SW Dallas News

District departments and campus leaders across Duncanville ISD have joined together to raise awareness about the value of regular school attendance and focus on reducing chronic absenteeism. Saturday, March 4, 2023, starting at 8:00am, district employees have volunteered to make home visits sharing the importance of attending school every day.
Duncanville ISD recognizes that good attendance is essential to academic success. But far too many students are at risk academically because they are chronically absent. Chronic absence is described as missing 10 percent of the school year—or about 18 days – for any reason, excused or unexcused. That’s the point at which absenteeism begins to affect student performance, research shows.
Nationally, nearly 8 million students miss almost a month of school in excused and unexcused absences every year. Starting as early as kindergarten or even preschool, chronic absence predicts lower 3rd grade reading scores. By middle school, it’s a warning sign that students will fail key classes and drop out of high school.
Chronic absence disproportionately affects children from low-income families and communities of color, creating attendance gaps that exacerbate achievement gaps in local schools.
“Attendance matters, not just to those with school-age children,” Superintendent, Dr. Marc Smith said. “Our mission is to engage, equip, and empower all scholars to achieve their unique potential. To do this, we need students to attend school consistently. When we graduate more students, on time, our communities and our economy are stronger. We have more people who are prepared for the workplace and more engaged in our community’s civic life.” 

Original source can be found here.