Schools offer prizes for higher attendance

COEUR d’ALENE — The combination of special holidays and seasonal illnesses usually leads to a dip in school attendance this time of year.

The Coeur d’Alene School District’s Holiday Attendance Challenge is a friendly competition to tempt parents and students to keep showing up for classes — with prizes as incentives, said district spokesman Scott Maben.

At each elementary school, the classroom with the most improved attendance in November and December compared to September and October will get a pizza party. The classroom with the highest attendance in November and December will get a class treat like popcorn or ice cream. Elementary students with the most improved attendance will get a gift card or pass, and a trophy. Maben said each elementary school may have up to two of these individual winners.

“I believe encouraging regular attendance is one of the best things parents can do to help their children be successful in life. Research shows that attendance has a dramatic impact on students’ academic performance,” said Borah Elementary School principal Kristina Davenport.

“I am grateful for the CDA SD holiday attendance challenge since it also recognizes improvement in attendance, not just regular attendance,” she said.

Per the contest rules, perfect attendance requires the student to be in school and on time — no tardies, Maben said. With the exception of school-sponsored, off-campus enrichment activities, a student’s absence for any part of the day is still an absence, even if excused by a parent. School staff will declare the final winners in case of a tie, he said.

Each of the district’s secondary schools will also offer rewards. Up to two students per school will get a gift card for the most improved attendance, Maben said. Two winners with perfect attendance will be drawn at random and will receive a gift card. Each school will determine its own criteria for the student with the most inspirational effort, Winners of that award will get a gift card plus an award certificate signed by the principal and superintendent.

During the 2018-19 school year, elementary school absentee rates have hovered around 4 percent, with secondary school absentee rates fluctuating around 6 percent. Secondary absenteeism spiked during two weeks thanks to school safety incidents, at Coeur d’Alene High School Oct. 19 and at Lake City High School Oct. 30, that prompted many students to stay home, said Maben.

The district has improved its elementary absentee rates over the same period one year ago. For example, absentee rates Oct. 8-12 dropped from 4.6 percent in 2017 to 3.8 percent this year. Absenteeism took a further dive Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, when only 4 percent of students missed class this year compared to 5.3 percent last year. The improvement was even better Nov. 5-9, with 4.1 percent absent this year compared to 5.7 percent last year, said Maben. Rates have also dropped at secondary school for some weeks this year, but have been higher than last year’s rates during other weeks.

Higher attendance can help the district under the state’s funding formula, said Maben.

“State funding is calculated using average daily attendance submitted to the state on a periodic basis,” he said. “There are two calculations: from the first day of school through the first Friday in November, and then the best 28 weeks of the entire school year. So generally speaking, good attendance any time of the school year benefits our district under Idaho’s system of funding public education.”

But even more important than funding is the fact that absenteeism threatens a student’s prospects in life, he added.

“Chronic absenteeism is among the strongest predictors of dropping out of high school. Even missing just two days a month can put students at risk of academic failure,” Maben said. “We wanted to find a fun way to emphasize that every day in school truly counts.”