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Meeting Date:
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Category:
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Type:
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Subject:
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Attendance Awareness Month Proclamation---September 2023 |
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Strategic Plan Alignment:
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Enclosure:
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File Attachment:
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Summary:
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The Board of Education is asked to proclaim September as Attendance Awareness Month.
Proclamation of September as Attendance Awareness Month
WHEREAS good attendance is essential to student achievement and graduation, and we are committed to dedicating our resources and attention to reducing chronic absenteeism rates, with a focus starting as early as kindergarten; and
WHEREAS chronic absence – missing 10 percent or more of school for any reason including excused and unexcused absences, or just two of three days a month – is a proven predictor of academic trouble and dropout rates; and
WHEREAS improving attendance and reducing chronic absence takes commitment, collaboration and tailored approaches to particular challenges and strengths in each community; and
WHEREAS chronic absence predicts lower third-grade reading proficiency, course failure and eventual dropout, it weakens our communities and our local economy; and
WHEREAS the impact of chronic absence hits low-income students and children of color particularly hard if they don’t have the resources to make up for lost time in the classroom and are more likely to face systemic barriers to getting to school – such as unreliable transportation, lack of access to health care, unstable or unaffordable housing; and
WHEREAS, chronic absence exacerbates the achievement gap that separates low-income students from their peers, since students from low-income families are both more likely to be chronically absent and more likely to be affected academically by missing school. Absenteeism also undermines efforts to improve struggling schools, since it’s hard to measure improvement in classroom instruction if students are not in class to benefit from them; and
WHEREAS, schools and community partners can reach out more frequently to absent students to determine why they are missing school and what would help them attend more regularly; and
WHEREAS, schools and districts must do more to track, calculate and share the data on how many students are chronically absent so that we can deliver the right interventions to the right students; and
WHEREAS, all students – even those who show up regularly – are affected by chronic absence because teachers must spend time reviewing for students who missed lessons; and
WHEREAS, chronic absence can be significantly reduced when schools, parents and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles that keep children from getting to school; and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that as the Board of Education of Pueblo School District No. 60, we proclaim that our schools will stand with the nation in recognizing September as “Attendance Awareness Month.” We hereby commit to focusing on reducing chronic absenteeism to give all children an equitable opportunity to learn, grow and thrive academically, emotional and socially. |
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Funding:
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Recommendation
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The Board of Education proclaims September as Attendance Awareness Month as presented in the August 22, 2023 Board materials. |
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Approvals:
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Recommended By: |
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Signed By: |
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Andy Burns - Executive Director of Intervention and Student Support Services |
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Signed By: |
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Ted Johnson - Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning |
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Signed By: |
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Charlotte Macaluso - Superintendent |
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