In Haleyville City Schools, #Attendance Matters. Post COVID, there was a shift in the consistency of school attendance in schools across America. We saw increases in chronic absenteeism, which led to decreased academic achievement. It is our mission in HCS to ensure we are doing everything we can to provide all students with the best academic and extracurricular opportunities possible. This can only happen if students are in school daily. With the focus on attendance last year, HES decreased chronic absenteeism by 5% to 13% chronic schoolwide, HMS also decreased chronic absenteeism 5% going from 8% to only 3%, and HHS previously had 79 students chronic in 2023 and only 13 students chronically absent in 2024. We are seeing the highest percentages of chronic absenteeism in our Kindergarten, which is an issue because if these boys and girls do not develop a strong foundation, they can have educational struggles for years. As the percentage of students who are chronically absent has decreased, student performance has increased. Students are more successful when they attend school daily. Below are some facts posted by the Department of Education:
-Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half of the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss more than a month of school throughout the year.
- Absenteeism and its ill effects start early.
- Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade or are held back.
- Research shows that missing 10% of the school year, or 18 days, negatively affects student academic performance. That is just 2 days a month.
- Students who line in the communities with high levels of poverty are four times more likely to be chronically absent.
- When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances of graduating.
- Attendance improves when schools engage students and parents in positive ways.
- Chronic absenteeism may prevent children from reaching early learning milestones.
- Irregular attendance can be a better predictor of whether students drop out before graduation than test scores.
- Frequent absences from school can shape adulthood. Chronically absent students are more likely to experience poor outcome in life including poverty, diminished health, and involvement in the criminal justice system.
Next week we will have a big announcement about our 2nd Annual 50-day attendance challenge that will begin the Tuesday after Labor Day. It is going to be great and something every student will want to participate in. Always remember, #AttendanceMatters! Be at school every day!
Dr. Sutherland