New Trier High School is committed to forming a partnership with parents/guardians to maintain consistent student attendance.  Regular school attendance leads to high academic achievement and strengthens students’ punctuality, self-discipline, and personal responsibility.  Therefore, the district has established a clear attendance system.  This system will aim to support students while also holding them accountable for regular attendance for all scheduled class periods, including adviser period.   

Reporting an Absence 

Only Parents/Guardians are authorized to report a student absence. Absence reporting is done via Parent PowerSchool platform. Do not divulge your parent login and password to students. Students found entering their own attendance excusals will be subject to disciplinary consequences. 

Report an Absence

Directions for Reporting an Absence in PowerSchool: 

• Select "Attendance Monitor" (bottom of the left side navigation bar). 
• Click on "Report New Attendance." 
• Enter the required information, including an explanation
• Click “Submit.”

Please note that when submitting an “Report New Attendance” form in the PowerSchool Parent Portal you are requesting the absence be excused by the school. In order to comply with State of Illinois law, the school reserves the right to determine if an absence is unexcused and/or constitutes truancy.

Any absence not corrected within 48 hours will result in the student being subject to academic and disciplinary consequences. 

If you are reporting a Covid related absence CLICK HERE for information.

Student Attendance 

Students are required by State law to attend each day school is in session. The Board of Education’s attendance policy states that students will attend and be on time for class on a regular basis. Student attendance is not optional; it is a requirement of every class, including adviser period. New Trier High School students and families are responsible for knowing and following the attendance plan and procedures. 

Review Attendance Handbook  

Attendance Expectations 

• On time arrival:  New Trier values the Adviser Program, and it is part of the student’s school day. Therefore, on time arrival and consistent attendance to the adviser period is expected (8:00 a.m. for Northfield and 8:20 a.m. for Winnetka).
• A student cannot be excused from one class to stay at school and study for another class. If a student is in the building, they must attend all scheduled classes. When a student is in the building, any absences from scheduled classes will be considered unexcused.
• Students must be present in school in order to participate in extracurricular activities.  Students who are absent from school for  2 scheduled blocks (four 40 minute periods) or more, whether excused or unexcused,  may not participate in their after school extracurricular activities that day. Students and coaches will be notified via email by 2:45 p.m. on the Northfield Campus and 3:15 p.m. on the Winnetka campus. if they are not permitted to participate that day. 
  • Early Bird & Adviser Room: An absence to an early bird class counts as one 40 minute period; an absence to adviser period counts as one 40 minute period.  
• A student may be validly excused from school for the reasons listed on page 4 of the handbook.  Absences for reasons other than valid cause will be reviewed and may not be considered excused.
• If the school makes an error in attendance, the Adviser or Adviser Chair will collaborate with the student to help resolve the error the next day with the appropriate teacher or staff member.  Parents/Guardians should not submit an absence form to excuse students in these cases.
• For partial day absences, students are required to sign in and out.  At the Northfield Campus students should sign in/out at the Attendance Kiosk: B Building 2nd Floor Attendance Office. At the Winnetka Campus students should sign in/out at the 2nd floor Attendance Office (Room 217) or the Athletic Entrance (Door N19 – Trevian Way). If students become ill during the school day, they need to sign out via Health Services.  Health Services will log the absence via PowerSchool.
• Students excused from a Kinetic Wellness class will be required to make up the time in accordance with the KW Departmental Policy. Students should coordinate with their KW teacher. 
• The Northfield Campus is closed for freshmen and the Winnetka Campus is closed for sophomores and juniors. Only seniors are allowed to leave campus on foot during their assigned lunch period. Students are not allowed to be in cars during the school day.

Types of Absences

*Illinois State Attendance Codes: Please understand there are specific attendance codes recognized by the state of Illinois. Schools are required to adhere to these predetermined parameters for recording student attendance and cannot create codes.