Attendance

To report an absence, parents or guardians should email or call the attendance line or use our online attendance form in the morning before attendance is taken. 

Reporting Absences

We offer three different ways to report an absence

• Email us at [email protected]
• Call 703-715-3636
  • Clearly state your name, your student’s name and spelling, student’s grade, reason for absence, and a return phone number.
• Use our online attendance form.

Pre-Arranged Absences

Please send a signed note to the school office in order to pre-arrange an absence for your child. Send the signed note with the dates and the reason for the absence to the front office, two (2) weeks in advance. Our Director of Student Services, Michele Beard will review the request. We will give your child a form to take to their teachers to sign and the student will be given his or her assignments for the period of their absence. The student must return the form to the front office.

Excused Absences

• Student illness
• Medical appointment
• Death in the family
• Religious holiday
• Prearranged absence

Unexcused Absences

• Oversleeping
• Missing bus or ride
• Vehicle or traffic problems
• Failing to check-in or check-out

If a student is absent all day, parent or guardians are expected to contact the school with the reason for the absence.  If no message is received from the parent, the absence will be marked as unverified, and automated calls will be made after 9:00 am to the parent’s primary phone number.  A second automated call may be made after 6:00 pm if the absence remains unverified at the end of the school day.  When no contact can be made after 24 hours, the absence will be marked “unexcused.” 

A note stating the date and reason for the absence, signed by the parent, must be brought to the attendance secretary first think in the morning on the day the student returns to school.  Students have three days to provide the school with an excused absence note.  After three days, the absence will be unexcused. 

Tardies / Late Arrivals

Students arriving to school after 7:30 am must report to the Main Office and check-in via Securly Pass before going to class.  Parents are requested to call the attendance line at 703-715-3636, to report a late arrival in advance, for attendance purposes. 

Early Dismissal / Check-Out Policy

To reduce the number of classroom disruptions, we ask that you follow the Hughes Middle School Check Out Policy as follows:

• To request an early dismissal please send a note, or complete and print an Early Dismissal Request Form for your child. Your child should bring the note or form to the main office upon arrival to school in order to receive an early dismissal pass for that day. Please do not request early dismissal through the attendance email or phone line.  If you forget to send a note, students should still come to the front office to get an early dismissal pass.
• The student will be given a pink early dismissal/check-out form by the office staff. This will be the pass to depart from class at the requested time.
• Parents/guardians must come into the office with a valid photo ID to sign out the student.
• Students can only be released to adults listed on the Emergency Care form.
• If a student returns to school again later the same day, he/she must check-in at the office to receive a pass to enter class.

So that parents are not in the parking lot when buses begin to line up, students may not be dismissed after 1:30 p.m. for appointments. Please plan accordingly and thank you for your support.

Busses

Transportation to and from school is a privilege provided by Fairfax County Public Schools. Students are required to sign a Bus Regulation Agreement, which states agreement to abide by the bus regulations. Infraction of those rules may result in denial of bus transportation for a period of time. Students wishing to ride a bus home with another student must present a note from the parent of each student giving permission and should include student names, date, reason for the visit, and the bus run number in order for a student to ride a bus other than the one assigned. These notes should be given to the front office secretary prior to the beginning of school on the day of the visit. The main office will issue a bus pass.