School attendance matters!  Consistent student attendance is an essential component of school success. Too often, however, students and parents do not realize how quickly excused and unexcused absences can add up to academic trouble. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year – which equates to missing as little as 2 days of school each month. According to the research, poor school attendance results in third graders that can’t read, sixth graders that fail courses, and ninth graders that drop out of high school.

Tips for Parents to Promote Good Attendance:

Let your child know that good attendance is important

• Reward your child for already good or improved attendance.
• Only schedule doctor and dentist appointments after school.
• Schedule vacations to coincide with school holidays and longer school breaks.

Allow no excuses

• If your child complains of minor headaches, stomach aches, or other pains, consider consulting with your doctor, but send them to school.  If a minor ailment would not prevent you from going to work, then it should not prevent your child from going to school.

Establish routines

• Set a reasonable bedtime and create a comforting evening routine.
• Use an alarm clock and create a morning routine as well.  Set the alarm for 30 minutes earlier than actually necessary to allow for any unforeseen morning delays.
• Plan ahead the night before. For example, pre-plan breakfast; choose clothes and shoes to be worn to school; and pack student backpacks with completed homework, nonperishable snacks, and water. 
• Reserve school nights for homework and limit the use of TV or other electronic devices.

Show interest in your child's activities

• Make education a family priority.
• Encourage your child to reasonably participate in school sports, clubs, or other after-school activities. 

Keep open lines of communication with your child, teacher, principal, and school attendance office

• Let the school know in advance if your child is going to be absent or you have concerns about your child's attendance.
• Attend all parent conferences, parent classes, back-to-school, and open house activities.
• Reach out to the school if you have concerns about your child’s academic, behavioral, social, or emotional well-being.
• Provide a doctor's notes to the school office when medical verification is available for student's absences.
• If your child does not want to go to school, find out why and work with your school and child to address concerns. Your child’s safety and well-being are a very high priority!
• If you notice your child avoiding or having a difficult time in a particular subject area, discuss it with your child and his/her teacher. Offer extra support at home. This will prevent your child from developing a behavior of avoidance in school when things become difficult.
• Get to know your children's friends and their families.  Make connections with other families that value school attendance.
• Check your child's backpack at least weekly. Occasionally, important letters or notices can become lost in a full backpack. Organizing its contents regularly improves your chances of finding these documents while they are still useful.
• Keep a school year calendar. This is an excellent way to track all of the important dates, holidays, and events at your child's school. It’s also a convenient place to document absences (who was absent, why and how you cleared it, the date cleared), phone calls/conferences with school staff, and all of your other important school related information.