With September being National Attendance Awareness Month, Rockdale ISD is focusing on its goal of achieving a 96 percent attendance rate across all campuses for the current school year. Achieving this goal will require all stakeholders to work together. It is essential to understand that attendance matters for success in school and life, and absences can easily add to academic decline.
A chronically absent student is an individual who misses two or more days of school a month, including unexcused and excused absences. According to attendanceworks. org, children who miss numerous days in kindergarten and first grade have trouble mastering reading. By 6th grade, a student is at risk of dropping out; by 9th grade, good attendance can predict graduation rates.
Being late for school can also hurt a child’s learning. A student who is 10 minutes late every day will miss more than 30 hours of instruction. Additionally, attendance can affect a school’s budget. Students' absences can reduce funding.
Absenteeism can result in lost opportunities to learn, build relationships and access academic and social-emotional support. It cannot be thought of as merely a lack of compliance with school rules.
Addres sing chronic absenteeism is crucial to improving graduation rates, increasing academic achievement and giving students a good chance for success in their adult life.
Secondly, regular school at tendance is the law. According to the Texas Education Code §25.085 regarding Compulsory School Attendance, Texas law requires all children at least six years of age and not yet 19 to attend school full time. If a student violates the compulsory attendance law, the following can occur: the student can be reported to the At-Risk Specialist and preventable measures be implemented; the student may be referred to civil court for truant conduct; the district is required by the law to refer the parent/guardian to the court for contributing to absent conduct.
The following opportunities can help support your child’s success in school.
First, make school attendance a priority for your child.
Second, talk to your child about the importance of daily attendance in every class and how it helps their learning.
Next, help your child build responsibility skills by reminding them to complete any missed assignments after an absence.
Only let your child stay home if they are genuinely sick. Sometimes complaints of a headache or stomach ache might be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home. Contact the teacher or school counselor for support if you think this might be happening.
Make every effort to schedule doctor, dentist, and other appointments after school hours. If your child must be out of school for an appointment, get them back to school for at least part of the school day.
Finally, plan vacations when school is not in session.
Improving student attendance is critical for the good of the students and the good of the community. By developing positive, meaningful relationships with students and creating conditions for them to be successful, parents, teachers, and school leaders and making school a welcoming place are much more likely to influence students to improve their attendance.
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