and Head Start classes will be canceled. Afternoon kindergarten, afternoon preschool, and afternoon Head Start classes will operate as usual. Dismissals for all other grades will occur as usual. The two hours will be added to the original start for your students’ building.
Early dismissal: Early dismissals are rarely called. However, Sycamore Schools would greatly appreciate it if you reviewed your family's plan with your students for after-school arrangements.

When should I expect to receive notification of a school closing/delay due to the weather?

The district makes every effort to make a decision early enough to give families time to make child care arrangements. However, winter weather can be unpredictable and often storms move in during the overnight/early morning hours. Calls will be made no earlier than 5:00 a.m. and no later than 10:00 p.m.

Report an Absence

If your child will be absent today, or if you know of an absence ahead of time, please notify the school as soon as possible. The best way to do this is to call your child’s school attendance line or email the attendance office:

Attendance Line: 513-686-1707

Blue Ash Elementary

Montgomery Elementary

Symmes Elementary

Maple Dale Elementary

EH Greene Intermediate

Sycamore Junior High

Sycamore High School

What is an excused absence?

Excused absences are those considered to be excused per board policy. A parent or guardian must notify the school of each absence. For information on how to notify the school, click here.

What is a medically excused absence?

If your child misses school due to a medical appointment or illness while under a doctor’s care, a doctor’s note is required to excuse the absence and keep it from counting toward excessive absences or truancy.

Please ask your child’s healthcare provider for a note that includes:

The date(s) of the appointment or illness
The time missed from school

Be sure to send the note to the school as soon as your child returns.

What is an unexcused absence?

If a student has more than 65 hours of excused absences without a doctor’s note, those extra hours become unexcused under school policy.

Unexcused absences add up and may lead to habitual truancy, which requires a problem solving approach. If this happens, the school will work with the student and family to create an Attendance Intervention Plan. This plan helps identify challenges and find solutions to improve attendance.

What is an unverified absence?

Unverified absences indicate that the school has not received communication from a parent or caregiver regarding an absence.

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