Family & Students

Attendance Updates 

Attendance rules will be stricter. Regular attendance is very important for student success, and the district has updated policies to help students stay on track.

Truancy

• In the past, students could have up to 10 unexcused absences before being considered truant.

• Beginning in 2025–26, students will be considered truant after 5 unexcused absences.

• Students with 10 or more unexcused absences may receive No Credit (NC) in their classes.

Attendance Support Options

To help students meet attendance requirements, the district now offers:

• Asynchronous Remote Attendance – Students may use this option for up to 5 days per school year.

• Attendance Recovery – Students may be required to attend district-provided sessions to make up for missed time.

  • Parents/guardians will be notified at least two weeks in advance.

  • Students may recover up to 5 days per semester.

Absence Guidelines

• All absences require a written excuse or doctor’s note. Notes can be given to the teacher or uploaded in the Parent Portal.

• Students are allowed 5 excused absences. Any additional absences will be considered unexcused, unless there are special circumstances.

• Students arriving after 11:15 AM will be counted as absent for the day and will need an excuse.

Early Sign-Outs

• Early sign-out ends at 3:15 PM.

• Students should only be signed out early for appointments or family emergencies.

• If early sign-outs become excessive, the attendance team will schedule a parent conference.

Important Reminder

Too many absences can result in a student having to repeat a grade. 

Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct here: Student Code of Conduct - Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (sccpss.com)

1. Good attendance makes a difference in a child's learning, especially in these early elementary years. 
2. Parents are allowed 5 parent excuses per year. Always send in your child's excuses, doctor notes, etc. 
3. Students are considered truant when they have more than ten (10) unexcused absences. 
4. It is important for students to also arrive to school on time and stay for the entire day!
5. The goal is for students to miss no more than 7 days per year if they are enrolled for the entire 180 days of school. This means they will have been present more than 96% of days enrolled. Absent 91% - 95% of days enrolled is cause for concern. If a child misses more than 10% of days enrolled, this begins to negatively impact them academically. 

School starts at 9:15 and ends at 3:45.

After 9:15, your student is considered late, and a tardy slip must be filled out. After five tardies, an unexcused absence may be given. 

Early release ends at 3:15. 

At SWES, we teach from bell to bell. Late arrivals and early pick-ups cause a disruption to the school day and students can miss out on instructional time. 

                                                                SWES Uniform Requirements and Expectations

                                                         Our school color is Hunter Green, not light or kelly green.

The dress code has been updated to include school “spirit wear.”

• Students can wear school-approved spirit wear tops, as decided by each school. 

• Regular hoodies are not allowed. Only school-approved spirit wear hoodies may be worn. Hoods must stay down while inside the school building.

Students may wear white or hunter green polo or button-down collared shirt

Students must wear khaki or navy-blue pants, shorts, or skirts. Cargo pockets are not allowed. Sweatpants or jeans are not allowed. 

Socks and tights must be white or navy blue with no design. 

Students must wear a belt and tuck in their shirts. 

Closed toe shoes, boots, or sneakers are allowed. Crocs, sandals, and flip flops are not allowed. 

Jackets and zip up school approved hoodies need to be unzipped. 

We only have bus riders and car riders. 

For the safety and security of all students, we can only accept written notice to change a child's mode of transportation home. Unfortunately, we cannot accept phone calls for these changes. Please ensure that any changes are communicated to us in writing in advance.

We are looking forward to a fantastic school year filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences. Thank you for entrusting us with your child's education. With your collaboration, we can ensure that every day at Southwest Elementary School is an opportunity for growth, connection, and the creation of lifelong memories.

Car Riders:

Please be sure the student(s) car tag is clearly displayed in the passenger side front window of the vehicle. As cars pull up to the designated location, an assigned staff member will call for the child.  Any adult picking up a student without a car tag will be required to park and enter the main office to provide their photo ID.  Students will only be released to adults listed in PowerSchool by the parent/guardian.

Bus Riders:

Every student in our attendance zone can ride a bus. 

To find out which bus your child rides. please go here: Infofinder

We highly encourage you to download the app Here Comes the Bus. This will allow families to monitor daily school bus transportation information, including where a specific bus is on its route. Parents can see where their child's school bus is on its daily route. The app delivers real-time tracking of school bus location through and delivers notification alerts to ensure students and parents arrive at the school bus stop on time.

For more information and to download the app, go here: Here Comes The Bus - Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (sccpss.com)

GBIS is an incentive program that rewards students for good behavior. 

Great Gator Behavior is:

Giving your best.

Accepting responsibility.

Thinking before you act or speak.

Occupy your own space.

Respecting yourself, others and property. 

Students earn points on Class Dojo and Gator Bucks from teachers and staff members when he or she displays great gator behavior. Each student that earns the required amount of Class Dojo points get to attend special events. Examples of these special events are movie and popcorn parties, pajama parties, Valentines Dance and Halloween Party. Gator Bucks can be used at the Gator Shop. 

Class Dojo is a digital platform used by the school for communication with families. For more information on Class Dojo visit ClassDojo. 

Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct here:

 Student Code of Conduct - Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (sccpss.com)

Every day our schools work to ensure the safety of our staff, students and visitors.

 As part of an initiative to enhance the overall safety of our schools, the Superintendent has implemented Random Administrative Inspections that will be conducted using each site’s staff members. Inspections will be conducted at random to identify and prevent any item that is not approved to be on school grounds from entering our campuses. The inspections may use a hand-held or walk through metal or weapons detector and/or the searching of a student’s bag(s). In years past, these inspections were required for upper grade levels but only suggested for elementary grade levels.

Beginning this year, Random Administrative Inspections are now a part of our layered security and commitment to school safety at all grade levels. This is not due to any specific threat or concern, but part of a continued effort to make certain our schools are safe and supportive environments where all students thrive. Students found to be in possession of contraband during these inspections will be appropriately disciplined, so please take time to review the Student Code of Conduct with your child to ensure they are following school rules and protocols and do not bring any unapproved items to school.

Random Administrative Inspections are conducted as an administrative function and will not involve Campus Police unless there is a safety issue, Campus Police may assist in securing the inspection area or escorting and/or monitoring students to be inspected but will not actively participate in the Random Administrative Inspection process.

Thank you for your understanding and support of our school.