Regular attendance and punctuality are important in developing habits and attitudes of responsible behavior.  If a student is absent, state regulations require parents/guardians to notify the school office by phone as soon as possible to report the absence.  If the school office has not been notified of the absence by 9:00 a.m., the school office will initiate a call to parents. Parents may call the attendance line at (330) 867-8720 ext. 350 and leave a message 24 hours a day.  Parents may also email attendance@st-hilary.org at any time to report an absence.  DUE TO THE NEED TO MAINTAIN ACCURATE ATTENDANCE RECORDS, DO NOT TEXT, CALL OR EMAIL STAFF MEMBERS REGARDING AN ABSENCE OR REPORT AN ABSENCE IN ANY WAY OTHER THAN TO THE DESIGNATED PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL ADDRESS PROVIDED ABOVE. To help us track illness in the school, please do not simply say your child is sick, but specify the symptoms / reason for the absence.  If the absence is due to a reason other than illness, please indicate that as well.  Requests for homework must be made at the time of your call to report the absence or no later than 9:00 a.m.  We will not be able to accommodate your request after that time.

In the case of an excessive number of absences (20 or more days / 116 or more hours / 6,960 or more minutes per semester), parents will be notified by the school office and a conference will be set up. Parents will also receive notification through our Digital Academy system when a student is in danger of approaching this benchmark or has reached it.  This notification serves as a reminder that the child may be considered for non-promotion due to the extreme number of absences. In order for a quality learning experience to take place, the child needs to be present in school. Students who are absent from school should not attend after school activities. A student who is absent for consecutive days due to illness or after or after 15 days (87 hours or 5,220 minutes) in a semester may be required to submit a note from the child’s doctor for all non-Covid sickness-related absences.  There are 350 instructional minutes in a school day.  Any time missed from the total minutes, including half days, tardies, etc., is included in the total absences.  Please see the table below for more information on excessive absences and habitual truancy.