Attendance Matters!

September is National Attendance Awareness Month and Southeast Polk is pleased to announce our participation using the theme, “Showing Up Together! We are glad you are here!”

This national attendance awareness campaign is a time when schools across the country come together to highlight the critical role that regular attendance plays in students’ academic success. Research shows that students who attend school regularly are more likely to excel academically, build strong relationships with peers and teachers, and develop essential life skills. We are committed to providing a supportive and engaging learning environment that encourages every student to attend school regularly and be an active participant in their educational journey.

While we continue to encourage students to stay home when they are sick, we want to bring the community’s awareness to the benefits of attending school consistently.

Going to school regularly is an opportunity for your student to: 

• Build consistent routines, which helps reduce stress and create a sense of safety
• Connect with their friends, teachers, coaches, and other school staff 
• Access basic resources and fun enrichment activities 
• Engage in learning that will help them to graduate from high school and find success in their future career
• Practice a lifelong employability skill

Absences can add up quickly! When students miss just 2 days every month, adding up to 10% of the school year (around 18 days), they are considered chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism is a predictor of learning difficulties and dropping out of school. 

We would like to encourage SEP families to consider the following to support consistent attendance at school:

• Plan bedtime and morning routines
• Try to avoid scheduling appointments and vacations for when school is in session
• Check your child’s attendance regularly
• Make a list of backup transportation options
• Communicate the expectation to your child that they will attend school unless they are truly sick
• Encourage your child to practice habits that contribute to overall health, such as getting enough sleep and washing hands regularly
• Reach out to your child’s school if you need resources or ideas. We are here to help!

We love seeing our students at Southeast Polk, and we are so glad they are here! Our classroom communities just don’t feel the same when some of us are missing, and we can’t recreate the collaborative learning that happens in class through makeup assignments. 

For more information on the importance of school attendance, visit Attendance Works.