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VPK Attendance Policies

VPK Attendance Policy and Procedures

In keeping with our efforts to provide children and families in our community with a quality early education program, Aletheia Christian Academy (ACA) is pleased to offer Florida’s Voluntary Pre-kindergarten Program (VPK) to our qualifying four-year-olds. Since success in any learning environment depends largely on prompt and faithful attendance, it is necessary for providers and families to establish an agreement regarding absences and tardiness. The guidelines set forth in this agreement are the basis for your child’s state-approved funding, as well as his or her successful transition to Kindergarten.

Instructional hours for our VPK students are 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, for a total of 135 days. At orientation, enrolled families receive a yearly calendar outlining starting and ending dates and all scheduled days off, as well as make-up days for severe weather closings.

4 Day Start-Up Period
Attendance during the initial “Start-Up Days” is crucial in facilitating a positive classroom community. Therefore, attendance the first 4 days of school is MANDATORY so that students can begin to establish the daily routine.
 
Tardiness

Late arrivals and departures are disruptive to the learning process. All VPK instruction begins promptly at 8:00 AM. The VPK classroom door opens at 7:45 a.m. Arrivals after 8:15 a.m. are considered tardy. Any student who is tardy more than three times in one month may be terminated from the VPK-funded program.

Absences

Pursuant to Rule 60BB-8.204 concerning attendance and funding for the Florida Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program, the following requirements apply:

  • Each child is allowed a maximum of 3 unexcused absences per calendar month.
  • An additional 5 absences per month may be for extraordinary circumstances, and must be documented by a person other than the parent, and unrelated to the child, i.e. physician, officer of the court, etc.

PLEASE NOTE – absences of five (5) consecutive instructional days without proper documentation will be considered a WITHDRAWAL from the VPK-funded program at ACA. Withdrawals of this nature are not eligible for re-enrollment in the VPK-funded program at ACA.

Absences due to Extraordinary Circumstances include:

  • Illness/Injury of Child/family requiring hospitalization or bed rest (physician notice required)
  • Medical or dental appointment (physician notice required)
  • Infectious disease or parasitic infestation (physician notice required)
  • Funeral services/memorial or bereavement of child’s family member (Obituary or death certificate required)
  • Compliance with court order (Court order required)
  • Special education or related services for child’s disability (program enrollment certification required)
  • Religious holiday observance
  • Family vacation – not to exceed 5 excused absences per program year
  • Extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the child and the child’s parent
     
Verifying Your Child’s Attendance and Absences
Children must be signed in & out of the VPK program each day. Signatures must be complete – initials are not allowed.
Parents must complete and sign the mandatory attendance verification forms EACH MONTH. These forms will be signed on the first day of the following month (ex. verification for August’s attendance will be signed on Sept. 1). Your child’s continued funding in the program depends on your cooperation in signing these forms in a timely fashion. These forms verify that:
  • your child’s attendance is accurate for the month
  • you direct payment to be made to ACA
  • you continue to choose ACA as your VPK provider of choice
     
Continuity of Programming

Students who comply with the aforementioned guidelines will continue to be served by ACA under the Florida VPK funding statutes, administered by the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County. If for any reason cause is found to terminate any child’s VPK funding status, the child may continue to attend ACA, but the parents or guardians will be required to pay full monthly tuition and applicable fees for the remainder of the school year.

Parents must download, print, and turn in the completed VPK Attendance Policy Agreement.  This document is available for download at the right top of this page.