Monfredo: Let’s Continue to Focus This School Year on Attendance

Saturday, September 07, 2019

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER

John Monfredo

As the new school year enters its third week of school everyone needs to keep an eye on school attendance. Last year was a good year, for overall in grades 1 to 12 percentages on chronic absenteeism moved under 13% this is the best of all the Gateway Cities but is still plenty of room for improvement.

Overall twenty-nine schools were below 10% of students with chronic absenteeism and of that list, 19 schools were below six percent on chronic absenteeism. Again, congratulations to the following schools… Flagg Street, Jacob Hiatt, Belmont Community School, Worcester Arts Magnet, Lake View, May Street, Thorndyke Road, Heard Street, West Tatnuck, Tatnuck, Midland Street, Nelson Place, Goddard Elementary, Norrback Elementary, Lincoln Street, Canterbury Street, McGrath, Chandler Magnet, and Union Hill.

Compared to a year ago, that’s close to doubling the number of schools that fell below 6% for it was ten schools last year and nineteen this year. Can we now bring it up to 30 schools this year?

One of my top priorities as a School Committee member has been to lead the charge in addressing chronic absenteeism. Thanks to Superintendent Binienda the focus on attendance has taken place in Worcester. As a district we need to be vigilant and continue to remind our parents about the importance of school attendance.

In fact, chronic absenteeism is one of the earliest signs that students are off track academically, whether they are learning to read or gaining the knowledge they need to graduate from high school. Studies show that missing just 10% or more of school can make it harder for children to learn to read by the end of third grade. While it may seem like common sense that students have to be in school to learn, chronic absenteeism is a growing problem in U.S. schools but in Worcester, we are on the right track to making improvements.

I have been passionate about this topic since my days as a principal and in the past few years, thanks to Superintendent Maureen Binienda, I have been part of a team over-seeing absenteeism in the Worcester Public Schools. The group has focused on poor attendance and has attempted to support those schools with high attendance rates.

Superintendent Maureen Binienda stated, “We have taken this problem very seriously and it will continue to be one of our top priorities for research continues to point out that students are more likely to succeed in academics when they attend school consistently.”

One of the many strategies used by the district has been to send out an attendance report every five weeks which emphasizes the importance of attendance with a statement that says, “Missing 10 percent of school time puts students at risk of academic failure.” The attendance report shows how many days of school the student has missed versus how many they missed last year and the year before. It also shows the average number of absences and the student’s overall attendance rate. Teachers do review the attendance report with their students every five weeks. In addition, families are informed sometimes by home visits or by telephone calls of this situation. Each school has an attendance team that monitors attendance.

As we move forward this school year let’s look at what we must continue to do. A key player within the school is the principal for the leadership role that a principal plays is irreplaceable. Principals are uniquely positioned to ensure their school adopts a comprehensive tiered approach to improving attendance that fits with their overall approach to promoting academic achievement.

As mentioned by our Superintendent in her welcoming address at the DCU … All schools should have a welcoming and engaging school environment that emphasizes building relationships with families and stresses the importance of going to class every day. Again, Principals need to model this approach and engage staff in consistently sending the message that attendance matters and that we welcome ALL parents to the school as partners in education.

Principals and school staff are well-positioned to help families understand what their children are learning in school and what the children will miss if they are absent. Parents and students may not realize that even excused absences, if they accumulate, can be a problem and lead to falling behind in the classroom. Few families realize that absenteeism is a problem as early as kindergarten and preschool.

School communities can also send a clear message that going to school every day is a priority by providing regular recognition and rewards to students and families who have good and improved attendance. Keep in mind that the goal is not to focus on perfect attendance since the children who struggle the most will soon be left out of such awards. In the past years, the Worcester Railers hockey team and the Worcester Bravehearts baseball team have given out prizes for best attendance. Perhaps we can involve other groups in this process. How about all schools meeting with their community partners early in the fall and see what they can do to assist. This issue needs to be a shared civic priority with sustainability taking place throughout the year.

Let me end this column with the following suggestions for our district …Have a rally at each school during that first month back and send home brochures to all parents. Announce at the rally that each month the names of the students with best attendance will be read off during the morning announcements.

Also, place the names of those students in the schools monthly newsletter and see if local businesses could give out raffle prizes on a monthly basis or perhaps the school could consider an ice cream party at lunchtime as a prize.

Incentives do work for what worked for me as a principal was cooking a pancake breakfast for the attendance winners. Another idea that works is engaging programs before and after school for they get children excited about coming to school. Also, consider a walk to school with your buddy program. In addition, schools should establish an “Attendance Pledge” and have students read it during the school’s morning announcements.

There are many more ideas but for the time being let’s focus in on the beginning of the school year. Please remember that our students’ future depends on our success in this critical area. We must continue to create a culture of attendance in ALL schools and be sure that everyone knows, especially our parents, that this is a priority for our district.

Let’s do it for the children.