School Attendance: Every Day Counts
Submitted By Dr. John Freeman, Superintendent of Schools SAU 51
What better time to think about school attendance than the
beginning of the school year? The national and state-level
advocacy group Attendance Works advises us that absenteeism in
the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout
the school year. Half the students who miss two to four
days in September are likely to go on to miss nearly a month of
school by the end of the school year. And this projection
makes no distinction between “excused” and “unexcused” absences.
Though the reasons for good attendance
seem obvious, Attendance Works points out that attending school
regularly is essential to students gaining the academic and
social skills they need to succeed. Reducing absenteeism is a
simple, cost-effective, but often overlooked strategy for
improving academic performance. Starting as early as preschool
and kindergarten, chronic absence—missing ten percent of the
academic year—can leave third graders unable to read
proficiently, sixth graders struggling with coursework and high
school students off track for graduation.
It’s hard to argue with the logic that school attendance
contributes to student success. In Pittsfield, many of our
students experience these negative impacts of poor attendance:
elementary and middle school students falling needlessly behind
in their literacy and math development as well as many high
school students falling needlessly off track for graduation with
their peers in four years.
During its August meeting, our Pittsfield School Board reviewed
attendance data for the 2015-2016 school year and learned, among
other things, that chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10%
of school days, or eighteen total days per year (that’s just two
days per month). National estimates conservatively
conclude that about 10% of U.S. students are chronically absent
from school. Sadly, at PES fifty-one or 18% of our
students fell into this category last year, as did seventy-five
or 29% of our PMHS students.
Of course, we don’t want our children
and youth to be coming to school when sick, but we simply must
do a better job in supporting the academic and life-long success
of our students by improving school attendance in Pittsfield!
From their national perspective, Attendance Works also finds
that 10% of kindergarten and first grade students are
chronically absent. Families may unintentionally minimize
the importance of these early grades, sometimes recalling what
kindergarten was like years ago. Currently, kindergarten
and first grade provide students with critical literacy and
numeracy skills and attitudes. Poor attendance strongly
influences the development of foundation skills that have a
long-term impact in reading, writing, and math skill
development.
By the time our boys and girls are in sixth grade, chronic
absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out
of high school. When students improve their attendance
rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for
graduating. Sadly, low-income students are four times more
likely to be chronically absent than others, often for reasons
beyond their control. This last factor further skews an
already uneven playing field for many of our students.
So for this new school year, Pittsfield families are encouraged
to make school attendance a top priority to keep children and
youth from falling behind. In fact, some research
concludes that school attendance may be the single most critical
factor influencing success in school. By ensuring good
school attendance this year, families can take an important step
– maybe the most important step – in supporting school success;
it also sets a good example for a lifetime habit that will also
support success far beyond the school years.
