Dear Parent/Guardian:

This letter is to request your assistance in order to enhance our student absence reporting system. The goal of this enhanced system is to gather information that will help us to understand more completely why students miss school and to compare absenteeism rates for various general health complaints.

This information is for statistical purposes only and will not be reported with your child’s name.

From now on when you call or send a note to let us know that your child will be absent from school please indicate the one reason that best describes why your child will be absent based on the following selections (be specific when possible):

• Asthma or asthma-like symptoms (coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath)
• Cold or sinus symptoms (sneezing, sore throat, stuffy nose)
• Flu (fever, headache, exhaustion, body aches)
• Stomach symptoms (nausea and/or vomiting, sometimes called the ‘stomach flu’)
• Other infectious diseases (chickenpox, Fifth disease, whooping cough, measles, mumps, hepatitis, or meningitis – viral or bacterial)
• Mononucleosis
• Pneumonia/bronchitis
• Scarlet fever
• Strep throat
• Lice, ringworm, or scabies
• Other health conditions – specify if possible
• Injury or accident
• Medical/dental appointment
• Family matters

We appreciate your assistance in implementing this enhanced system. If you have any questions, please call your child’s school office.