Cowan Elementary School has an amazing staff of professionals to provide an exceptional learning experience for your child. In order for your child to receive full benefit from the educational services provided, your child needs to arrive on time, stay for the entire school day, and be in attendance every day.

Parent Portal

The AISD Portal (portal.austinisd.org) is the gateway to accessing these tools and setting preferences for alerts concerning grades and attendance. The following tiles can be selected to view and update information. In AISD, parents are able to access all their student's educational information in one place: the Parent Cloud!

To monitor attendance and utilize other resources available, create a Parent Portal account today. For assistance with creating an account, please call 512-414-9187.

Compulsory Attendance Policy

Tardies

Any student who joins the class after 7:40 a.m. is considered tardy, which is defined as a partial day unexcused absence. If your child is tardy, walk your child into the main office and sign-in your child.

The only time a child who arrives after 7:40 a.m. is excused is if they are late due to being transported by an A.I.S.D. school bus or if they arrive late due to a doctor/dentist/medical appointment and a school excuse from the medical staff is provided upon their arrival.

• If a student arrives after 7:40 a.m. from an appointment, a school excuse provided by the medical professional should be provided within TWO days of appointment to excuse the tardy.
• If a student arrives after 9:30a.m., their absence will be considered unexcused for the day if a note is not provided.

Absences

If your child is sick, keep them home. Send a note within TWO days of the student’s return explaining the reason for the absence. A parent note is sufficient.

Notes can be submitted via email to cowan@austinisd.org. 

Dismissal

If you choose to pick up your child prior to dismissal at 3:10 p.m., it is considered an unexcused tardy. For truancy purposes, in order for an early dismissal to be excused, a school excuse provided by the medical professional should be provided upon their return. School excuses should be provided within TWO days of appointment. If you need to pick up your child prior to the end of the school day, we request that you arrive to school prior to 2:45 pm.

If your child is sent home by the nurse, the early dismissal will be considered excused. There are several steps we take to ensure that parents understand the compulsory attendance law including, but not limited to the following:

1. When a student accumulates three full day unexcused absences within a four-week period, a letter is generated by the district to notify parents about their student’s attendance and compliance with state compulsory attendance laws.
2. The written notification will request a conference between school officials and the parent to discuss the absences. Our campus attendance committee will work collaboratively with you to discuss how to improve school attendance. 
3. In an effort to continuously improve how we address attendance challenges, the AISD Child Study Team has developed a class entitled, “Attendance Matters”. The purpose of the class is to provide you with solution focused strategies to improve school attendance.
4. If a student has ten UNEXCUSED days or partial days within a six-month period, the school may file charges against the parent for non-compliance in accordance with compulsory attendance laws.
5. Please also consider the financial situation of our school district. Every time a child misses school, the district loses approximately $60 a day. This state revenue goes directly into your child’s education, which includes paying the salary of your child’s favorite teacher!