As we come to the end of Attendness Awareness Month for Ukiah Unified School District, I have been thinking about what I could add to the discussion as a Board Member. Naturally, our primary concern as Board members is advancing academic achievement for students. We look at a considerable amount of research and evidence to understand how to help our students develop a lifelong interest in learning. Honestly, I was surprised at how important attendance is to student success. It makes sense that students who attend school regularly and on time do better because they have more direct exposure to instruction; that wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was how many of our students experience chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism is when a student misses excessive amounts of school, including excused and unexcused absences, and suspensions. The research defines chronic absenteeism as missing ten percent or more of school days. For Ukiah Unified, this amounts to 18 or more missed days. Our average daily attendance rate was around 95% before the pandemic. Now, it’s down to 88%. For those students missing school, they’re losing valuable instructional time. But that’s not all. They’re also missing time to develop their social and emotional skills, nutritious meals and snacks, and the support of caring adults committed to helping them feel safe and essential.

At Ukiah Unified, we currently have a high percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged. Around 79% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. Attending school is often their best source of quality and consistent nutrition. This includes breakfast, lunch, and snacks. No student in our system needs to go hungry during school. Plus, schools serve as a hub to connect families with other support services that can help ensure our students have all they need to grow and thrive.

Most importantly, parents are the first line of defense against absenteeism. In our partnership with parents on the education and formation of their children, we rely on parents to get their students ready for school, and either at bus stops on time or dropped off at school on time. This can be challenging, especially among parents with young children. In many cases, parents don’t know just how big of an impact missing school can have on their child’s learning. When you think about missing 18 to 19 days, it breaks down to two or three days a month. Two things happen when missing a few days of school. First, learning for that day is lost, which cascades into the second problem: Students lose confidence in their knowledge and dislike going to school.

Here’s what parents need to know: Chronic absenteeism in kindergarten is associated with lower third-grade reading scores. By sixth grade, attendance is a leading indicator of whether a student will drop out of high school. As we work to support students and ensure they attain the knowledge and social skills they need to succeed, students must attend class. No amount of improvement in materials, technology, and instruction will help if students aren’t in class to receive those benefits.

I’m proud of the many innovative ways our school district works with families to help overcome the challenges of getting to class. Whether it’s transportation issues, health concerns, or even homelessness, Ukiah Unified has policies and partnerships to facilitate their needed support. I’m also completely confident in our parent community. The more they know about the importance of attending school, the better our attendance rates will become.