Hathaway Elementary principal, David Tudor is asking his students and their families to “Strive for Five.”  The goal is for students to have fewer than five missed days in an entire school year. 

Statistics show that students who miss ten or more school days have a far greater chance of not reaching their grade level learning targets.  Last school year, just 22 percent of Hathaway students had five or fewer absences.  More than half of students in each grade level missed 10 or more school days last year, with an average of 12 1/2 missed days.

Last year Tudor began work with Mindy Smith, now retired attendance secretary, Nancy Boon, family resource coordinator and Jenna Linerud, social worker, to focus on students with chronic absences, missing 18 or more days per year, and to discuss goals to improve those numbers.

Tudor heard a National Public Radio story about a school in Grand Rapids, Michigan that created a program aimed at reducing student absences called “Give me five.”  He researched the program, its false starts, lessons learned and how they created the overall campaign.

The Hathaway “Strive for Five” program begins with educating parents to the negative effects of missing school at the elementary school level. “There is a notion out there with some parents that attendance in grades kindy through second is not that critical,” Tudor explained. “We are setting out to change that paradigm.”

Posters, book markers and postcards have been distributed and information was shared at kindy orientation and back to school nights to remind parents of the importance of regular attendance on student learning.  For instance, how easily students can fall behind missing even just a day or two of classes every few weeks.

Absences also affect the whole classroom.  “Not only are students missing valuable instruction but they are needed for group projects,” Tudor said.  “When several days are missed, that student misses collaboration work and group lessons.”  Teachers and groups need to slow down learning to help missing children catch up.

The campaign also shares ways for parents to help their students including setting regular bed time and morning routines.  “Children thrive in routines and are more successful and more prepared to be better learners,” Tudor explained.  Parents are also reminded not to let their child stay home unless they are truly sick, avoiding appointments and extended trips when school is in session and reaching out to teachers if their child is feeling anxious about going to school.

According to Tudor, Hathaway teachers have embraced the campaign.  For their part they are identifying students that they are concerned about and are making personal phone calls home.  “It is about creating greater connectedness to remove barriers to attendance and provide resources and services to meet student needs that may be identified.” Tudor said.   The process so far has been successful in connecting school families with resources that they were not aware of or did not realize they qualify for, such as state health insurance for children who are often sick.

“We are also trying to identify if there is a cultural or behavior issue in the classroom affecting attendance that should be addressed,” Tudor said. “We strive for a safe and welcoming environment at the school.”

To help support the goal of a positive school environment, teachers and staff recently welcomed students at the school entrance with a human tunnel offering high fives, cheers, and smiles.

The school year has started strong for attendance with the percentage of students missing two days or less moving from 76% last September to 90% this year and from 70% to nearly 80% for October.  A Baltimore City Study indicated that students who miss fewer than 2 days in September went on the have good attendance through the year giving Tudor confidence that absentee numbers will continue to improve through these efforts.

“We just have 180 days with our students,” Tudor said.  “So each moment, each hour, each day we have them is important.”