I’m always amazed at the end of the year to see the
recognition of students with perfect attendance. What a great testament to their love of
school, not to mention their good health. Every once in a while you find that student
that has perfect attendance for multiple years. That likely means no flu, no
strep, no significant accidents, good health and some great luck.
We have traditionally monitored attendance in terms of average
daily attendance and truancy. Our approach would imply that we are most
interested in whether you can document an acceptable reason for the absence,
rather than the absence itself. I’m starting to think we need to change our
perspective.
The Office of Civil Rights says that any child who misses 15
days or more a year will suffer academically.
They call it Chronic Absence and it will be a new data point for
reporting in order to qualify for federal dollars in schools. Excused or
unexcused doesn’t really matter in this measure. When you are not in school, you
are not getting the opportunity to learn and when you miss too much, you fall
behind. No make-up work can fill that void.
When I asked for a report on the number of children we have
in Calvert County who miss 15 days of school or more each year, I was
astonished. I expected Kindergarten and 1st grade to be the worst
due to the typical early childhood illness and significant germ sharing. And in some elementary schools that proved
true, but not always. Sometimes the 5th grade had the highest
percentage of chronic absence.
I found that students in our Title I Elementary Schools,
those who qualify for additional help due to a large number of students on Free
and Reduced Meals, had almost double the percent of students who were
chronically absent than other elementary schools. What is the connection
between poverty and attendance? Does that explain the lower achievement?
I found that at almost every middle school, the eighth grade
had significantly more chronically absent students than the sixth grade. Why?
At the high school level, guess which grade had the highest
percent of chronically absent students? The seniors of course. But is that
really OK?
Why does
reducing chronic absence matter? *(For research, see: http://www.attendanceworks.org/research/)
- Exposure to language: Starting in Pre-K, attendance equals exposure to language-rich environments especially for low-income children.
- Time on Task in Class: Students only benefit from classroom instruction if they are in class.
- On Track for Success: Chronic absence is a proven early warning sign that a student is behind in reading by 3rd grade, failing courses in middle and high school, and likely to drop-out.
- College and Career Ready: Cultivating the habit of regular attendance helps students develop the persistence needed to show up every day for college and work.
- Engagement: Attendance reflects engagement in learning.
- Effective Practice: Schools, communities and families can reduce chronic absence when they work together.
My advisor in college made it clear and simple saying,
“Showing up is half the battle.” I found
it to be true. It was practically impossible to fail a class if you were
present each day. Our challenge is to implant that value into all of our
students.