Attendance

Every day Counts!

The attendance office at Bowie High School is working hard to keep the attendance accurate. Improving attendance is a priority for Austin ISD. The Attendance Office processes all student attendance and attendance documentation. Because of the volume of excuse notes, the district gives the attendance specialist three school days window to update the attendance.

Notification

Please send in documentation of student absences using the School Absence Form on the AISD website.

Parents: You play an important role in making sure your child is in school and on time every day. For more information visit the district's attendance page or the Back to School Attendance: Reminders for Students and Families presentation.

Office Hours

7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Mon - Fri

Official Attendance Times

  • Regular Schedule 10:30 a.m.
  • Late Start 11:30 a.m.
  • Two-Hour Delay 11:30 a.m.

Resources

Summary of Attendance Rules & Codes

Contact

Amber Withycombe, Attendance Specialist
bowie@austinisd.org |  512-414-5247 ext. 53952 | 512-414-0532 (fax)

 

Attendance Topic Categories

For discrepancies (errors) in your student's attendance, we ask THE STUDENT to contact his/her teacher for correction. The Attendance Specialist is not able to make any corrections without teacher approval. The teacher accounts for whether or not the student is present or absent in class.

If a substitute teacher marks students absent in class, the attendance can not be changed unless their presence can be verified by a teacher or an administrator.

NOTE: It is important for the student to pay attention and be accounted for when there is a substitute. 

Notes are processed and indicate in TEAMS no later than 72 hrs.

Please complete absence documentation at https://www.austinisd.org/attendance/report-absence.

Per district policy, parent excuse notes will only be accepted within 72 hours of the absence. Notes that are turned in outside of this window must be reviewed by the student’s assistant principal.

NOTE: Phone calls are not required to report an absence in advance, per policy we can’t address absences in advance.

You will receive an automatic phone call out from AISD that your student was absent.

We DO NOT accept phone calls or voicemail messages as documentation for a student's absence.

Please attach documentation when you fill out the AISD School Absence Note form at https://www.austinisd.org/attendance/report-absence.

Notes from healthcare professionals will be accepted at any time and can be sent to Bowie in the following ways:

NOTE: We are not receiving physical notes.

A student may be excused for one day during the period of time the student is enrolled in high school to obtain a driver's license or learner license.

The student who is 15 years or older is excused from school for no more than one day while the student is enrolled in high school to obtain a driver’s license or learner license.

*DPS Driver’s License Visit Documentation signed by parent or guardian.

Please print the DPS Attendance Form, fill it and attach it at https://www.austinisd.org/attendance/report-absence.

This pertains to students who miss school for the purpose of observing religious holy days. Travel is limited to no more than one day of travel to and one day of travel from the observation site. To be considered a religious holy day, the holy day activity must be a tenet of the student’s faith.

Church retreats, camps, and missions’ trips, and individual religious rites (Baptisms, Christenings, Barmitzvahs, etc.) are not holy days.

Parent/guardian must complete the Holy Day form.
 
Please print the Holy Day Form, fill it out and attach it at https://www.austinisd.org/attendance/report-absence.

All Juniors and Seniors are given 2 excused absence days per school year to visit a college campus. In order for your absence to be approved you must complete this process: 

Student Directions 

  • Talk with your teachers of periods missed PRIOR to the college visit and ask about any missed assignments. 
  • (Required) Request a letter from the college/university stating that you were there on a specific date(s) and a school official's signature. This cannot be a brochure, flyer, or an email. It MUST be a letter on school letterhead with your name and student ID written on it. Travel days cannot be excused.

**Only Juniors and Seniors are allowed 2 full days per year for college visits. Excused absences will only be honored if the student follows all directions for the college visit.

If you have questions regarding attendance recovery, please contact your student’s Assistant Principal.

The student's primary parent(s) can update their phone and/or email address contact information through their AISD Parent Cloud Account.

  1. Go to the AISD Parent Cloud (https://portal.austinisd.org).
  2.  Click the "Frontline SIS Self-Serve" tile.
  3. Select the "Edit Contact Info" tab. 
  4. Edit the phone # or email address as desired. 

If you experience any difficulties, please contact the Bowie main office at 512-414-5247 for assistance.