Consistent school attendance is important to the success of students. This is true regardless of the age or grade of the student.
In June, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights shared data that was collected for the first time on student attendance. During the 2013-14 school year, 13 percent of all students nation-wide were chronically absent – missing 15 or more days during the school year. Eighteen percent of high school students were chronically absent while younger students had lower rates of absenteeism. Attendance Works, a national and state program that promotes improving student attendance, completed a review of research and found that poor attendance in school, starting as early as kindergarten and first grade, is related to delays in reading in later years. Results of the 2013 National Assessment for Student Progress found that students with poor attendance scored lower than students with better attendance.
Here in Berks County, schools have been working with county agencies and the courts to reduce chronic absenteeism. The county provides funding to Service Access Management which helps families address the needs of their children, including school attendance issues. This funding also provides for a Coordinator for the Initiative for School Attendance. Dr. Betsy Adams has served in this role for the past year. She meets with school personnel to help them address chronic absenteeism.
In Fleetwood, our attendance figures are consistent with the national statistics: students have good attendance rates during the elementary grades while the number of students missing school gradually increases during the middle school years and becomes a significant issue for more students in high school. I have found that absences for a few days due to illness or the prolonged absence for a more serious illness impacts a student less than sporadic but frequent absences that occur throughout the school year. These frequent absences result in a student having an ongoing issue of catching up on work. When a student returns from a prolonged absence, teachers and parents work with the student to get caught up. Conversely, when students miss a few days over the course of a few weeks and still have not completed the make-up work for the first absence, they begin to fall behind both in their assigned work and their understanding of new lessons due to having missed valuable instruction. The gaps in instruction are quickly amplified as they miss more days. The fact that there is no pattern to their absences also makes it harder for the student, teacher, and parent to identify what has been missed and to ensure that the student receives the instruction necessary to complete the assigned work. As the absences continue, these students quickly become confused and fail to understand new material. This in turn contributes to students feeling discouraged; they begin to dislike school which decreases motivation and reinforces the desire to avoid school.
It is important for schools and parents to quickly identify and address the absences before a student begins to fail. As suggested by Dr. Adams, this summer we sent letters to parents of students who missed many days of school in the past school year. The letter reminded parents that missing school makes it more difficult for students to succeed and it offered school support to improve attendance this school year.
If you have any concerns about your child’s school performance or attendance, it is best to communicate regularly with your child’s teacher.
Upcoming Events in the Fleetwood Area School District:
Sept. 2 – Teacher In-service, No School for Students
Sept. 5 – No School, Labor Day
Sept. 15 – High School Open House 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 30 – Early Dismissal for Students
The Board of Education will hold meetings on Sept. 13 and 20 at 7 p.m.
