Improving student attendance is an essential and cost-effective, but often overlooked, strategy for ensuring our students are on-track to learn and succeed. Nationwide, as many as one out of every 10 students is chronically absent – meaning they miss 10 percent or more of all school days – nearly a month of learning time lost.
Across all Dallas County schools, those with an average attendance rate at or above 97.3% (the top third) had a higher percentage (+16% more) of students performing on grade level in reading and math in 3rd and 4th grade, respectively, compared to schools with an average attendance rate below 96.8% (the bottom third).
Chronic absence is a leading, early warning indicator of academic trouble and later dropout. The good news is that chronic absence is a problem we can solve. In fact, in Dallas County there are over 20 schools with 80%+ economically disadvantaged students and an average attendance rate above 97%.
Interviews with positive outlier schools across multiple districts show there are common best practices schools use to drive high attendance:
- Parent Awareness and Engagement:
At Sam Houston Elementary in Dallas ISD, Principal Oscar Nandayapa points to several practices contributing to 98%+ attendance, including high expectations and parent engagement. “One of the things we have done from day one is talk to our parents about the importance of coming to school. Parent awareness and involvement is critical.” Three times a semester, Principal Nandayapa hosts “Coffee With the Principal” where parents discuss a wide range of issues. Additionally, teachers and the school counselor work together to call parents if a child is missing too much school. If phone calls and notes home are not effective, the principal and the counselor visit the child’s home. “One student didn’t come to school for three days so we drove all the way to South Dallas and knocked on his door. When the parent saw us, she was shocked. She said, ‘No one has ever done that.’ That was really effective in communicating with the parent.” What’s more, Sam Houston Elementary is seeing benefits from its attendance, with nearly 70% of 4th graders performing on grade level in math on the 2015 State STAAR assessment (ranking in the top 5% of elementary schools across Dallas County). As we all know, more time learning in quality environments leads to higher student outcomes. - Celebrating Attendance:
Woodridge Elementary in DeSoto ISD has all kinds of ways to celebrate students and classrooms with outstanding attendance. School Principal Torres says, “Classes have big letters in front of the room that spell ‘P-R-E-S-E-N-T’; every time there’s 100% attendance in that class by 10 a.m., the class earns a letter. If the class spells PRESENT, it earns a prize. Things as simple as gift certificates for local restaurants really help encourage the students.” The school-wide parties are very encouraging for students — along with the popcorn, candy, and snow cone machines available on site purchased by the Parent Teacher Association. - Effective Attendance Clerk:
At Cockrell Hill Elementary in DeSoto ISD, the attendance clerk makes a world of a difference, according to school Principal Owens-McGowan. The clerk is in constant communication with parents and teachers, notifying them immediately of any absences. After a student’s 6th absence, the attendance clerk, counselor, and principal meet with the parents to discuss a plan to move forward. - Engaging Classroom Instruction:
According to Principal Garret-Jones at Dallas ISD’s Charles Rice Learning Center, “great teachers and engaging instruction has been critical in making school fun and giving children a reason to want to come to school.” Principal Garret-Jones cites the high number of experienced educators in her school as one of the reasons for the quality and engaging instruction at her campus. “We have a lot of boys at our school, so we’ve had to figure out how to make learning fun and engaging so they want to come to school. We did a study on Dr. Marcia Tate’s book ‘Worksheets Don’t Work’, which helped us think about strategies we could use to engage the brain. Her research really helped us think about how to engage our students, especially the boys.” All principals interviewed agreed: If class is fun and intellectually rigorous, students will want to come to school.
To learn more about attendance best practices and what you can do to help, visit Attendance Works. To learn more about local bright spots here in Dallas County, please visit our blog. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Andy Canales at andy.canales@commit2dallas.org.
