September is recognized as Attendance Awareness Month, and in Jurupa Unified, September 8th - 12th is celebrated as Attendance Spirit Week.
“We want to bring attendance to the forefront with our families to let them know how important it is to be at school every day... not only academically, but also for (students') mental well-being,” said Victoria Jobe, Coordinator of Pupil Services.
Attendance matters because “we need our students to be in their classrooms learning all the standards and what they need to be able to move on to the next grade and to graduate from high school and pursue a higher education,” said Ms. Jobe.
This summer, Sunnyslope Elementary, Peralta Elementary, Van Buren Elementary, Mission Middle School, and Patriot High School received attendance awards for their efforts in decreasing chronic absenteeism.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as being absent 10%, or 18 days of school, said Ms. Jobe.
Sunnyslope Elementary had a 6.36% decline in chronic absenteeism by creating a culture of attendance.
The school has numerous attendance recognitions displayed on the marquee outside, bulletin boards in the office, and throughout the campus.
“We are very proud of our attendance initiatives,” said Marie Araux, Sunnyslope Elementary School Principal. “We have a wide range (of incentives) starting in the classroom, individual incentives, there's something new every month to motivate students to come to school.”
Students enjoy the monthly attendance challenges the most and excitedly approach staff to show that they are present at school each day.
“It’s a team effort. All of our classified staff interact with our students on a daily basis, so they are very much involved in the culture of creating a safe environment,” said Ms. Araux.
Mission Middle School experienced a 3.55% decline in chronic absenteeism, which they achieved by focusing on their students’ interests.
Last year, Mission Middle doubled the number of clubs offered to students. The clubs provide spaces for students to get excited about and create connections with their peers, teachers, and school.
“By focusing on our students, what they’re excited about, what their interests are, we (can) better connect with them, and when you have those connections, it just makes school more enjoyable, more fun, and that is where the learning happens,” said Alicia Heimer, Mission Middle School Principal.
Mission Middle also started offering specialty advisory classes during the first period of the day.
Students are allowed to enroll in classes that line up with the core elective offerings for their speciality advisory classes. That includes yearbook, publications, Associated Student Body (ASB), music, ballet folklorico, esports, and sports statistics.
Students can still enroll in general advisory classes, but two-thirds of the student population is enrolled in a specialty advisory class.
“Having that first class of the day be something that students have self-selected and are excited about helps them get them here and find that community on campus,” said Ms Heimer.
If students and families are having a difficult time getting to school, staff members at all sites reach out to families and build relationships to help them receive the resources they need.
“Part of my job is to reach out to those families and find out what the barriers (are), what are the root causes for absenteeism,” said Ms. Jobe. “(I) work with the families and find out how to remove those barriers so that those students can be at school daily.”
“We explain to our students, ‘You need to be here every day. We can’t support you, we can't help you build your future, we can't invest (in you), you can’t invest in yourself if you’re not here and setting yourself up for success,” said Ms. Heimer.
