Dade County High School Tackles Student Attendance
August 20, 2011
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Dade County High School faculty was concerned about the absentee rate at their school; we can't teach them if they are not here.  As part of their GraduateFIRST Action Plan/Initiative they decided to tackle the issue of student absences.  Their results speak for their success:

GraduateFIRST school, Dade County High, has experienced tremendous gains in student attendance this school year. That success has come through focus, shared responsibility, and follow-up. Last year (2009-2010) AYP attendance was at 21% of students with 15 or more absences and this year (2010-2011)has improved to only 5.3% of students with 15 or more absences.

One of the changes made includes contacting parents if students incur five absences with repeated parent contact for any subsequent absence. The weekly schedule for teachers includes time built in on Wednesdays for professional learning. During that time, physical education teachers call parents of students with five or more absences. For those students that have chronic absences, administrators and mentors continue the parent contact. So, persistence has been a key factor.
 
Also implemented was an incentive program consisting of rewards suggested by the students. This has also proven to be very successful as well. The rewards are as simple as receiving a free ice cream at the end of each nine weeks and each calendar month in which a student is not absent, they will receive two fast-pass tickets giving them the ability to go to the front of the lunch line. Students having perfect attendance for the year will receive a trip to a Lookouts baseball game. Incentives rather than punitive measures have certainly made a difference at Dade County High School.
 
 
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