Reporting Absences
The most fundamental role a parent can play in helping their child be successful at school is to ensure they are present. Successful attendance is considered to be met when a student is at school 96% of the time. That's the minimum level, not the maximum. Based on a 180 school day year, that means once a child has a total of 8 absences for an entire year, they will not achieve this level. If a student is absent one day per month on average, they will be lower than the target and thus at a significant disadvantage compared to peers who are sitting in seats at school.
If your child will be absent, please do one of the following to notify Oka:
- Call the office at 714.378.4260 – The office opens at 7:30 A.M.
- Email [email protected] – Please include your child’s first and last name, their teacher’s name, and the reason for absence in the email.
Attendance: Click Here for further information.
Parents often ask “Why is school attendance so important?” There are many reasons…
A few years ago, Oka had over 1,500 different times when a student was late to school. Since then, this number has been greatly reduced. Our goal is to see the total number of late students continue to decline. When a student is late, this causes numerous issues. They must enter the school through the office to pick up a late pass, they miss out on important school and class announcements, they disrupt their classroom once they enter late, and most importantly, they miss out on their learning time. While we recognize that just about everybody has an uncontrollable crazy morning once in a rare while, we ask for your help in making sure these types of days DO NOT happen with regularity.
ON-TIME REWARDS – Students have an opportunity to earn extra recess time when they get to school ON-TIME every day. Further information will be shared with students in their classrooms; however, please help your child be ON-TIME to school every day. The Oka staff thank you for your support. Public school districts in California receive their funding from the state of California based on the actual number of students who are present for classes, not on the District’s enrollment. Districts are not paid for students who are absent, no matter whether an absence is excused or unexcused. We urge parents to make sure their children attend school regularly and to schedule medical and other appointments so that a student misses none, or only a small portion, of the school day. Thursday afternoons are often the best times to schedule off-campus appointments. Because of our modified schedule, students are dismissed between 12:47 and 12:49, depending on their grade level.
Fountain Valley School District and OKA also ask that travel or other absences be avoided during the time school is in session. The better a student’s attendance rate, the more a student will learn and the greater the amount of funding that the District will receive from the state for classroom instruction and academic programs. The school calendar is designed to minimize problems for families who plan vacations around traditional holiday periods and thereby minimize student absences.
Following a student's absence, a student is required to bring a written excuse from home when returning to school, unless they have already followed one of the two steps listed at the bottom of this page. Illnesses and doctor and dental appointments are considered excused absences. Children should not be sent to school when they are feeling ill. Absences without a written excuse or parent notification are recorded as unexcused.
If you are requesting homework for your child during their absence, please note this will only be honored if the absence is for two or more days. Any request must be made with the office prior to 9:00 A.M. Your diligence, time, and energy in helping support your child’s on-time and accurate attendance to school is appreciated. This helps ensure they have the best opportunity to learn. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.