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At Gladstone Schools, we love seeing our students every day! Since the pandemic, however, we have seen a major decrease in attendance nationwide and a rise in mental health concerns. Connecting to the community and attending school can create a sense of belonging and help those feeling alone or isolated. (CDC Mental Health)
That's why we're leaning into what Gladstone does best: Showing Up! Gladstone takes pride in its community and shows support throughout the city. Our community shows up to games, events, and so much more! So let's help our students Show Up for class, too. Please take a look at the facts below to better understand how attendance impacts our youth.
We recognize that coming to school can be hard for some kiddos and families. We are here to support you and help your student(s) attend school. Communication is key! Please get in touch with your student(s)' school attendance secretary to find out what we can do for you.
Here’s why Gladstone Shows Up!
Eight reasons your child’s attendance matters in the Gladstone School District
1. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict your child’s attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss two to four days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.
2. By sixth grade, chronic absence is a leading indicator of whether your child will become a high school dropout.
3. Research shows that missing 10% of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects your student’s academic performance.
4. When you help students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances of graduating.
5. By ninth grade, your child’s regular attendance is a better predictor of whether your child will graduate than eighth-grade test scores.
6. If your child misses just two days of school a month (one day every other week), your child will be considered chronically absent by the end of the year, after missing 18 days of school and over 100 hours of instruction.
7. One in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students miss a month of school during the school year when all their absences are added up. That is critical learning being missed. Children who do not learn the building blocks and basic skills in the early grades must work much harder to stay afloat as they go on. Many never catch up. (Hedy Chang, "Present, Engaged and Accounted for: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades")
8. The academic impact of missing school is the same whether your child's absences are excused or unexcused. Suspensions also add to lost time in the classroom.
Learn more at attendanceworks.org.