Attendance Matters - Norwich Free Academy

NFA's Attendance Policies

Excused vs. Unexcused Absencses

The State Board of Education adopted definitions for excused and unexcused absences for use by schools and districts in order to implement the statutory policies and procedures concerning truants, and the reporting of truancy. The Connecticut State Department of Education was asked to issue guidance to help districts in implementing the new definitions. Attached is a copy of that guidance. That informatin can be found here.

1 through 9 Absences

Any reason that the student’s parent or guardian approves. The parent or guardian must notify NFA within (10) days.

10 Absences or Above

Student illness (Note: to be deemed excused, an appropriately licensed medical professional must verify all student illness absences, regardless of the absence’s length).
Student’s observance of a religious holiday.
Death in the student’s family or other emergency beyond the control of the student’s family.
Mandated court appearances (additional documentation required).
The lack of transportation that is normally provided by a district other than the one the student attends (parental documentation is not required for this reason).
Extraordinary educational opportunities pre-approved by district administrators.

The parent or guardian must notify NFA within (10) days, and in some cases provide additional documentation (see details of specific reason).

Stay up-to-date with your student's attendance

Create a PowerSchool Account

1. Click on the PowerSchool icon.

2. For first-time users, you will need to create an account. Click on the “Create Account” tab and then click the “Create Account” button. You will need your student’s Access ID and Access Password to link him or her to your parent account. If you do not have this information, please contact your student’s house office.

3. In the “Create Parent Account” area, fill out the fields (first name, last name, email, desired username, password, and re-enter password). These fields are about you, not your child. Note: Your Password must be at least 7 characters long.

4. In the “Link Students to Account” area, enter your child’s name, Access ID, and Access Password and choose your relationship to the student. Note: All letters are capitalized. Be sure to distinguish between the number 1 and capital I, and the number 0 and capital O. If you have more than one student in your household, please also enter their names, Access IDs, and Access Passwords in the “Link Students to Account” fields. When you are finished, click the “Enter” button to create your account.

5. Once your account is created, and you are on the Student Screen, you will see the student's grades in the box next to the course name. a. Click on the blue grade to see all of the assignments for that class. b. Click on the teacher name to email that teacher directly.

6. For PowerSchool mobile app instructions, click here.

Staying in Contact

In an effort to reduce the number of students who become truant, grade-level attendance secretaries will reach out to the parent(s)/guardian(s) of any student who has two unverified absences in a 30-day period. This contact is meant to ensure families are aware of their student’s absences and will provide families with an opportunity to help us verify a student’s unverified absences in the event they have forgotten to contact the school.

Help NFA create and maintain lines of communication with your student's teachers so that you can keep up with what is being taught and monitor your child's progress. Be sure to contact your student's attendance office when he or she needs to miss school. Please ensure that you update your contact information in PowerSchool if your phone number or address changes; instructions on how to do that can be found below.

Update Your Household's Contact InfoAccordion

*If you don't have a PowerSchool account, you won't be able to monitor and track your student's daily attendance, or update your contact information.

Creating A PowerSchool Account

1. Click on the PowerSchool icon.

2. For first-time users, you will need to create an account. Click on the “Create Account” tab and then click the “Create Account” button. You will need your student’s Access ID and Access Password to link him or her to your parent account. If you do not have this information, please contact your student’s house office.

3. In the “Create Parent Account” area, fill out the fields (first name, last name, email, desired username, password, and re-enter password). These fields are about you, not your child. Note: Your Password must be at least 7 characters long.

4. In the “Link Students to Account” area, enter your child’s name, Access ID, and Access Password and choose your relationship to the student. Note: All letters are capitalized. Be sure to distinguish between the number 1 and capital I, and the number 0 and capital O. If you have more than one student in your household, please also enter their names, Access IDs, and Access Passwords in the “Link Students to Account” fields. When you are finished, click the “Enter” button to create your account.

5. Once your account is created, and you are on the Student Screen, you will see the student's grades in the box next to the course name. a. Click on the blue grade to see all of the assignments for that class. b. Click on the teacher name to email that teacher directly.

6. For PowerSchool mobile app instructions, click here.

Update Household Information

Step 1: Go to Forms by clicking the ‘Forms’ item in the left navigation menu.

PowerSchool parent contact info update form

Step 2: Select NFA – Home Communication, Family and Emergency

Step 3: Enter changes to any information.

Note: A change of town requires direct contact with the NFA Registrar’s Office (860) 425-5605

Step 4: Click the SUBMIT button (lower right hand corner) to send the change to NFA House personnel for review

Update Cellphone for Text Alerts

School Messenger, NFA’s automated notification system, syncs information with PowerSchool. If your Primary Household phone number is a cell phone that is SMS capable (text message), you automatically receive a request to enroll. If you accept, you will receive text messages when automated phone calls are made by the system. Your preferences will be saved from year to year as long as your Primary Household phone number remains the same.

If you did not opt into the program, you may do so at any time by following these steps:

Send a text message to 675-87
Type: Help
Send the 'help' message.
You will receive a response
Type: Y for “Yes”
Send the 'Y' message.

If you have a phone number change or if there is a brand new cell phone number, update your information in PowerSchool by following the directions in the first drop down box (Update Household Info) on the Update Contact Page.