Strong Attendance = School Success

What Data Tells Us

Missing 10% of school (1 or 2 days every few weeks) is considered Chronic Absenteeism. Chronic Absenteeism is associated with the following for students:

• Trouble acquiring and growing the reading and math skills needed for success in future years

• Lower performance on end of year assessments 

• Fewer and less consistent opportunities to form strong, positive relationships with peers and adults

• Difficulty developing the habit of regular attendance and seeing school as a priority

• Feeling left behind or missing out on shared classroom experiences

What You Can Do

1. Make school a priority

   • Set and follow bedtime routines

   • Talk about the importance of school with your children

   • Prepare the night before and look ahead to the next week’s events on Sundays

   • Schedule trips on already scheduled days off on the WCPSS Calendar

2. Support Your Child’s Well-Being

   • If your child is avoiding school, it may be due to worry or anxiety.

   • Reach out to your child’s teacher, the school nurse, social worker, or other school staff to help find strategies to support your child.

3. Use White Oak’s attendance Google Form to share the reason of your child’s absence 

   • https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcQ-hBnUdXmB5olTAewFZw_iczmvwph4J1HV34pZTALJ-mpA/viewform 

   • Also linked on WOES Website

When Your Child Should Stay Home

• Children can attend school if they: 

  • Have a mild cold, which may include a runny nose and/or cough

  • Have eye drainage without fever, eye pain or eyelid redness

  • Have a mild stomach ache

  • Have a mild rash with no other symptoms.

  • Are fever-free for 24 hours and vomit/diarrhea free for 12 hours

• Children should stay home if they: 

  • Have a fever of 100.4 or higher

  • Vomiting/diarrhea

  • Severe headache

  • Red, watery eyes with yellow discharge

  • Undiagnosed rash 

  • Inability to attend to learning activities

  • Change in student’s medical status

White Oak Resources

• School Counselors:

  • Amy Mott: dmott@wcpss.net

  • Brittney Ruggieri: bruggieri@wcpss.net

• School Social Worker:

  • Kate Allen: kallen8@wcpss.net

This information is the same information from the infographic below.