How to Take Attendance
Efficiently track student attendance using Aqui Aca's streamlined Today page.
The typical flow schools use is to mark off students as they arrive throughout the morning. Aqui Aca's Today page provides a simple, efficient way to track attendance with just a few clicks, automatically handling tardy tracking and providing flexible options for different attendance scenarios.
Basic Attendance Flow
Navigate to the Today Page
The Today page shows all students for the current day with their current attendance status.
Filter by Group
Optionally use the group filter to focus on specific classes.
Mark Student Status
Use the appropriate status buttons as students arrive.
Student Status Options
Check In
When to use: Mark a student as present when they arrive at school.
- • If checked in before or during the grace period: Student is marked as "on time"
- • If checked in after the grace period: Student is automatically marked as "tardy"
- • You can add check-in tags to provide additional context (e.g., "Early pickup", "Needs medication")
Mark Absent
When to use: When you explicitly know a student will not be attending school today.
- • Use for students who are sick, have appointments, or are otherwise unable to attend
- • Add absence tags to categorize the type of absence (e.g., "Sick", "Medical appointment", "Family emergency")
- • If a student's status hasn't been updated by the end of the day, they will be marked as having an "Unexplained Absence"
Expected Late
When to use: When you know a student will arrive late but want to distinguish them from absent students and unexplained late.
- • Use when parents have notified you the student will be late
- • Helps differentiate between students who might be absent vs. those who are just delayed
- • Student can still be checked in normally when they arrive
Automatic Tardy Handling
You do not need to manually mark students as tardy. The system automatically handles this based on your school's configured start time.
- • The school start time can be configured in Aqui Aca Settings
- • Students that are checked in after start time are automatically marked as tardy
- • No additional action required from staff
Understanding Grace Period
The grace period allows flexibility around the official start time and prevents students from being marked late for minor delays. This feature can be helpful if you take attendance in one go at the start of the day.
If a grace period is configured, students who are checked-in after the school start time, but within the grace period won't be marked late.
Example
If school starts at 8:30 AM with a 10-minute grace period, students can check in until 8:40 AM without being marked late. After 8:40 AM, check-ins are marked as tardy.
Understanding Tags
Tags provide additional context and categorization for attendance records. There are two types of tags:
Check-in Tags
Used with: Check In status
Purpose: Provide context about the student's day
Examples:
Absence Tags
Used with: Mark Absent status
Purpose: Categorize and explain absences
Examples:
Advanced Features
Filtering by Group
- • Use the group filter to focus on specific classes
- • Helpful for classroom teachers taking attendance for their specific group
- • Admins can view all students across groups
Undo Functionality
- • Made a mistake? Use the "Undo" button to reverse the last status change
- • Available immediately after making a status change
Time Corrections
- • Can correct check-in/check-out times if needed
- • Useful for fixing data entry errors or retroactive updates
Best Practices
- • Be consistent: Establish clear procedures for when to use each status
- • Use tags effectively: Create standardized tags for common scenarios
- • Train all staff: Ensure everyone understands the difference between absence types
- • Review daily: Check for any missing attendance before end of day
- • Follow up: Use unexplained absences to trigger appropriate communication protocols