Last year, the ϱ (ϱ) launched an called “Every Day Counts,” to encourage students to be in class all day, every day. Our students can’t learn if they are not in class, and repeated absences can add up to years of lost instruction.
Our attendance campaign is showing results. Last year, attendance increased overall by 0.5%, generating more than $2 million in additional state revenue. Currently, at all grade levels, daily attendance averages are up over last year at this time.
Elementary campus averages have gone from 97.14% to 97.40%. Middle school campuses are averaging a gain, from 96.47% to 96.80%. High school campuses have made the highest attendance gains, 92.77% to 93.93%. As a District, we have an overall increase of .52%, from 95.96% last year to 96.48% this year.
Every day a student is absent costs the district $45 in state revenue, which goes directly into our student's education. if we improve attendance, we get more state revenue, which we can really use in these tight budget times. For every one percentage point gain in attendance, ϱ receives more than $5 million in state revenue, and for students, going to class, and graduating from high school, is the first big step in realizing higher lifetime earnings.
Dropout rates are also moving in the right direction and are projected to decrease .5% from last year. Dropout Prevention Specialists worked together to recover students across their secondary vertical teams and provided training and support during the start of school through ϱ's Learning Support Services Department.