This school year, we’re excited to kick off a new attendance campaign: Your Presence is Powerful. Throughout the year, we’ll share tips and resources for ensuring your student is in attendance daily.
Working Together to Better Our Students
Along with many school districts across the country, the last few years there has been an increase in absences and the effects of students missing class have been evident across the school community. When students miss school, it affects not only their own learning but also their teachers and classmates.
Consistent attendance helps our teachers stay on track with lesson plans and ensures that every student benefits from a continuous learning experience. This way, all students can move forward together, reinforcing a supportive and collaborative classroom environment.
Enhancing Your Child’s Educational Journey
Regular attendance is crucial, especially for our youngest learners. Missing school means missing essential reading and math lessons, which are the core building blocks for the rest of their school years. A California study reports that students who attend school regularly in their early years are more likely to achieve reading proficiency by the end of third grade.
For older students, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th-grade test scores by the time they reach 9th grade (Attendance Works).
Committing to Success
We want all of our students to be successful and their presence in school is a key part of that success. Their Presence is Powerful as it shows they are committed to their education, committed to their future and committed to their classmates.
As we begin the new school year, we encourage you to:
- Make school a priority, even when it’s challenging.
- Schedule medical and dental appointments after school.
- Plan any vacations during breaks and the summer holiday.
- Here is the 2024-25 School Year Calendar to plan accordingly.
Overcoming Attendance Challenges
If you encounter any difficulties in ensuring your child(ren) can attend school, please don’t hesitate to contact your school office. It would be our pleasure to personally work with you to help come up with solutions to support your child(ren) succeed.
We are a family in Downey Unified so let’s work together to make this the best school year yet for our students, their classmates, our teachers and our families!