La Grande Pride
www.lagrandesd.org • March 2020
9
EVERY DAY MATTERS
“Every Day Matters and School + You = Success”
By Trish Yerges
considered to have
attendance issues.
The La Grande School
“We’d like to see
District’s Strategic Plan has everyone at 95%
a goal to reach 94% atten-
attendance, which
dance this year. To achieve is considered good
this goal, the district has
attendance,” he said.
initiated the “Every Day
“At this point in the
Matters & School Plus You
year there are about
Equals Success,” a com-
115 school days, and
munication campaign to
if that is the case, if
disseminate information on you’ve missed more
why regular attendance is
than 11 school days
crucial for school success.
for any reason, then
Leading the district’s
you would be con-
attendance committee
sidered chronically
overseeing this campaign is absent.”
Chris Wagner, the vice prin-
When a student is
cipal at the Middle School.
chronically absent,
The committee is pro-
then the school considers
viding the schools with
the student at risk to not
resources to bring the
be successful at school. “It’s
attendance up. Since this is one of the strongest risk
the first year of doing it, the factors we look at, both in
committee set some goals
terms of not learning how
at the
to read on time and grad-
“Right now, we’re just at
uation,” said Wagner. “Stu-
92.85% for daily attendance dents not reading at grade
throughout the year for the level by the end of the third
entire district,” said Wagner. grade are 18% less likely to
“We would like to be at 94% graduate.”
by the end of the year.”
The consequences of not
beginning of the year.
attending school regularly
“One thing we share is
includes poorer academic
that it’s hard to do well
performance and having a
in school when you aren’t
hard time staying caught
attending regularly. We
up. “They fall behind which
would like parents to know
causes them to either go
that regular attendance
into themselves and hide
means 90% attendance or
and don’t ask questions or
better,” he said. “In other
they have behavior issues
words, for every 10 school
because they feel insecure
days, a kid should not miss
when they don’t know the
more than one day.”
answers. So it creates a
Anyone beneath that
snowball effect on every-
percentile is considered not thing else,” said Wagner.
a regular attender and is
Those not attending
regularly have a hard time
connecting with their peers
because they’re gone so
much that their peers don’t
necessarily rely on them to
be at school.
“They are not as involved
in school, and part of the
success in school is to at-
tend, participate, do your
best, and get along with
people,” said Wagner. “But
there’s no way to do very
well when you’re not a regu-
lar attender at school.”
The Every Day Matters
campaign involves using
informational propaganda
and signs that are placed
around the community and
displayed on the movie the-
ater screen.
“Basically, we’re trying to
get families into this culture
of getting up, getting ready,
and attending school each
day,” said Wagner. “Kids
with this culture tend to do
health and dental care,
homeless situations or kids
living in hotels that strug-
gle to get to school.
The second is the aver-
sion to school---“I won’t go,
can’t go”---a mindset some-
times caused by bullying
and harassment or feeling
unsupported or unwelcomed
at school.
The third category is
complete disengagement,
not having a good rela-
tionship at the school. A
student may feel they are
not getting enough out of
school.
better in school.”
A lot of non-attenders
A fourth category is a
live within the city limits.
common myth that ‘the only
There is bussing available
problem with absences is
but for whatever reasons,
when they are unexcused.’
they don’t catch the bus. If
“That is a myth,” said Wag-
they are within a mile of the
ner. “Every day away from
school, they are considered
school for whatever reason
in walking distance of the
is a day away from instruc-
school, yet some choose not
tion.”
to come to school or have
The bottom line is that
some barrier that prevents
success in school is directly
them from coming.
The attendance secretary tied to being a regular at-
plays an important role in
tender at school. That’s why
connecting with families
the district is working hard
who have unexcused, absent toward achieving the ulti-
children. She calls every
mate 95% attendance rate.
day to check on their where-
“We want to work with
abouts and reasons for
families and support them
being absent.
to get their kids to school on
There are four basic
a regular basis,” said Wag-
categories of reasons why
ner. “Please contact your
students become non-at-
school teacher if you have
tenders. The first is barri-
any questions about atten-
ers, such as health-related
issues, poor transportation, dance or see our attendance
trauma in home, lack of
secretary.”