September is Attendance Awareness Month in Ossining Schools

As summer vacation draws to a close, the Ossining Board of Education adopted a proclamation recognizing September as “Attendance Awareness Month” in the district.

Ossining joins schools around the country in prioritizing attendance and working to reduce chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 10 percent or more school days. Students who are frequently absent can fall behind academically and are at a higher risk for dropping out of high school. Nationally, 5 million to 7.5 million children miss nearly a month of school each year.

“We hereby commit to focusing on reducing chronic absenteeism to give all children an equitable opportunity to learn, grown and thrive academically, emotionally and socially,” states the proclamation, which the board adopted at its Aug. 22 meeting. September will be the sixth annual national Attendance Awareness Month.

The Ossining School District is asking staff and community partners to reach out more frequently to students who have chronic absences to determine what barriers they face and what could help them attend more regularly. They are also seeking help from healthcare providers, who can share the importance of school attendance with families and offer preventive care to reduce absences.

“Chronic absence can be significantly reduced when schools, families and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles that keep children from getting to school,” according to the proclamation.

Hurdles can include systemic barriers in getting to school, such as unreliable transportation, lack of access to health care, and unstable or unaffordable housing.

“The statistics are clear: Missing too much school negatively impacts children’s education,” Ossining Superintendent Raymond Sanchez said. “The Ossining School District will work with our community partners to spread the message of how important it is for all students to be in school. Together, we will break down any barriers to attendance that our students face.”

During Attendance Awareness Month, school leaders, community advocates, parents and students are asked to take these critical first steps to help stem chronic absenteeism:

• Build a habit and culture of regular attendance
• Use data to determine when and with whom chronic absence is a problem
• Identify and address barriers to getting children to school.

Parents can help keep their children on track by enforcing bedtimes and other routines, not taking family vacations while school is in session, and by talking about the importance of showing up to school every day.

For more information, visit www.attendanceworks.org.