Showing up to school on time and every day is essential to academic success. If a student misses two class days every month, they will lose 10 percent of the school year, falling behind academically. With a goal to prepare students for a successful future, Garland ISD is stressed the important role this simple act plays on knowledge and life during Attendance Awareness Month this September.
“Student attendance is directly connected to student achievement. The more a student attends school, the more likely they are to be successful,” said GISD Attendance Administrator Angela Daniels.
Making sure students realize that teachers, administrators and staff want to see them at school every day, inspiring messages and posters are displayed at campuses, on announcements and posted online. Bussey Middle School student Luis Beltran related to the messages, as the seventh grader has not missed one day of class since kindergarten.
“I come to school because I believe it is my responsibility and personal goal,” the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) student stated.
Hoping to instill that kind of determination in its students, Liberty Grove Elementary School launched a reward-driven campaign.
“In an effort to increase attendance and decrease tardiness, we are having a ‘Don’t be Tardy to the Party’ celebration every marking period,” said Assistant Principal Barry Horn. “Students with no absences or tardiness will be invited, and every party will have a mystery special event planned.”
Campus-based efforts like these motivate attendance, but encouragement from home is also imperative.
“Parent support is vital to the success of students,” Daniels explained. “We want parents and students to be well informed about the consequences of nonattendance. Court is not the only consequence. Students risk losing course credit or repeating a grade if their attendance drops below 90 percent. The law requires that we advise parents about the results of poor attendance.”
The recently passed House Bill 2398 has impacted truancy management, decriminalizing the act. To help students, parents and the district comply by new guidelines, a General Attendance Contract was sent home to be reviewed and signed earlier this month. The document outlined attendance expectations and consequences in an effort to curb absences.
“The difference in the truancy process is how it is applied at the high school level,” Daniels revealed. “At this level, students who reach 10 unexcused absences after campus-applied interventions will be held civilly responsible for their truant acts, rather than criminally.”
Although this push will continue to buzz through September, GISD has been committed to student attendance for years.
“The number of student and parent cases reported each year has steadily declined over the last five years,” Daniels stated. “In addition, several of the requirements instated by the new law were already practiced in GISD.”
To learn more about attendance requirements, visit the Student Services Department’s website.
