Why Attendance Matters
- Attendance is one of the most important factors in determining if a student will do well in school, graduate and be prepared for success in their postsecondary education and career.
- Students are chronically absent when they miss 10 percent of the school year. Missing only 1 preschool day a month (for any reason) can have a significant impact on student success
- Building high attendance habits is a life skill that will impact a student’s success as a future employee, leader and citizen.
- Students who attend school regularly are more involved in activities, athletics, fine arts and other programs that build healthy social networks and important life experiences.
- Attendance is one of the largest predictors of whether a student will graduate. Each week of absence per semester in ninth grade lowers a student’s likelihood of graduation by 25 percent.
- By college, a chronically absent high school graduate has only an 11 percent chance of receiving any degree, impacting career choices, lifetime earnings, success, well-being and their future.
What can families do?
- Talk about the importance of regular attendance and about how your student feels about school.
- Build regular routines for bed time and the morning.
- Keep a chart recording your child’s attendance at home and talk with your student about what you see.
- Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Ask a family member, neighbor or another parent for help.
- Seek support from school staff or community groups to help with transportation, health problems or no safe path to school. Contact the Student Attendance and Engagement Office at 303-702-7887 for assistance.
- If your student is sick or needs to miss school, please contact your school office to get the absence excused.
Please report all absences by 8:30 am for AM sessions and by 12:25 pm for PM sessions to the school at 720-652-7906. You can leave a message with our clerk, Vicky Arriaga. If you are emailing your child’s teacher about an absence, please include Vicky at: [email protected].