“This makes communication between school staff and families much easier,” said Hope Murphy, Alexandria Attendance and Truancy Support Specialist.
Alexandria City Public Schools uses an app to notify parents when students in the Virginia school system are not in class.
The app, called ParentSquare, sends notifications to families three times a day if a student is absent. School system spokeswoman Julia Burgos said in a statement that 70% of families have registered a ParentSquare account, but all families will receive notifications whether they use the app or not.
The use of the app is part of the district’s plan to address the rise in chronic absenteeism, which is the number of students who miss 10% or more of a given number of school days. More than 2,500 (16%) students in Alexandria were chronically absent last year, according to the latest state data.
“This makes communication between school staff and families much easier,” said Hope Murphy, Alexandria Attendance and Truancy Support Specialist. “When a school employee sends a text message, it is received in the family’s language. And when they respond, they can respond in their own language.”
Not only does this app help address language barriers, but it also provides early notification of absences. Mr Murphy said this was vital to enable parents to take action before it was too late. Previously, if a student was absent, the county would send her one notification via automated phone call in the evening.
Murphy said the app is linked to a student database system used by teachers to take attendance.
“When students attend school regularly and on time, they develop strong relationships with their peers and teachers,” Murphy said. “They enjoy being part of the school and classroom community and receive daily instruction that cannot be made up later if they miss a day.”
As part of what Murphy described as an “all hands on deck” approach to combating absenteeism, the city has also convened an attendance committee that “regularly monitors attendance data and promotes best practices in attendance management.” “The school is meeting.” ”
“Since the pandemic, chronic absenteeism has increased in school sectors across the country,” Murphy said. “So Alexandria is not alone.”
More information about the school system’s efforts can be found online.