School Closures & Special Days

Learn how to manage school closures, holidays, and special days that affect attendance tracking and reporting.

Managing school closures properly ensures accurate attendance tracking and prevents students from being marked absent on days when school is not in session. Aqui Aca's closure system automatically adjusts attendance calculations and provides clear indicators to staff.

Understanding School Closures

School closures in Aqui Aca represent any day or period when your program is not operating and students are not expected to attend. This includes holidays, professional development days, weather emergencies, and planned breaks.

What Happens During Closures:

  • • Students can still be marked as present
  • • No attendance expectations for any student
  • • Attendance reports exclude closure days from calculations
  • • Special closure messages appear on the Today page
  • • Staff see clear indicators that school is closed

Types of Closures You Can Create

Closure Type Duration Common Examples
Single Day One day only Professional development, individual holidays, snow days
Multi-Day Consecutive days Spring break, winter break, summer closure, extended holidays
Emergency Variable duration Weather emergencies, facility issues, health-related closures

Creating and Managing Closures

Adding a New Closure

  • • Navigate to Settings → Closures from the main menu
  • • Click "Add Closure" to open the creation dialog
  • • Enter a clear, descriptive title (e.g., "Thanksgiving Break")
  • • Add an optional description with additional details
  • • Set the start date when the closure begins
  • • Set the end date when the closure ends
  • • Click "Save" to create the closure

Single-Day Closures

For closures that last only one day, use the same date for both the start date and end date. For example, if school is closed on December 25th for Christmas, set both the start and end date to December 25th.

Editing Existing Closures

  • • Go to Settings → Closures to see all closures
  • • Find the closure you want to modify in the list
  • • Click the edit button next to the closure
  • • Update the title, description, or dates as needed
  • • Save your changes - attendance will be automatically recalculated

Deleting Closures

If you need to remove a closure (for example, if a snow day is cancelled), you can delete it:

  • • Locate the closure in your Settings → Closures list
  • • Click the delete button (trash icon)
  • • Confirm the deletion when prompted
  • • Attendance will be automatically recalculated for affected dates

Automatic Attendance Updates

When you create, edit, or delete closures, Aqui Aca automatically recalculates attendance for all affected dates. This ensures your reports remain accurate, but it may take a moment to process if you have many students.

Common Closure Scenarios

Planned Holiday Breaks

Example: Winter Break
  • • Title: "Winter Break"
  • • Description: "School closed for winter holidays. Reopening January 8th."
  • • Start Date: December 23rd
  • • End Date: January 7th

Professional Development Days

Example: Staff Training Day
  • • Title: "Professional Development Day"
  • • Description: "Staff training - no classes for students"
  • • Start Date: March 15th
  • • End Date: March 15th (same day)

Emergency Closures

Example: Weather Emergency
  • • Title: "Snow Day"
  • • Description: "School closed due to inclement weather and unsafe travel conditions"
  • • Start Date: February 10th
  • • End Date: February 10th (or longer if needed)

Individual Holidays

Example: National Holiday
  • • Title: "Martin Luther King Jr. Day"
  • • Description: "Federal holiday - school closed"
  • • Start Date: January 16th
  • • End Date: January 16th

How Closures Affect Attendance

Daily Attendance Tracking

  • • Check-in/check-out options: Staff can still mark students present on closure days, for exceptional cases
  • • Today page shows closure: Special messages appear indicating school is closed
  • • Student status indicators: No attendance expectations appear for any students

Attendance Reports and Analytics

  • • Excluded from calculations: Closure days don't count toward attendance percentages
  • • Clearly marked: Reports show closure days as "Closed" rather than absent or present
  • • Historical accuracy: Past closures continue to be respected in historical reports
  • • Trend analysis: Attendance trends exclude closure days for accurate patterns

Best Practices

  • ✓ Plan ahead: Add known closures (holidays, breaks) at the beginning of the school year
  • ✓ Use clear titles: Make closure names descriptive so staff and reports are easy to understand
  • ✓ Add descriptions: Include helpful details about when school reopens or special instructions
  • ✓ Communicate early: Inform families about planned closures well in advance
  • ✓ Update promptly: Add emergency closures as soon as decisions are made
  • ✓ Review regularly: Check your closure calendar monthly to ensure accuracy
  • ✓ Avoid deleting: Do not delete closures unless absolutely necessary; keep historical records

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