The first day of school is September 4th! The Buffalo Public School system will continue to monitor student absence in an effort to identify and solve barriers in getting children to school, each day and every day.
Chronic absence – missing 10 percent of the school year, or just 2-3 days every month – can translate into third graders unable to read at grade level, sixth graders failing courses, and ninth graders dropping out of high school. The impact hits low-income students particularly hard, especially if they don’t have the resources to make up for lost time in the classroom and are more likely to face barriers to getting to school, such as unreliable transportation and chronic health issues.
According to Attendance Works, a national advocacy group, attendance in the pivotal transition years of Kindergarten through second and then in ninth grade were a key indicator of whether students would finish high school – even more accurate than academic school readiness for Kindergarten or eighth grade test scores.
“Improving attendance through collaboration with community based organizations and education partners is a critical component of our reform agenda for the school system,” said Donald A. Ogilvie, Interim Superintendent of the Buffalo Public Schools. “Through the resources being provided by our community partners, I am confident we will reduce absenteeism in the school district.”