Reduce Student Absence
Communicator
September 2017, Volume 41, Issue 1
Parents may not know that missing as few as two days a month can affect student achievement. Help send the message that attendance every day is important. Here’s how:
- Ensure teachers take roll regularly so students know someone cares when they miss school.
- Ensure all classrooms are nurturing and engaging, children want to come to school every day.
- Invest in accurate collection and entry of attendance data into student data systems.
- Calculate and analyze chronic absence and good attendance patterns for students.
- Partner with families and community groups to address trending challenges (e.g. unreliable transportation, lack of access to health care).
- Educate parents and children about the importance of attendance starting in the early years.
- Develop and implement a schoolwide system of incentives and rewards for good attendance.
Finally, reach out to frequently absent students to find out in a supportive manner why they are missing school and what would help them attend more regularly. For more information, visit www.attendanceworks.org.
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