Attendance Matters

Renseignements en français

Attendance matters. Missing more than 10% of instruction time is deemed chronic and has a direct impact on learning. Students who are chronically absent in the early years are often behind in reading and have an increased likelihood of dropping out of high school. (Attendance Matters)

Helping students succeed requires a whole community approach. Ensuring students are present at school requires stable housing, food security, access to transportation and a safe, stable relationship with a caring adult.

Everyone has a role to play. See below for resources including the Every School Day Counts: Media Toolkit.

Why Attendance Matters

Students should miss no more than 7 days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track for graduation.
Frequent absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with schoolwork, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
By 9th grade, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores

(Attendance Works, 2022)

Helpful Resources

Why attendance matters and tools to take action

Attendance works tool kit

Does Our School District Have A Systemic Approach to Reducing Chronic Absence?

Raising the Attendance Rates of First Nations Students British Columbia

Ways to Engage Students

Responsive Relationships

Relationships to a caring and responsive adult matters.

Harvard University has developed a strategy to map relationships to adults within a school setting:

There may be nothing more important in a child’s life than a positive and stable relationship with a caring adult. For students, a positive connection to at least one school adult — whether a teacher, counselor, sports coach, or other school staff member — can have tremendous benefits that include reduced bullying, lower drop-out rates, and improved social-emotional capacities.

Administrators and Educators

Chronic Absenteeism and Keys to Reengaging Students Podcast - Season 2, Episode 2  
One Call Desk Reference for educators

Parents and Caregivers

School Mental Health Ontario – Parents and Caregivers

Every School Day Counts: Media Toolkit

Every School Day Counts

Use #SchoolEveryDay and #AttendanceCounts to join the conversation!

Chaque journée scolaire compte

Utilisez #AssiduitéEstImportante et #ChaqueJournéeCompte pour participer à la conversation!

Suggested Captions (EN)

All students deserve a chance to succeed at school. They get their best chance when they are on time and present for classes. For more information, check out https://www.myhealthunit.ca/professionals-and-partners/schools/hot-topics/attendance-matters/
Chronic lateness and absence are major barriers to student success. Every school day counts. Check out https://www.myhealthunit.ca/professionals-and-partners/schools/hot-topics/attendance-matters/

Suggested Captions (FR)

Chaque élève mérite une chance de réussir à l’école. Les élèves reçoivent leur meilleure chance quand ils/elles sont à l’heure et présent pour les classes. Pour plus d’informations, visitez https://www.myhealthunit.ca/professionals-and-partners/schools/hot-topics/limportance-dassiduite/
Des retards et absences chroniques sont des obstacles majeurs au succès des élèves. Chaquejournéescolairecompte. Visitez https://www.myhealthunit.ca/professionals-and-partners/schools/hot-topics/limportance-dassiduite/