Every weekday morning, Liberty Elementary students are greeted by faculty and staff with “We’re so glad you’re here.”

It’s more than they’re excited kids are in place to learn, it’s a push to increase attendance. 

According to Education Week, 29.7% of students nationwide—nearly 14.7 million—were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year.

“Attendance overall across the state follows the national trend; we have a lot of absences,” said Darren Dean, Murray School District personnel and student services director. “Our district is right in the middle. Last year, our data for chronically absent kids—those are the kids who miss 18 or more days—was 30%. It can be for any reason—activities, going on a vacation, doctor’s or any of that. But that means 30% of our kids missed 10% of the 180-day school year or about a month of school. Since the pandemic, absences increased dramatically so we’re trying to get our kids back in school.”

At Liberty, there’s a legal-size poster in each room with that welcoming message. As an incentive to boost students to arrive on time for the day, students get to color in a letter of the poster when 90% of their classmates are in attendance. Students can earn leopard paw stickers for good classroom attendance, which may result in conversations about good attendance at home. Their program also includes principal announcements, emphasis during assemblies, prizes and positive emails sent home. 

“We’re aiming for 90% overall attendance for our school this year,” said Liberty Instructional Coach Jessica DeMann. “We want to make it a positive interaction when kids walk through the door. We tell them, ‘We’re so glad you’re here’ and start fresh every day. It instills this sense of community and belonging. It is important that kids are here getting the instruction that they need. These primary grades are foundational. If they’re not here, then they’re not going to be able to read and they’re not going to be able to have math skills to support their learning all the way through high school.”

Liberty isn’t the only school that is actively pushing for increased attendance. Every school in Murray School District has a supportive attendance program in line with the District’s campaign, “We are Murray, and We are Here;” many with incentives to get students in their seats, Dean said.

For example, at Longview Elementary, random dance parties with music playing over the intercom are a way to encourage students to come to school, knowing they could potentially miss a dance party day if they’re absent. At Grant Elementary, students compete in a “race” on a bulletin board with good attendance. Signs around McMillan Elementary encourage students to show up and be ready to learn.

Junior high schools also encourage attendance with a dance for students with less than two tardies and a Chick-fil-A party for students in good attendance standings. At Murray High, a new digital hall pass and counselors who try to ensure kids have classes they look forward to on both A and B days are part of the school’s asserted attendance effort.

Dean said this year, all Murray District schools are maintaining 91% of the nearly 5,700 students in attendance, the same mark as last year, but up 89% from 2021-22. However, before the pandemic, in 2018-19, the average daily attendance was at 94%.

“I think the pandemic made it easier for kids miss school; they got used to being at home as it’s more comfortable on their couch than in a chair at school. We’re trying to shift that mindset back that’s ‘Hey, school’s important; you’re getting things here that you’re not going to get at home.’ If you add one month up every year, from kindergarten through sixth grade, they’ve almost missed a full year of school. You can’t make up school. You can try, but you can’t get what the teachers are going to give you. That’s the bottom line: You’re going to miss stuff,” he said.

Through three attendance interventionalists in the secondary schools as well as two new district attendance specialists, Dean hopes to recognize student issues in school attendance and solve those through attendance meetings and in attendance intervention classes.

“We’re trying to solve the dilemmas students have. There are all sorts of issues. For example, in the last couple days, I learned about a junior high student whose parents are gone in the morning, so the student has to get their elementary sibling to school. That means the junior high kid is late every day. Another one was a student lives just under the two-mile busing route so the 1.9 miles is a long walk and that can result in the student being late. We’re trying an individual approach, making connections and looking at all kinds of solutions for getting our kids to school,” he said, adding they’ve been given attendance interventions and programming assistance from the Utah State Office of Education. 

DeMann said students not only learn subject matter being in class, but they’re learning an important life skill.

“Even if a child struggles to learn, showing up each day shows resilience, and it impacts their social and emotional learning by building those relationships with their teachers and with their peers. If they’re not in school, then they can’t build those relationships and they’re missing out,” she said. “It also builds confidence; when they are getting the lessons they need, that increases their self-esteem. Even when they’re playing at recess with their peers, they’re involved, and they know the rules of the game. They have that connectivity with their class and with their teachers who can reinforce learning strategies, and it provides them with irreplaceable social interaction.”

Dean agrees.

“It’s a life skill. You need to be in school or you miss learning,” he said. “Education is important. It helps with everything. We have all these kids that now have heightened anxiety and other needs. We can’t provide services to kids if they’re not at school, whether it’s academic, whether it’s social or emotional. We’re preparing students to be citizens of the world. When they don’t show up, they’re not as prepared. They won’t become as effective communicators. They won’t be able to handle all the tasks and demands because you learn skills when you’re at school. At school, students socially connect; they learn how to navigate difficult situations. We may have students who could benefit from some special instruction or maybe counseling, but they’re not showing up. We’ve got to solve this attendance problem to educate our students. We can do a lot of great stuff, but if the kids don’t show up, it’s hard to do.”  λ