Districts work hard to get students in class on the first day
By Carol Chmelynski
9/23/03 -- With per-pupil funding tied to attendance, many school districts around the country staged an all-out effort this year to ensure a high student attendance rate on the first day of school.
But in some cases, these efforts were not enough, particularly in urban districts where, traditionally, large numbers of students play hooky until after Labor Day.
Although attendance counts usually aren't taken for funding purposes until a few weeks into the year, school officials are concerned about getting students to start the year serious about attending every day.
"The first day of school sets the tone for productivity and learning," says New Orleans Superintendent Anthony Amato, who rang in the first day of school with a hand bell.
New Orleans school officials, police, city leaders, and local businesses joined forces in an aggressive campaign to boost first-day attendance. Billboards were set up around the city urging students to "Answer the Bell," and churches and ships docked at the port of New Orleans rang bells and blew horns to signal the opening of schools on Aug. 21.
Businesses were warned they could be fined $500 for harboring truants, and parents were threatened with community service sentences and fines if their children skip school.
Students who came to school on the first or second day became eligible to win tickets to a preseason National Football League game donated by the New Orleans Saints. Local businesses donated uniforms, backpacks, school supplies, and free haircuts to entice students and parents to show up on the first day.
And for all its efforts, the district saw 3,000 more students on the first day of school this year than last year. But that is still about 10,000 students short of full attendance. Total enrollment is 65,000.
School board member Jimmy Fahrenholt explains the frustration school officials face: "If we have 5,000 kids out on counting day, that could be 15, 16, 17 million dollars. If they show up the next week, we still have to teach them but the money's not there."
The Dallas Independent School District also launched a Back-to School Awareness Campaign. The district held a news conference, spoke with church leaders, distributed fliers, ran public service ads on radio, conducted a back-to-school countdown on Spanish-language television, and posted signs outside the schools saying "Be here Aug. 18." School board member Ron Price sponsored a back-to-school parade Saturday, Aug. 16, to motivate parents and students.
Despite all these efforts, 34,000 students were absent the first day, an absentee rate of about 20 percent.
Superintendent Mike Moses admits high frustration with the results of the campaign. The district loses $33.50 per day for each student who is absent. The large number of first-day absences alone amounted to a loss of more than $1.14 million.
According to Moses, the district is allowed to exclude the six weeks with the lowest attendance each year when reporting enrollment to the state.
Cincinnati school officials also were disappointed in first- day attendance. The district posted signs at every school and high-traffic area, asked 166 churches to announce the start of classes, and distributed free bags of school supplies.
Despite all this, about one-quarter of the district's 40,000 students failed to show up on the first day. "We believe there are a variety of factors that have contributed to this problem," says Superintendent Alton Frailey. "Among them may be district practices."
The district moved up the start of school this year without gaining widespread parental support, he says. For years, schools started the last Monday in August. This year, most schools started the Thursday before that -- 11 days before Labor Day.
The district made the change to allow for a full week for both winter and spring breaks and to remedy a recurring absentee problem.
District officials also point to a heat wave, buses failing to show up on time, miscommunications, slow-moving paperwork, and lapses in outreach to explain the poor showing on opening day.
In St. Louis, about 10,000 to 15,000 students have skipped the first day during the past three years. This year, with the district facing a $90 million budget deficit and a threatened boycott by parents protesting school closures and job cuts, school officials staged an all-out effort with a "First Day, Every Day" campaign.
School board President Darnetta Clinkscale blames the poor attendance in the past partly on parents' confusion over how to register their children.
So this year, the district mailed parents free round-trip tickets on local transit systems to bring their children to school on the first day, Sept. 8.
The district provided more than 100 sites in the city, including public libraries, for parents to pre-register new students or those with new addresses. Last year, there was only one spot for pre-registration.
The school board also hosted a back-to-school festival Saturday, Sept. 6, at Vashon High School where parents could register children, get them immunized, and pick up a voucher for free clothing from Goodwill. Volunteers went door-to-door on Sept. 6 distributing school information, and local clergy dedicated their Sept. 7 services to encourage first-day attendance. Mayor Francis Slay gave city workers the morning off on the first day to take their children to school.
Those efforts paid off. Interim Superintendent William Roberti reported the highest opening-day attendance in at least five years -- 76.4 percent.
In Chicago, the district continued its "Just Go" campaign. Last year, the effort resulted in a first-day gain of 15,000 students over the previous year. But this year, the gain was only 326 over last year, and 52,000 children were absent the first day.
As part of the Just Go campaign, the district recruited athletes and ministers to bring attention to the importance of attendance on the first day and treated students and parents to musical acts, parades, and public service announcements for two weeks before the Sept. 2 opening day. Recording artist Monica and Chicago Bulls players kicked off a free back-to-school festival Aug. 29.
The state bases the amount of money it gives the district on the average daily attendance for the first three months of the year. Last year, Chicago's daily average attendance rate was 92.3 percent. The district's goal is 95 percent, which officials say would bring in an additional $55 million in state revenue.
District studies show that students are more likely to stay in school for the remainder of the school year if they attend classes during the first week.
Top of Page
| Reproduced with permission from the 2003 issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |