Our district and school districts across the country are looking at the relationship between chronic absenteeism and student academic success. We know that attendance and engagement in school are important factors in a student's learning and social/emotional development. Students who are absent from school miss out on the valuable learning activities that take place in the classroom, both with the teacher and with peers. Even strong students with good grades can fall off course in middle and high school if they miss too many classes; lessons build on one another and move more quickly in the upper grades. While students may be able to make up assignments from days they were gone, they cannot make up for missed instruction, discussion and peer and classroom experiences when they are absent from class. While they may complete some or even all of the work missed, the learning experience is significantly altered.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10% of the school year (excused or unexcused). At Eastview High School, that is five days or more per quarter. For comparison, most EVHS students miss fewer than three days per quarter and 86% of our students at Eastview stay under the 10% threshold annually.
We understand there may be circumstances that prevent a student from attending, however we expect those absences to be limited. We care greatly about the health and well-being of our students. We want to partner with students and families when challenges exist and work together to support your student in any way we can. We always strive to reduce absences, keep students in the classroom and maximize learning.
Please contact us if there are extenuating circumstances of which we are unaware and/or if you need support or resources in getting your student to school on a consistent basis.
