The Moraga School District is making a special effort to ensure that all students fully benefit from their education by attending school regularly. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school-and themselves. Your student can start building this habit in transitional kindergarten or kindergarten so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Consistent attendance will help children do well in middle school, high

school, college, and at work.

Did You Know?

~ Starting in kindergarten, too many absences (excused and unexcused) can cause children to fall behind in school.

~ Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) increases the chance that your student will not read or master math at the same level as their peers.

~ Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.

~ Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.

~ By being present at school, your child learns valuable social skills and has the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with other students and school staff.

~ Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.

~ By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.

~ Trips and vacations are not deemed to be excused and are the leading causes for the MSD to notify parents that their child is truant.

The Moraga School District has responsibilities related to monitoring attendance and notifying families of absences at certain thresholds:

*California Education Code §48260 defines a truant as any student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for

more than a 30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof. The Moraga School District is  required to notify families upon a student's initial classification as a truant (§48260.5).

*California Education Code §48263.6 defines a chronic truant as a student who is absent from school without a valid excuse for ten percent or more of the school days in one  school year, from the date of enrollment to the current date. The District is required to hold at least one conference with the student's parent or guardian (§48262).

We know that there are a wide variety of reasons that students are absent from school, from health concerns to transportation challenges. There are many people in our schools prepared to help you if you or your student face challenges in getting to school regularly or on time. We promise to track attendance daily, to notice when your student is missing from class, communicate with you to understand why they were absent, and to identify barriers and supports available to overcome challenges you may face in helping your student attend school.

Teachers, staff and parents will be reviewing five different curriculum this school year, including K-5 Science, 6-8 Science, 6-8 History/Social Studies, 7-8 French and 5th grade Health programs.  Curriculum, in the form of textbooks, materials and equipment is selected for review by teacher and staff committees and from a CA Department of Education matrix.  Teachers then pilot the curriculum and review their findings against standards.  Parents will have an opportunity to review the materials prior to the Governing Board receiving recommendations to adopt curriculum.  Notice of these opportunities will be posted in school, PTA and District newsletters.  Our goal is to present recommendations to the Governing Board in April or May 2019.

The support from the Moraga community in passing Measure V is already making a positive impact at all school sites and more improvements are on the way.  A roof replacement at JM, resurfaced playgrounds at JM and LP, new retaining walls at CP and LP, and new cafeteria tables and benches at our three elementary schools are examples of Measure V funds "at work".  

On October 9, Design and Development plans for CP and Rheem will be presented to the Governing Board for review.  These plans include a detailed description of seismic improvements, classroom enhancements and infrastructure upgrades.  

The Design and Development plans are an outcome of input received from parents and staff.  As the Distirct has progressed from schematics to designs, the scope of projects reflects the allocation of Measure V funds for each site.