Daily attendance plays big role in student success

August 31, 2015
Contact: Jill Moberley, Public Information Officer
Jmoberle@dps.k12.oh.us
For Immediate Release

Dayton Public Schools has a message for students this year: Miss School, Miss Out: Attendance Matters. Student and their families will see and hear more messages about the importance of daily school attendance. It is part of a yearlong effort to improve student attendance and prevent chronic absenteeism.

Poor attendance is a surprisingly prevalent but often overlooked factor in why students and schools are struggling academically. District data from the 2013-14 school year shows that three in 10 kindergarten students and nearly the same number of first-grade students miss about one month of school every year in excused and unexcused absences.

“Our efforts to narrow the achievement gap or increase our graduation rate will be stalled unless we address the issue of attendance,” said Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Lori Ward. “All our efforts to improve curriculum and instruction won’t matter much if students aren’t in school.”

National research shows that children who are chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are less likely to master reading by the end of third grade, a critical milestone for later success. This is particularly true for low-income children who need school the most but often get the least. DPS students in grades three and six who missed 12 or more days of school for any reason were more likely to score below proficient in reading on the 2014 Ohio Achievement Assessment.

Barriers that may contribute to chronic absenteeism can be academic, social/emotional, health-related, or economic.

Data indicate that 26.7 percent, or 3,543 Dayton Public Schools students were chronically absent in the 2013-14 school year.

Dayton Public Schools will take the following action to improve attendance in 2015-2016:

1. Provide information for parents about the negative effects student absence
2. Recognize and reward good and improved attendance
3. Provide multiple levels of support for students and their families, from prevention and early warning to targeted support and intervention to address root causes of absenteeism

Chronic absence is described as missing 10 percent of the school year-or about 18 days-for any reason, excused, unexcused or suspensions. That’s the point at which absenteeism begins to affect student performance, research shows. Yet, too often chronic absence remains a hidden problem because schools track only average daily attendance and truancy (unexcused absences).

-30-