Education Forms

Attendance That Syncs to Your Student Database

Teacher marks Present, Absent, or Tardy. Record links to the student automatically. Parents get notified. No paper. No double data entry.

Attendance tracking is a daily headache

Every morning, the same problems:

Paper sheets get collected, then someone types them into the SIS—often a day late

Attendance data doesn't connect to your student database, so you're always cross-referencing

Parents find out their kid was absent when they see the report card

A student misses 10 days before anyone notices a pattern

The substitute teacher can't figure out your attendance system, so they use paper anyway

Chronic absenteeism reports require pulling data from three different places

The result: data that's always a day behind, patterns you miss until it's too late, and parents blindsided at conferences.

Attendance that connects to everything else

Instant sync

Teacher taps Absent, it's in your database. No waiting for batch uploads or end-of-day processing.

Linked records

Each record connects to the student, class, and period. Rollups track attendance rates automatically.

Prefilled forms

Today's date, the teacher's class, period number—all prefilled. Just tap the status.

Automations

Absent? Parents get a text. Five absences? Counselor gets an alert. You set the rules.

How to create an attendance tracking form

Set Up Your Airtable Base

Create an "Attendance" table linked to Students and Classes:

Attendance Table:

•Date — Date field

•Student — Linked record to Students table

•Class/Period — Linked record to Classes table

•Status — Single select (Present, Absent, Tardy, Excused)

•Notes — Long text (for tardiness reason, etc.)

•Marked By — Linked record to Teachers table

•Timestamp — Created time (auto-generated)

Students Table (if not existing):

•Name — Single line text

•Grade — Single select

•Homeroom — Linked record to Classes

•Parent Email — Email field (for absence notifications)

Connect Filla to Your Base

Click "Connect Airtable" and authorize access to your base. Filla uses OAuth, so you never share your API key.

Select your base and the Attendance table. Your fields appear automatically — no manual mapping needed.

Build Your Attendance Form

Create a simple attendance entry form:

•Add Date field (can be prefilled with today's date)

•Add Class/Period linked record (can be prefilled per teacher)

•Add Student linked record filtered by class

•Add Status single select

•Add Notes for optional comments

Optimization tip:

Teachers can submit one record per student, or you can create a "bulk entry" view in Airtable for faster marking.

Add conditional logic:

•If status is "Tardy," show reason field

•If status is "Absent," show excused/unexcused options

Set Up Teacher-Specific Links

Create prefilled links for each teacher:

•Prefill the Class field so teachers only see their students

•Prefill today's date to speed up entry

•Prefill teacher name as "Marked By"

Share these customized links:

•Bookmark on teacher devices

•Add to learning management system

•Create QR codes for classroom posters

•Include in daily teacher dashboard

Automate Attendance Reporting

Set up Airtable automations for attendance management:

•Daily absence report to office staff each morning

•Parent notification when student is marked absent

•Chronic absence alert when student misses 3+ days

•Weekly summary to administrators

Create Airtable views:

•Today's absences (filtered by date)

•Attendance by class (grouped view)

•Students with attendance concerns (filtered by count)

•Monthly attendance trends (summary view)

Taking attendance tracking further

Conditional Logic Examples

Show tardy reason field only when status is 'Tardy'
Display excuse documentation upload for excused absences
Show nurse visit field if student arrived sick
Reveal early dismissal time if applicable

Linked Record Use Cases

Connect to Students table for roster management
Link to Classes for period-specific attendance
Reference Teachers table for who marked attendance
Connect to Calendar for tracking school days vs. holidays

Automation Ideas

Email parents immediately when student is marked absent
Alert counselor when student has 5+ absences
Generate daily attendance percentage report
Auto-calculate attendance rate in student records

Common issues and solutions

"Teachers see all students instead of just their class"

Use prefilled links with class already selected
Filter the Student linked record by Class field
Create separate forms for each class period

"Duplicate attendance entries for same student/date"

Create a formula field combining Student + Date as unique key
Set up automation to flag or prevent duplicates
Create a view showing potential duplicates for manual review

"Attendance data doesn't match SIS system"

Set up sync automation between Airtable and your SIS
Use Airtable as source of truth and export to SIS daily
Create reconciliation view to compare records

Attendance tracking FAQs

Can teachers take attendance for multiple classes?

Give each teacher a prefilled link per class—or let them select the class from a dropdown. Either way, one tap per student, records link automatically.

How do we handle students who arrive late?

Add 'Tardy' to your Status options. Use conditional logic to show a time or reason field only when Tardy is selected. Track tardiness patterns with filtered views.

Can we track attendance across multiple periods?

Add a Period linked record. Students in 6 classes get 6 attendance records per day—each connected to the right period and teacher.

How do we notify parents of absences?

Set up an Airtable automation: when Status = Absent, send an email or SMS via SendGrid/Twilio. Parents know before their kid gets home.

Can we calculate attendance percentages?

Use rollup and formula fields in Airtable. Count school days, count present days, divide. Display the percentage on each student record—updates automatically.

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Ditch the paper attendance sheets

Five forms free, unlimited submissions. Build your attendance form now—teachers can start using it tomorrow morning.