Daily Tips for Families

Today's Tip for Families

08-31-2022

Make Attendance a Priority for Your Child

The teachers will do their best to help your child learn and succeed in school this year. But there's one thing only you can do—get your student to school on time every day.

Children who don't attend school regularly tend to fall behind and score lower on tests. They can also have a hard time making and keeping friends—especially in elementary school.

Frequent absences in elementary school set a pattern for absences in later school years. Lots of absences often leads to students dropping out of school completely.

To teach your child that attendance counts:

Explain how important school is. Show interest in what your child is learning.
Discuss the consequences of missing school. These can include not understanding what's going on, needing to do make-up work, and missing out on time with friends.
Make medical and other appointments during non-school hours whenever possible.
Don't let your student skip school for reasons that wouldn't prevent you from going to work.
Avoid taking your child out of school on test days.
Keep track of your child's absences. See if there are any patterns that need to be changed.
Talk to the teacher or counselor if your child regularly doesn't want to go to school, or if your family is facing obstacles to getting your student to school on time.

Brought to you by:

West Point Consolidated School District