Every School Day Counts!
Here are a few practical tips to help support regular school attendance:
- Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine.
- Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
- Ensure your children go to school every day unless they're truly sick.
- As much as possible, avoid scheduling vacations or doctor appointments when school is in session.
- Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going to school.
- Develop backup plans for getting to school if something unexpected happens. Call on a family member, neighbor or another parent to take your child to school.
- Adults - set an example for students by modeling your own commitment to regular attendance whether it be at work or other functions.
The Importance Of Good Attendance
Persistent absenteeism is a problem we can solve. Everyone can make a difference by helping students and
families understand that going to school every day and avoiding absences whenever possible is critical to realizing their hopes and dreams. Too often, we don't realize how quickly absences add up: missing just two days every month can cause a child to fall behind.
If there are questions or concerns about the information here, or your child's attendance, please contact:
Terri Finlayson
System Attendance Lead
ADSB’s Re-Engagement Team
705-945-7111
Good attendance helps children do well in school and eventually in the workplace.
Good attendance matters for school success starting as early as pre-kindergarten and throughout elementary school. By grade 6, poor attendance is a leading indicator of dropout. Developing the habit of regular attendance prepares students for success on the job and in life.
Excused and unexcused absences easily add up to too much time lost in the classroom.
Students are at risk academically if they miss 10% of the school year or about 18 days. Once too many absences have occurred they can affect learning regardless of whether absences are excused or unexcused. Sporadic, not just consecutive absences, matter. Before you know it just one or two days a month can add up to nearly 10% of the school year. Avoid unnecessary absences. Some absences are unavoidable. Occasionally children get sick and need to stay home. What is important is getting children to school as often as possible.
Absences represent lost opportunities to learn in the classroom.
Families are encouraged to track how many days their children have missed so they are aware of when they ought to be concerned and take action. If there are concerns or questions, families can reach out to their school Principal or their child's teacher.
All of us can make a difference by helping students and families feel engaged in learning and their schools, setting the expectation that school attendance matters and working together to identify and help families overcome barriers to getting to school. Community partners are especially important for helping schools and families address and overcome tough barriers such as limited access to healthcare, unstable housing or poor transportation.
Relationship building is fundamental to any strategy for improving student attendance.
Trusting relationships are critical to encouraging families and students to seek out help to overcome barriers to attendance. Any member of the school community - staff, mentor, coach, volunteer, bus driver or other caring adult or classmate - can be that one trusted person who can make the difference between a child attending school or not, as research tells us that students are more likely to go to school when they know someone cares that they are there and cares about their learning.