In a recent release from the Garfield Re-2 School District, students are shown to be attending school more often in the most recent academic year.
The State of Colorado launched the Every School Day Matters campaign to address chronic absenteeism, which is qualified as missing 10% of enrolled school days. Students most at-risk of chronic absenteeism are those who are homeless or who are migrants, with an overall statewide decrease in chronic absenteeism of 3.4%. Garfield Re-2 saw a dramatic decrease of 15 points in chronic absenteeism, now at 13.9%. The district’s goal for attendance is 95%.
Statewide student attendance is currently at 91.5%, while Garfield Re-2 now sits at 94.2% attendance, “surpassing the state average” as well as other nearby districts.
Roaring Fork Schools currently have an attendance rate of 92%, and Aspen has a rate of 89.8%.
District Director of Communications Theresa Hamilton outlines their strategies for making this change.
Hamilton says that schools in the district have been making more of an effort to communicate to parents exactly how much school their child is missing, as well as providing opportunities for students that miss a significant amount of class time, and forming a Student Attendance Review Board to assist families on getting their children to school.
More on Garfield RE-2 attendance practices:
https://www.garfieldre2.net/family-community/attendance
State attendance data is available at: https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/truancystatistics
