The SSD community has been working hard to improve student attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism, and your efforts are paying off — last year, over 100 more students experienced the positive impact of consistent classroom attendance than in the 2022-23 school year!
Chronic absenteeism (when a student misses more than 10% [18 days] of the school year) was 13% in 2023-24, down 2% from 2022-23.
Bishop Elementary School made the biggest improvement in attendance, lowering chronic absenteeism by 13%, followed by Vargas Elementary, which reduced absenteeism by 7%. Columbia Middle School and Cumberland Elementary have the lowest percentages of chronic absenteeism in the District, followed by Cherry Chase and Bishop.
We believe that every day counts in a child’s education. When students are in class consistently, they have the opportunity to build strong relationships with their teachers and peers, develop essential academic skills, participate in enriching activities, and feel better about school and themselves.
If children don’t show up for school regularly, they miss out on fundamental reading and math skills and the chance to build a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers. Preliminary data from a California study found that children who were chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of 3rd grade.
Start building this habit in preschool so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Eventually, good attendance will be a skill that will help them succeed in high school, college, and beyond! We look forward to seeing your child thrive and grow in our classrooms!
