We understand that life events occur and that the past two years have posed significant challenges for you and your children. Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to recover from recent uncertainties  – to learn, connect to peers and teachers and benefit from classroom instruction. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) holds school districts across the state accountable for tracking attendance data and working closely with families and students to ensure acceptable engagement and attendance in learning whether virtual or in-person. DESE sets the state attendance standard at 90%. When that threshold is not met, districts face possible reductions in state funding.

Why does attendance matter? If children don’t show up for school regularly, they miss out on fundamental reading and math skills and the chance to build a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers.

Recent data shows that overall attendance figures for MRH are not where we’d like them to be. Many student absences are excused and unavoidable, but they still add up to lost time in the classroom. We are asking our families to help make school attendance a priority. You can do this by:

• Speaking with your learners about the importance of showing up every day

• Helping them to maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s rest

• Doing your best to keep your child healthy

• Trying to schedule medical and dental appointments outside school hours

MRH Board Policy states that “holding students and their parents/guardians responsible for attendance is part of the District’s larger mission to train students to be productive citizens and employees.” That’s why MRH offers academic, social-emotional and technical support for all our students. If there is anything that a member of our team can do to support you and your child, please let us know. We would be happy to partner with you for your child’s overall success. 

Reporting Student Absences

Our partnership with families remains essential to protect the health and safety of our students and to ensure that our students have access to learning. Given the current guidelines and mitigating measures, we have updated our absence reporting processes. Instead of a district-wide online reporting option, we have created an online absence reporting option for each one of our schools. We hope to see (2) immediate benefits.

• A streamlined approach to sending information, which will improve response time
• A place to report any student absence, not just COVID-19 related absences

Starting October 3, 2022, we will be using the following links for online reporting

• ECC: MRH ECC Attendance Reporting Form
• MRH-E: MRH Elementary Attendance Reporting Form
• MS/HS: MRH MS/HS Attendance Reporting Form

While it is certainly fine to let your student’s teacher know, please contact the attendance office directly as they closely monitor attendance throughout the day.

If you have any general questions about student attendance, please feel free to contact the MRH attendance offices:

MRH Middle School/High School
Phil Hunt
Attendance Line: 314-446-3802
Direct Line: 314-446-3802
Email: phil.hunt@mrhschools.net

MRH Elementary
Kris Ricks
Attendance Line: 314-256-7202
Direct Line: 314-256-7202
Email: kris.ricks@mrhschools.net

MRH ECC
Aniecia Jordan
Attendance Line: 314-256-4570
Direct Line: 314-256-4550
Email: aniecia.jordan@mrhschools.net

If you have any questions about COVID-19 or managing symptoms, please feel free to reach out to our school nurses:

Michelle Davis
Phone: 314-256-4502
Email: michelle.davis@mrhschools.net

Kathryn Whitehouse
Phone: 314-256-7207
Email: kathryn.whitehouse@mrhschools.net

Angel Goldberg
Phone: 314-446-3813
Email: angel.goldberg@mrhschools.net