Next school year, all Westerville City School District families will report student absences through a secure system called SafeArrival. In addition to reducing the time it takes to verify student attendance, this system gives families more options to report a child’s absence and allows our staff to immediately investigate discrepancies. This is especially important when a child is reported absent during attendance and the office has not notified that the student would be missing school that day.
Beginning in August, families will be able to report and/or schedule absences through any of the following options:
Once implemented, these absence reporting options will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The app is convenient, the toll-free number is districtwide, and the dedicated website also provides access to an archive of messages sent to families through the district’s notification system. Future absences, such as known medical appointments, can be scheduled at any time.
Through SafeArrival, if a parent/guardian forgets to report their student’s absence, they will begin to receive automated notifications once the child is marked absent at school. The notification process ends when the parent/guardian confirms the absence through SafeArrival. Safeguards are in place to prevent students from reporting their own absence. Families will receive additional information about how to use SafeArrival prior to the start of school next year.