Anthony Spangler Elementary School

ATTENDANCE SECRETARY - Allison Eacret

(408) 635-2870 X 1008   ~  aeacret@musd.org

You can also send a message through Parent Square. 

In California, all children are required by law to attend school between the ages of 6 and 18, and must have good attendance records as well. The state defines legally truant as a student who misses school with a combination of the following types of absences without a valid excuse:

• three unexcused absences and/or

• three tardies and/or

• three absences of more than 30 minutes

​10 Facts About School Attendance 

1. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school. Read more about first month absenteeism here.

2. An estimated 5 million to 7.5 million U.S. students miss nearly a month of school each year. Read more about students missing nearly a month of school each year here.

3. Absenteeism and its ill effects start early. One in 10 kindergarten and first grade students are chronically absent. Read more about absenteeism and its ill effects here . Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade or be held back. Read mor about the correlation between poor attendance and poor reading skills here.

4. By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school. Read more about chronic absences and drop out rates here.

5. Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence. Read more about chronic absences and a student’s academic performance here.

6. The academic impact of missing that much school is the same whether the absences are excused or unexcused. Suspensions also add to lost time in the classroom.

7.  Low-income students are four times more likely to be chronically absent than others often for reasons beyond their control, such as unstable housing, unreliable transportation and a lack of access to health care. Read more about low-income students and chronic absences here.

8. When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating. Read more about improving students attendance rates here.

9. Attendance improves when schools engage students and parents in positive ways and when schools provide mentors for chronically absent students. Read mor about engaging students and parents to prevent absences here.

10. Most school districts and states don’t look at all the right data to improve school attendance. They track how many students show up every day and how many are skipping school without an excuse, but not how many are missing so many days in excused and unexcused absence that they are headed off track academically. Read more about schools looking at the wrong data in student’s absenteeism here.

Please contact the school office within two days of your child's return to school or the absences will be recorded as unexcused.​

Attendance Hotline:

Call Ms. Eacret at  (408) 635-2870 x1008 or email her at aeacret@musd.org.