Regular school attendance is an important element for success in school. When a student is frequently absent, tardy, or dismissed early from school, students lose valuable instructional time. Because regular attendance is necessary for students to succeed in school, the Pennsbury School District encourages all parents and guardians to stress the importance of punctuality and regular attendance with their children. Our Student Conduct of Conduct sets forth the attendance policy for the District. Effective with the 2020-2021 school year, a child must comply with compulsory attendance requirements from age 6 to 18. 

The Pennsbury School District prioritizes the safe arrival of all students at each school each day. We are now pleased to offer an efficient student absence reporting system called Safe Arrival to support our efforts.

Safe Arrival gives parents 3 options to report an absence (directions for each option are listed below):

• Phone
• School Messenger App
• SchoolMessenger Website 
  

This system will be available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future absences can also be reported in advance. Parents/Guardians who report their child's absences using the Safe Arrival system will NOT receive a call from our automated attendance system. Additionally, parents/guardians who report their child's absences using the Safe Arrival system will NOT be required to send in an additional absence note, as the reporting system will count as the note.

Safe Arrival uses our student information system (PowerSchool) to verify all accounts, so it is important that parents/guardians use the same email address on file in PowerSchool when creating their Safe Arrival account.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE APP STORE OR GOOGLE PLAY IMAGE BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE SM HOME APP FOR YOUR DEVICE

SAFE ARRIVAL DIRECTIONS

SCHOOLMESSENGER APP (FREE)

1. Download the SM Home app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
2. Create an account using the email address on file with your child's school.
3. Select "Attendance" from the menu, and then select "Report an Absence."

WEB AND MOBILE WEB: HOME.SCHOOLMESSENGER.COM

1. Log on to home.schoolmessenger.com
2. Create an account using the email address on file with your child's school.
3. Select "Attendance" from the menu, and then select "Report an Absence."

TOLL-FREE PHONE

1. Call 1-866-318-3517
2. Follow the prompts to report an absence.

SAFE ARRIVAL TIPS

• Your username and password are the same for both the mobile app and the website.
• Options for reporting are available anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, up to the cutoff time on the day of the absence (11:45 p.m.). If you do not report your child's absence in Safe Arrival by 11:45 p.m. on the day of the absence, you will need to email the attendance office at your child's school within 3 days to report the absence.  
• In the event of an unreported absence in Safe Arrival, the SchoolMessenger Communicate automated notification system will contact parents/guardians via email, text (if opted in to receive texts), and phone. The phone number that will appear on your caller ID is 866-318-3517. If you report your child's absence in Safe Arrival before the start of the school day, you will not receive these notifications, and you will not need to supply a note to your child's school's attendance email. (See list below)
• Educational trips can not be reported through Safe Arrival.  Please complete the necessary forms found on the attendance webpage and obtain permission from your building principal. 

Excused Absences 

Parents & guardians should report their child's absence through Safe Arrival using one of the three methods listed above. The reason for the child's absence should be reported in Safe Arrival by 11:45 p.m. on the day of the absence. If the absence is not reported by the 11:45 p.m. cut-off time, parents/guardians must report the absence by emailing the attendance office at their child's school (see list below.) When submitting an absence notification outside of Safe Arrival, the notification must be received within three days of the child's return to school to be excused.

Acceptable Excuses for Absence 

• Illness, quarantine, or obtaining professional health care or therapy from a licensed practitioner
• Family emergency 
• Required court appearance
• Death in the family
• Observance of a religious holiday observed by bona fide religious group, upon prior written parental request
• Educational trips (see more details below) 

Educational Trips 

Requests for permission to have children absent from school for educational trips must be made ten (10) days prior to the trip. The number of approved days absent cannot exceed five (5) days in a given school year. Days beyond this limit will be considered unlawful and/or unexcused. The student will be held responsible for making up missed assignments. Students are limited to one educational trip per school year. Please note that educational trips cannot be reported through Safe Arrival.

High School Absences 

Pennsbury High School students who are absent ten (10) or more days from any semester-long course may be denied academic credit for that course. 

Unexcused or Unlawful Absences 

• If an excuse is not presented within three (3) school days, the absence will be marked unexcused. Only medical excuses, signed by a practitioner, will be accepted after three (3) days.
• All absences for reasons other than those listed above will be considered as unexcused.
• All unexcused absences for students under the age of 17 are also recorded as unlawful. 

Three (3) Unexcused Absences 

When a student accumulates three (3) days of unlawful absence in a school year, the school will send a letter to the parent/guardian. In addition, a School Attendance Improvement Plan may be developed to improve student attendance. 

Six (6) Unexcused Absences 

After six (6) unexcused absences, the school must develop a School Attendance Improvement Plan. 

More than six (6) unexcused absences 

For each incident of unlawful absence after the sixth unlawful absence, a referral to Children and Youth may be made, or a truancy citation may be filed with the District Magistrate. 

Ten (10) Cumulative Absences 

Whenever a student accumulates ten (10) or more absences in a school year (excused and/or unexcused), a medical excuse will be required for every subsequent absence, and a School Attendance Improvement Plan may be developed. 

Ten (10) Consecutive Absences 

Whenever a student has ten (10) consecutive absences, and there is no evidence that these absences are excused, the district is required to remove the student from its active membership roll. 

Tardiness and Early Dismissal 

Whenever students arrive late or depart prior to the end of the school day, parents/guardians must present the school with a written note explaining the situation. These incidents are recorded as “excused” or “unexcused” applying the same criteria as those for full-day absences. 

Thank you for reviewing this information and for partnering with us to ensure your student’s success in school. 

Attendance questions? Please email Laurie Ruffing, Director of Student Services, School and Community Engagement