School Absences Due to Traveling: As the holiday season approaches, we’d like to remind you about our school attendance policies regarding extended vacations. Absences due to travel or days/periods off for other personal reasons or family business are considered unexcused absences and can lead to truancy when they accumulate and become excessive. However, if you know in advance that your child will be absent for an extended period of time due to travel (between 5 and 14 school days), there is an option to complete an Independent Study Contract (ISC). If you would like to do this, the school site needs to be notified more than five (5) business days in advance. The benefits to an ISC are three-fold: 1) Your child can keep up with his/her school work while out-of-town, 2) Successful completion of the ISC reverts the absences from unexcused to excused, and 3) Venado is able to recuperate funding for attendance that is otherwise lost for unexcused absences. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this option for your student, please contact Mrs. Van Dam shannonvandam@iusd.org.