For every one of our students to reach our North Star Goal of meeting or exceeding their growth goals, students must be on time and in the classroom every day. Each September, we celebrate Attendance Awareness Month to partner with our families and community as a reminder of the importance of being present in school. The district attendance goal is 96%.
Regular attendance in school has a lasting impact on student learning! As early as Pre-K, missing school reduces essential time building critical social-emotional skills, language-building opportunities key to early literacy and more. Frequent absences make it harder for students to adjust to the classroom environment. Elementary school attendance strongly predicts grade-level performance, and attending school regularly helps students feel better about school — and themselves.
Did you know?
- Consistent Attendance is one of the strongest predictors of academic and future success.
- Attending school regularly not only makes children feel better about school, but also about themselves.
- Students who miss five to nine days a semester are 25% less likely to graduate in four years.
- Prioritizing attendance doesn’t just affect student learning; it impacts essential resources for every student and staff.
- Public school funding in Texas is tied directly to Average Daily Attendance, not just enrollment.
Chronic Absenteeism, which involves missing just 2 days a month, adds up to 10% of the school year. Over the course of the school year, this can greatly affect a student’s academic success. For Pre-K and Kindergarten, missing school makes it harder to gain early reading and math skills, build relationships and develop good attendance habits. By 6th grade, chronic absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school. By 9th grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th-grade test scores.
Download the Attendance Matters: Keys for a Successful Year for everything your family needs to know about attendance, excused and unexcused absences, chronic absenteeism, and truancy.
Visit the attendance page on the website for more information.
