Even before the pandemic, younger children were the most likely to miss school. The exact reason is likely a combination of factors, but regardless of the exact reason, the impact on learning can be severe. Children at that age are building foundational skills, so falling behind can leave them behind, especially for children with lower skills.
The fear of chronic absenteeism, where students miss at least 10 percent of the school day, was nothing new for Horton Elementary School in Chollasview. The school serves almost exclusively socio-economically disadvantaged students, a factor that is closely associated with chronic absenteeism. So when school absenteeism skyrocketed after the pandemic and chronic absenteeism at Houghton’s preschool was already at high levels, educators felt stressed.
problem: Last summer, Houghton Principal Daniel Garegnani noticed that the majority of his youngest, chronically absent students were reading below grade level. That was a fact that parents should know.
So Garegnani and her team made increasing attendance at transitional preschools and kindergartens a priority. They held parent orientations to emphasize how formative early learning is and created consistent contests and attendance challenges to get kids excited about coming to school.
Is it working? Over the past two years, Houghton has seen a gradual increase in attendance. So far this year, the school’s kindergarten and kindergarten transition absenteeism numbers have decreased significantly compared to this time last year. Their average daily attendance is increasing.
An educator’s perspective
Patti Covarrubias has been at the forefront of this effort. She taught in kindergarten for 15 years, and she is currently in her second year as an early childhood educator in Houghton’s kindergarten transitional classroom. She also recently joined the school’s attendance team.
“We want to be proactive,” Covarrubias said. “I want to be able to say this is what I did to help my parents.”
Much of the attendance, especially among children this age, is outside of the control of educators and students, Covarrubias said. Therefore, she focuses on encouraging solid communication with parents, actively involving them in their child’s education. Previously, we would send more general messages alerting parents about upcoming holidays, for example. She now sends a detailed message each week with an overview of her students’ activities, a preview of upcoming content, and an update on attendance to parents.
These updates are especially valuable when schools conduct attendance checks. The school recently awarded a popsicle party to students who attended most of the week.
“The kids would say, ‘I have to go to school to go to the popsicle party,’ so I knew these conversations were happening at home,” Covarrubias said. .
Another change is a mental change. Teachers can get caught up in punitive responses when students are absent or late, but Covarrubias would rather promote gratitude.
“When students come in late, I don’t say, ‘Why are you late?’ I say, ‘I’m so glad you came to school,'” Covarrubias says. “When you change your language and say thank you when the kids come, it makes them feel so welcome.”
Covarrubias also had the opportunity to learn from the San Diego County Office of Education’s Chronic Absenteeism Remediation Network, which Horton is also participating in this year. One of his particularly valuable lessons for Covarrubias came in the form of a question. What is your favorite memory from school? Did it have something to do with something academic? For most people, their most cherished memories are not those recalled during lectures, doing homework, or while sitting at a desk.
In Covarrubias’ case, it involved her high school English teacher, Mr. Zeigler. In his class, we often watched movies and analyzed them in essays. “We went to Universal Studios on a field trip. A lot of people would think that wasn’t educational, but we learned a lot about how movies are made, and he found a way to make it educational,” Covarrubias said. She also got to meet Jennifer Love Hewitt.
“Schools are of course educational places where children learn, but they are also places where children create happy memories that they can take with them,” Covarrubias said. “It’s not just about test scores, it’s about building community.”