How to Determine Best Strategies to Improve School Attendance

Are a teacher or principal who is looking to improve school attendance?
Schools all over are finding it hard to make children understand the importance of coming to school regularly. Whether it is elementary school, middle school, high school or even college, attendance can be a very big problem. More and more schools are implementing strategies to improve school attendance.

There are various methodologies regarding what is the best strategy to improve attendance at school. Whether it is elementary school, middle school, high school or even college, attendance can be a very big problem.

Read steps below to help you find methods that would work best for your school or classroom.

Instructions

1. ** Create an atmosphere where students want to come to school **

   The best strategy to improve school attendance is to make your school or classroom a place where children want to come. Plan activities that children look forward to participating in. Greet each student with a smile and show you appreciate their presence. Making students want to come to school is important not only for elementary school, but for middle school & high school as well.

2. ** Lay down the rules in advance **

   Be clear with your students and let them know at the beginning of the year that attendance is very important. Don't let it slide and then walk in one day upset that so many students are absent.

3. ** Set a good example **

   Teachers, principals and other school staff should set a good example and try to avoid taking sick leave or vacation days as much as possible. Obviously some absences on the part of teachers is understandable, but teachers should not give the impression that they miss school haphazardly.

4. ** Get parents involved **

   Meet with parents at the beginning of the school year to let them know how important attendance is. Require students to get a note from parents if they are ever absent. If the attendance problem is extreme, you can require parents to call the school secretary as soon as a child is absent (or require that they call if they are absent more than one day).

5. ** Stand united **

   The entire school should have the same policy regarding absences. It is very confusing for students when one teacher is very lax and does not mind absences and another teacher is very strict.

6. ** Reward students who have good attendance **

   Give out monthly awards to students who were never absent that month. Give a special privileges to children with perfect attendance. Even making mention that a student has not been absent since the beginning of the year when calling roll can make an impact on students.

7. ** Don't let it slide **

   If students start slacking off with school attendance, deal with the problem right away. Don't wait for the problem to be huge.

8. ** Find out underlying reasons for poor attendance **

   If one student or a number of students miss classes frequently, find out if there is an underlying problem. For example, is there a bully students are scared of? Is there a very strict teacher students are trying to avoid? Find out the underlying reason so you can deal with the real problem.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember some student absences are unavoidable. Don't punish students if it is not their fault

• Don't encourage students to come to school sick or contagious just because you want good attendance

• Elementary school attendance, middle school attendance and high school attendance could each improve using strategies listed above, but each needs to be customized to account for students' age group.