This month, Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is celebrating Attendance Awareness Month. It’s a time to raise awareness about the importance of attending class and being present at school. When scholars are absent too often they become what is known as chronically absent. In fact, unfortunately, as many as one out of seven scholars is considered to be chronically absent on a national scale. Chronic absence often sets scholars behind in their academics, which can sometimes lead to low self-esteem and increase their chances of dropping out of school.
However, the good news is that chronic absence is a problem we can solve! Learning coaches and school staff are strongly encouraged to support scholars by motivating and inspiring them to attend their classes and participate in school. Reducing chronic absence can help scholars do well in school, realize their hopes and dreams, and succeed as adults.
To celebrate Attendance Awareness Month, we’re sharing the top five ways that learning coaches can help scholars avoid becoming chronically absent:
Communicate with School Staff
Communication is key when it comes to helping scholars avoid becoming chronically absent. We strongly encourage learning coaches to communicate regularly with their scholar’s teachers or educational facilitator to stay on track when it comes to attendance. School staff can support scholars and their families if they are having scheduling conflicts. They can also offer advice and solutions if a scholar is struggling with a class and as a result is choosing not to attend. Open communication allows parents and school staff to work together to create a successful, personalized learning experience for scholars and help them avoid chronic absenteeism.
Log Attendance Daily
Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is a virtual independent study program, which means that our scholars and learning coaches are almost entirely responsible for recording their own attendance records. Our families need to complete what is called an Activity Log at the end of each week. This log is very important because it tracks the scholar’s attendance and academic activity on a daily basis. In traditional brick-and-mortar schools, daily attendance is recorded by a teacher, but independent study programs like CCS heavily rely on scholars and their learning coaches to accurately log attendance on a daily basis. We strongly encourage scholars and their learning coaches to consistently track their attendance to avoid falling behind or accidentally logging inaccurate attendance information. Daily attendance logs are an important part of helping scholars avoid becoming chronically absent.
Be Present in Your Scholars Academics
Being part of an independent study program like CCS creates a unique and personalized learning experience for scholars and their families. It does require a more hands-on approach from parents, especially for families with younger scholars. One of the most effective ways that parents can help scholars avoid becoming chronically absent is by being as involved as possible in their academics. We encourage parents to stay connected with their scholar’s school staff, regularly review their class assignments and deadlines, and to get involved in school advocacy groups like the Parent Advisory Council at CCS. This high level of participation can help learning coaches and scholars stay engaged in school and committed to academic success, which will likely decrease the chances of becoming chronically absent.
Establish Goals
Setting daily, weekly or annual academic goals with scholars can decrease their chances of becoming chronically absent. We encourage parents to help their children set attendance and participation goals that challenge them to not only attend class but also to actively engage during class. Setting goals can also help families create a consistent learning schedule or routine. A consistent schedule can help scholars focus, retain more information, and stay on track to avoid missing too many days of school. Some families may even want to consider allowing their children to receive a special reward if they achieve their attendance and participation goals. Setting goals can help make meeting attendance requirements more fun and exciting for scholars!
Create A Designated Learning Space
As we’ve shared previously, we believe that having a designated learning space is an important part of successfully learning at home. We encourage scholars and their families to create a space within their home that is used specifically for academic work. The designated space should be well-lit and free from as many distractions like television, video games and cell phones as possible. Creating an effective learning space can help motivate scholars to stay engaged in their academics. Families may want to add a calendar or bulletin board with important reminders to help their scholars follow a learning schedule and stay on track with important deadlines. This type of supportive learning environment can help decrease a scholar’s chances of becoming chronically absent.
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Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is a WASC-accredited virtual charter school that serves families throughout California. Interested in learning more about CCS’ flexible academic programs? Visit our website, or contact our enrollment team at enrollment@compasscharters.org or (877) 506-8631.