School Attendance: A Key to Success
Mrs. Barbara Pagan
ELROY
Brentwood Borough School District
One of the most important things your child can do to achieve academic success is also one of the most basic: going to school every day. In fact, research has shown that your child ' s attendance record may be the biggest factor influencing his / her academic success. Students need to attend school daily to succeed. According to a new report that compiles recent research on school attendance, the nation’ s large and persistent education achievement gaps are rooted in a largely hidden crisis of chronic absenteeism from school, especially among low-income and minority children. Studies show that better attendance is related to higher academic achievement for students of all backgrounds, but particularly for children with lower socio-economic status. Beginning in kindergarten, students who attend school regularly score higher on tests than their peers who are frequently absent. Absenteeism rates among kindergartners are nearly as high as those among high school freshmen. An estimated 1 in 10 kindergartners miss at least 18 days of school, or nearly a month of class, per year.
Chronic absence is defined as missing 10 % or more of a school year. There are 180 days in a school year. If a child misses 18 days a year that is 10 %. Since there are only 9 months of school, missing 2 days a month would equal 18 days or 10 %. rentwood Borough SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
62 Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall
TIPS- THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
1. Talk positively about attending school and learning 2. Help your child get into a routine for getting ready to go to school stress-free 3. Help your child to get ready for school in the morning 4. Talk about the positive social aspect of the school environment:
• Friends
• Favorite classes
• Favorite teachers
5. Schedule doctor and dental appointments so that your child can attend most of each school day. This will allow your student to receive direct instruction with the teacher, to turn in assignments and pick up new assignments for that day.
6. Communicate the importance of regular school attendance to your child so they hear the same thing we are saying at school.
7. Provide a quiet place for your student to do homework and check in on him or her to make certain the work is completed. Also check with your student and teacher regularly to make certain that work is turned in to the teacher on time. 8. Make sure students are regularly eating nutritious meals and drinking plenty of fluids. 9. If your student does miss school, please contact the office alerting them to the reason for the absence, either by phone, note from home or an email. 10. Remind students of proper hand washing and sanitizing techniques. 11. If your student is running a fever of 100 degrees or more, vomiting, having diarrhea, the student should be kept home. 12. When we all work together as a team we can make regular attendance at school a priority.
This year at Elroy Elementary, we have implemented an attendance chart for each classroom. Students who attend school for 95 % of the nine weeks will receive a special reward. In addition, certificates will be awarded each nine weeks for perfect attendance. We are hoping that all students attend school each and every day.