Making it to school each day rewards students and schools. Test scores are higher and schools get more funding.
By ELISABETH DYER
Published November 28, 2003
SOUTH TAMPA - Parents hear it from teachers and principals all the time: Don't let your kids miss a lot of school.
Stephanie Woodford, principal at Wilson Middle School, takes it a step further.
If a student misses several days in a row, she marches to their house at 7 a.m.
"It shocks them," she said. "So far this year I've made four visits. They don't expect to see me."
Wilson makes house calls to let students know she misses them. She also wants to offer families help before the county calls in social workers.
Parents who don't correct the problem can end up in court or, even jail, said Ken Gaughan, supervisor of school social work for Hillsborough County. About 50 parents were in court last year.
Though visits may seem extreme, school officials countywide work hard to ensure students come to school. Wilson ranked second among middle schools for having the best attendance during the first three months of the school year.
The district's goal is to have students in school at least 96 percent of the time. Several South Tampa-area schools made the goal for the first three months, including Wilson, which was at about 97 percent. None of the area's high schools reached it.
While attendance is generally higher in wealthier areas and at choice and magnet schools, some schools break the trend.
Dover Elementary in east Hillsborough, which has the majority of students on free or reduced lunches, ranked No. 1 at nearly 98 percent. By contrast, Lockhart Elementary, a new magnet school for the arts in South Tampa, weighed in near the bottom at about 94 percent.
In 1997, Beth Shields, deputy superintendent at the time, led an initiative to improve attendance by setting the 96 percent goal and creating a county Attendance Monitoring Department. Since then, attendance rates have steadily risen.
Rosemary Rafferty, who oversees the department, credits schools for making it happen.
"Because we are the 10th largest district (in the country), it's a big project," she said. "It's not one person or one school."
Schools that maintain the goal display an Exemplary Attendance Flag and receive banners for each additional year.
Attendance affects performance and FCAT scores, Rafferty said. Simply stated: "If they're not here, we can't teach them." Students with good attendance are also more likely to participate in school activities and less likely to drop out.
Chronic absences also can affect how much money schools receive from the state. Funding is determined partly by head counts done in October and February. Previously, the Legislature tied funding to school FCAT scores, which took into account student attendance.
In creating Hillsborough's attendance policy, Shields said the 96 percent goal gave children ample sick days. Based on a 180-day school year, that equates to seven absentee days for each student.
Many parents say seven days are plenty.
"Normally, we wouldn't miss for any reason but illness," said Jenny Carey, the mother of two students at Mitchell Elementary. "It's very difficult for them to make up the work. It can quickly get backlogged."
In 1998-1999, the county averaged 92 percent attendance, or 14 days off per student. In 2002-2003, attendance increased to 94 percent, or 10 days per student.
Keeping rates high gets harder as the year progresses. Attendance usually dips in winter months because of illness and family vacations that overlap school schedules.
"It's very easy for an elementary school student to be absent five to seven days," said Pamela Eliopulos, whose daughter recently missed two weeks at Gorrie Elementary when she came down with pneumonia.
Attendance at Gorrie hovers around 97 percent. Principal Susan Foster tells her students: "If you're running a fever, stay home. But if you're feeling yucky in the morning, come in and give it a try."
In newsletters, Foster encourages parents to plan vacations over holidays. Students have 10 weeks off during the summer and 27 days off throughout the school year, including today for Thanksgiving break.
Absences tend to rise when school holidays fall midweek. When Veterans Day fell on a Tuesday, many families pulled their children from school on Monday to take a four-day vacation.
Changes in district policies in 1997 set countywide incentives and required each school to set an annual attendance improvement plan.
Middle school students can raise their grades by up to three points for having no unexcused absences and limited excused absences.
High school students with good attendance are eligible to waive final exams. Students who miss 15 days in a 90-day period can have their driver's licenses revoked by the state.
Elementary schools offer their own incentives.
At Ballast Point Elementary, principal Mary Clark recently bought $130 worth of doughnuts to reward classes that had 10 days in a row without an absence. Every morning during announcements, she recognizes classes with perfect attendance the previous day. The school was jubilant to make the 96 percent goal.
At Anderson Elementary, officials host quarterly attendance parties with clowns and magicians. Roland Park School brings out the band and borrows a dragon costume to deliver the spirit trophy to the class with the highest attendance each month.
When Stewart Middle Magnet School scored 92 percent at the end of 2001, teachers and administrators set a schoolwide plan to change habits. Every month, they reward six students with perfect attendance with a new bicycle and helmet.
Walls are plastered with the slogan: "It's cool to be in school every day!"
"We use incentives, but it also comes from within," said teacher Lynn McDaniel. It seems to work, she said. Last year, Stewart rose to 97 percent attendance.
