Consistent Student Attendance

Educators want to be assured that school administrators will implement strong policies and take action on a clear set of steps when students miss school.

Promoting consistent attendance with incentives and rewards, making attendance and tardy data more timely and readily available to school administrators and families, and having administrative staff or volunteers available to address attendance concerns with families as soon as they arise are some ideas educators express for stronger implementation of attendance policies.

Students, parents, and educators agree that what happens at school and in the classroom determines how excited students are to engage in the learning, which can greatly impact their motivation for showing up regularly. Matching class curriculum and projects with student interests, making lessons fun, interactive, and applicable to the real world, and creating an environment where students feel a sense of belonging contribute to robust learning experiences that better engage students.

Schools may need to improve communication efforts in ways that better acknowledge language barriers, help families navigate procedures within the school systems, and make accommodations to working families who struggle to receive school-related notifications or attend school-related events.

School community members share ways that schools and districts could promote regular attendance and support students and their families in getting to school on time:

• Ensure school schedules and start times meet community needs, especially for working families and those who need to coordinate drop-off and pick-up for multiple children
• Provide access to affordable before- and after-school programming and supports for working families, including tutoring before and after school
• Account for inclement weather and visibility-related barriers that families might face (e.g., rain/snow, flooding, daylight savings)

Families share that getting to school can be difficult if the family doesn’t have a car, access to public transportation, or even clean clothes and shoes that a child can wear to school. Schools and communities can support families by partnering with their local city and neighboring businesses and community organizations to offer families adequate transportation services and clothing resources year round.

For families who lack transportation, the perceived safety within the neighborhood often prevents families from allowing their children to walk to school alone. In addition to collaborating with the city to provide transportation services, schools can partner with local community organizations to recruit adults to support walking families at key locations in the neighborhood, such as busy intersections and crosswalks.

High school students, whose families rely on them to work or take care of their siblings, express challenges with balancing their home and school responsibilities. Districts can support students in these situations by offering alternative and flexible learning pathways that make it easier to make up missed assignments and learning.