For the last few weeks, I have shared information about the importance of school attendance.  September is National School Attendance Awareness Month.  To celebrate this month, Selma City Schools have worked diligently to ensure that we are spreading the word that attendance matters.

Don’t Count Me Out is our district-wide campaign to promote regular school attendance.  We know that students who miss more than 3-4 days in September are likely to have attendance problems all year.  They are in danger of being chronically absent.  Although attendance is our primary goal, we also want our scholars to arrive to school on time. 

Tardiness is a major problem in many of our schools.  Think back to when you were in elementary school.  Imagine being in 2nd grade and coming to school 20-30 minutes late on a regular basis.  When you arrive, the class is in whole group reading instruction, but the teacher is almost done with this portion of the lesson.  She is almost ready to move to a small group, but the late student will struggle to catch up with her peers.  Although teachers generally have a contingency plan for late students, it is still a challenge for the child, the teacher and the other students.  If this happens habitually, the student will miss key literacy skills that support reading proficiency.

Now imagine being an eleventh-grader getting to school 20-30 minutes late on a routine basis.  Granted, the classes are longer, but the late scholar is still missing about a third of the class.  This could be a math class that includes important skills for the ACT or it could be a welding class with critical instructions being given prior to hands-on lab work.  Either way, the student is at a major disadvantage.

As stated in a previous article, it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that students attend school regularly and on time.  Parents, you are doing your child(ren) a grave disservice if this is not taken seriously.  Life happens, and students will sometimes need to miss school or to be late.  Parents, be sure that every absence or tardy is absolutely necessary.  Whether the scholar is in 2nd grade or approaching their senior year, being prompt to school is a great habit to form now and for life.

Next week, I will move on to other topics.  For the remainder of the month and year though, I urge the community to support regular school attendance.  Education is the key to improving outcomes for our children.  They need and deserve a quality education.  Let’s not count them out!

For more information please reach out to me at avis.williams@selmacityschools.org.