Students arriving at Bellevue elementary schools this fall are receiving some extra encouragement to be in the “Right Place, Right Time, Ready to Learn.” The district recently updated its tardy policy. It’s also participating in Eastside Pathways’ Attendance Collaborative, which seeks to reduce absenteeism among Bellevue elementary students by 10 percent this school year.
This year, it’s more important than ever to get to school before the bell rings. Under updated district policy, three unexcused tardy arrivals now equal one unexcused absence for elementary students. While some individual schools already had a similar policy, it’s now a district-wide policy. Arriving at school on time is very important, even as early as Kindergarten. Elementary students who are repeatedly late to school miss core academic instruction in critical subjects like reading and math.
District policy requires that after a single unexcused absence, the school must contact parents. After a second unexcused absence, the school must schedule a conference with the parent and student to discuss how to solve the problem and support the student.
Experts say improving student attendance is key to ensuring students are on track to learn and succeed. Nationally, research shows that by third grade, chronically absent students are less likely to read at grade level. By sixth grade, chronic absence becomes an early warning sign that a student may drop out of school. Building the right habits early on helps children become better students, graduate, be healthy and, as adults, succeed at work.
The district is a member of the Eastside Pathway’s Attendance Collaborative, which is working to reduce absenteeism among Bellevue elementary students. Research shows 75 percent of high school students in Bellevue who have had truancy petitions filed were also late or absent in elementary school. The Eastside Pathways team wants to get kids started on the right path early. Our “Right Place, Right Time, Ready to Learn!” banners and posters will deck the halls and classrooms at elementary schools across the district. Parents will also receive information cards, featuring their child’s school start time in bold, bright numbers, as well as a request that they make sure their child is in class, on time, every day.
Earlier this year, Superintendent Tim Mills signed a letter of commitment with Attendance Works, a national initiative promoting awareness of the important role of school attendance in achieving academic success. Attendance Works promotes tracking chronic absence data for each student, beginning in Kindergarten, and working with families and community agencies to intervene when poor attendance is a problem for students or schools. Attendance Works also launched the first-ever Attendance Awareness Month this September to spread the word that attendance matters for success in school and in life.
To read more about the district’s attendance policy, visit www.bsd405.org/attendance.