Written by: Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic

Schools attempting to dispel myths and change the culture around attendance

According to research, attendance is a major factor in achieving all the key benchmarks that indicate whether a student will graduate from high school. That means reading at grade level by third grade, reaching math proficiencies by fifth and eighth grade, and having sufficient credits after ninth grade. So it’s clearly important.

But that’s not the only reason why the Newberg School District is making attendance a high priority district-wide.

A big push to change both behavior and attitudes is coming this fall because the district not only believes it has a problem with chronic absenteeism, but that most parents many not realize they do too.

Furthermore, the district sees a rather simple solution and is spreading the message through its “Every Day Counts” campaign that all absences matter, not just unexcused ones, and that there’s something all parents can do about it.

“If we get the word out, then I think people will come on board. We can encourage each other and change that culture that says ‘No big deal missing a couple days here and there,’” Newberg High School secretary Elaine Koskela said. “We know those things will happen sometimes, but overall, if there is a shift where parents say, ‘Let’s really think before we take our kids out of school.’”

A student is chronically absent if they attend school less than 90 percent of the year. The district found that more than 14 percent of students in the district met that definition.

In order to change the culture around attendance, the school district is focusing on presenting a positive message to parents and students that they are wanted at school, but at the same time must dispel some myths that contribute to the problem.

No. 1 on that list is that excused absences aren’t detrimental or don’t count.

When it comes to chronic absenteeism, or the state regulations that schools must abide, excused absences and unexcused absences are counted together.

Any absence, even for those students who are performing well, matters for several other reasons, according to district officials like Joan Austin Elementary School principal Terry McElligott and Mountain View Middle School attendance secretary Trish Merrick.

“It can affect other students in the class,” Koskela said. “There is a lot of collaborative learning that goes on in the Newberg School District, so having the kid absent is not just affecting them. Unfortunately, absences affect vulnerable students even more, but the culture is coming from everyone.”

McElligott said parents often don’t realize how much faster the pace of education has become, which amplifies the detrimental effects that absences have. Each grade has also become more rigorous.

“If you don’t connect with people and have the good habit of attendance, it’s really hard to be on a team, to collaborate,” she said. “It’s hard to be listened to and respected because you’re just not there to help others as well. I look at how fast things are moving and how we’re trying to educate our young to be future leaders when society and everything is moving at such a fast pace. So, if you decide to check yourself out for half of an 180-day year, I don’t know how you plug in.”

McElligott has also noticed that parents are often surprised at how much school their child has missed simply because they don’t add them up.

Due to the limited amount of days on the calendar, it is also far easier to become chronically absent than most would think. With just 180 school days each year, just two absences per month can be enough to be chronically absent.

From her perspective as an elementary educator, attendance is one of the most basic foundations upon which education and life skills are built.

“What parents need to know is this is a habit,” McElligott said. “So you’re supposed to be the model of this habit. If you want to teach your kids that school is important, then they have to be here every day.”

McElligott added that it’s the same with tardiness, as well, because students who are late will miss instruction and may not be able to progress as needed.

“Then those kids are lost and that might be a reason they don’t want to come the next day,” she said.

The district is attempting to be more proactive in working with parents, especially, when attendance first becomes an issue, hoping that collaboration will address problems before they begin to snowball.

Many schools in the district already do this well, but efforts are underway to share best practices and align procedures across schools to provide more consistency.

McElligott said she wants parents to know that when the school reaches out because there is a problem, it is doing so in the spirit of partnership, not to blame them, and that there are many things the school can to do to help if they can establish what is causing the absences.

“Some will be that the student misses the bus and the parent has no way of getting them here,” McElligott said. “Okay. We can fix that. There are some kids I go and get. When they miss, they know they can just call. There are some kids that we call to make sure they’re up in the morning. There are just ways to problem solve.”

McElligott also points out that the district also has to step up efforts on its end, specifically by ensuring that all kids have a positive relationship with an adult at school because that is what will motivate them to be there every day. That is also the primary focus of new NHS principal Kyle Laier.

“If we have a student who’s not showing up fairly regularly and no adult, no teacher of theirs is noticing that, that’s part of being seen,” Koskela said. “Being seen and feeling like someone cares about you includes attendance. Those go hand in hand.”

The district is shooting for an average attendance of 95 percent for each school and is encouraging parents to track their student via its mobile app, which can be downloaded from the district website, at www.newberg.k12.or.us.

“This is the beginning,” Koskela said. “To me, it’s exciting to get that out to parents and say that this is a solvable problem.”