Raymondville ISD pledges to engage community, families, students in concerted effort to reduce chronic absenteeism
Raymondville ISD (RISD) has joined a nationwide effort to celebrate the Attendance Awareness Campaign in September and has pledged focus on reducing chronic absenteeism in the new school year.
RISD recognizes that good attendance is essential to academic success. But far too many students are at risk academically because they are chronically absent. Chronic absence is described as missing 10% of the school year—or about 18 days— for any reason.
Our country faces a school attendance crisis. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 8 million students were chronically absent. Data from states indicates that it has likely doubled, potentially affecting nearly 16 million students nationwide by the end of the 2021–22 school year.
For the 2021-22 school year, 35% of students in the Region 1 area were chronically absent, and more than 40% of students were chronically absent at each RISD campus.
Starting as early as kindergarten or even preschool, chronic absence predicts lower 3rd grade reading scores, and it’s a warning sign that students will drop out of high school, research shows.
Chronic absence disproportionately affects children from low-income families and communities of color, creating attendance gaps that exacerbate achievement gaps in local schools. This is not just a matter of truancy. Many children, especially in the early grades, miss too much school because of chronic health problems — a barrier that the District can help families address. The Raymondville ISD Health Clinic is open to all students and community members, and financial assistance is available – call 956-689-8152 for an appointment.
“Improving student attendance matters to all of us, not just those with school-age children,” Mayor Gilber Gonzales said. “When more students graduate, on time, our communities and our economy are stronger. We have more people who are prepared for the workplace and more engaged in our community’s civic life.”
RISD Deputy Superintendent Benjamin Clinton added, “Everything we do is to prepare students for college and career success, so they can lead a better life and help our community thrive. Achieving that goal is more difficult when a student isn’t at school.”
In September, schools, city agencies, community nonprofits, faith-based groups, businesses and others 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.
Raymondville ISD Attendance Support Specialists are conducting home visits this month to identify and address barriers to getting children to school. We invite any families needing assistance to contact your child’s campus.
“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 attendance and achievement.”
For the Attendance Awareness Campaign, we are asking all stakeholders, 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
- Determine early when chronic absence is a problem, and
- Identify and address barriers to getting children to school
If you want to get involved with the Attendance Awareness Campaign, contact Dr. Benjamin Clinton, RISD Deputy Superintendent, at 956-689-8175.
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