While some would argue about the importance of school attendance, majority still concedes that it is a must. On the other side, it is one of the underlying indicators of a school’s success.
According to the studies, students who are faithful with their school attendance tend to have higher academic success. Of course, there are few exceptions to the rule. Few students proved themselves academically successful despite class attendance issues. And some proved that even though they have minimal absences, they tend to be “struggling.” But then again, that’s another issue to talk about.
Attendance Works categorizes school attendance into three distinct categories:
- Students with 9 or fewer absences within 180 school days have satisfactory performance.
- Students with 10-17 absences have potentially hazardous attendance issues.
- Students with 18+ absences exhibit apparent chronic attendance issues or absenteeism.
This issue is almost beyond the control of the school administration. The task should be handled by the child’s parents or guardians to let the child know the importance or value of school attendance. If you’re a parent or a guardian, you can do the following strategies to help your child with his or her school attendance problems:
- Orient your child about the value of school attendance and learning. The earlier you let him or her know about the importance of going to school, the better. You see, school attendance may be a pivotal point from which deep-rooted values sprout. Example: responsibility, focus, diversity, disciple and many others.
- Get to brainstorm with other parents about how to motivate your child into making them attend school regularly.
- If you detect your child having problems in school, investigate about it. Know that often times, a child who exhibits strong dislike of going to school is being bullied.
- Engage in healthy conversation with the school authorities about the problems of your child with the school.