Encouraging good school attendance is a key part of Alleghany Highlands Public Schools’ strategy to reduce chronic absenteeism. Each school day, a Jeter-Watson Elementary School student receives a “JWES Attendance Matters” t-shirt that features the school’s Cougar Cub mascot. The Attendance Student of the Day is chosen using a digital spinner. A student must be present to win. Recent winners posed for a photo with school administrators. From left are: Principal Cynthia Morgan, Xavier, Dominick, Jeremiah, and Assistant Principal Dee Tickner. (AHPS Photo)
“Improving student attendance matters to all of us, not just those with school-age children,”said Cindy Fox, AHPS Super visor of Customized Learning and Attendance. “When more students graduate, on time, our communities and the economy are stronger. Good school attendance helps students prepare to enter the workforce and be engaged in our community’s civic life.”
AHPS emphasizes stressing good attendance to students and their families because it is essential to academic success. Chronically absent students from school are at risk of performing poorly academically. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent of the school year—or about 18 days— for any reason.
The United States has had a school attendance crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Before the pandemic, approximately 8 million students were chronically absent from school. Since the pandemic, early data indicates that chronic absenteeism may have doubled. Chronic absenteeism potentially affected 16 million students nationwide by the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
In the 2023-2024 school year, AHPS saw an improvement in attendance across the board with all schools. A primary focus on combating chronic absenteeism is building strong relationships with students and their families.
Starting as early as kindergarten or even preschool, chronic absence predicts lower third-grade reading scores. Research shows that by middle school, it’s a warning sign that students will fail key classes and drop out of high school.
“Regular attendance is important for school success — and for developing habits that help people succeed later in life with their families and jobs,” said Kim Halterman and Melinda Snead-Johnson, leaders of AHPS. “We appreciate the efforts of families and our community in helping children attend school whenever they can.”
In September, schools, community nonprofits, faith-based groups, businesses, and other groups around the nation are committing time and resources to raise public awareness, map local attendance gaps, and work with community partners to improve school attendance and student engagement starting as soon as children enter school.
“September is a particularly good time to focus on attendance,” said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a national nonprofit initiative dedicated to improving school attendance. “Research shows that students who miss two to four days in the first month of school are more likely to become chronically absent during the school year. By paying attention to absences early in the school year and early in a child’s academic career, we can turn around,” Chang said.
For the Attendance Awareness Campaign, AHPS leaders are asking schools, community advocates, parents, and students to act upon these critical first steps to help stem chronic absenteeism:
Build a habit and a culture of regular attendance.
Use data to determine when and with whom chronic absence is a problem.
Identify and address barriers to getting children to school.
Residents in the community are encouraged to praise children for regular school attendance.
AHPS continues to accept employment applications for bus and car (“shuttle”) drivers to help get students to and from school. Anyone interested in a role with AHPS Transportation should contact the school division human resources office at 540-863-1800 or the AHPS bus garage at 540-965-1809.
School division data do not indicate that many absences result from bus route changes, but additional bus drivers would allow the school division to keep consistent bus and transportation schedules.
AHPS was created through the July 2022 merger of Alleghany County Public Schools, Covington City Public Schools, and Jackson River Technical Center. The school division serves approximately 2,700 students. AHPS is jointly funded by Alleghany County and the City of Covington.
AHPS news and events are updated regularly on Facebook at AHPublicSchools, and Instagram at ahpublicschools. Information is also available at www.ahps.k12.va.us.