All aboard! How you and everyone can play a role in this most critical school year
We’ve learned a lot in the past year and a half.
And everything we know about hardship, strength, resilience and unity has primed us for what looms as the most critical school year probably in a lifetime.
But it’s going to take everyone — parents, students, teachers, administrators, neighbors, mentors, all caring people . . .
“Schools were never designed to be capable to handle all of this on their own,” said Kwesi Rollins, a senior member of the Institute for Educational Leadership during a recent public workshop with Attendance Works.
We know from the 18-month ordeal with Covid-19 that school communities “that were already working together were in a better place to respond and innovate to the pandemic,” Rollins said.
Kansas City-area schools and their partners, like LINC, are redoubling enrollment campaigns for the coming school year, while committing to carrying on the kind of engagement with families that became essential during and after the days of pandemic quarantine.
“If kids are not showing up in school, they are not feeling physically and emotionally safe,” said Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, a national and state level initiative aimed at advancing student success by addressing chronic absence.
Children need a “sense of belonging, connection and support,” she said. “This year we have to deepen our commitment.” Success must build on a “strong-relationship-centered foundation.”
A Kansas City-area initiative is calling on a community-wide effort to help families “enroll, engage and attend.”
LINC has long championed the community school model, with before- and after-school services that reach beyond the school walls to engage families and their neighborhoods, providing comfort and resources.
Abe Fernandez, the vice president and director of collective impact for the National Center for Community Schools at Children’s Aid, emphasized how community collaboration builds collective strength.
“You engage families in problem-solving with you,” he said. “Community schooling is a strategy, not a program. It’s not going to come from one partner . . . (but) a whole range of partners.”
As many school systems spent much of the last school year in virtual or hybrid classrooms, the traditional measurements of school attendance suffered. Data that tracked student engagement was hard pressed to give a clear picture of the pandemic’s impact.
"But the data we do have show chronic absence is on the rise,” Chang said.
The message to school communities is urgent:
Students who miss even two school days a month are at risk. And any absences — whether excused or unexcused, or by suspension — are lost opportunities to learn.
Strong, trusting relationships that promote a feeling of belonging are fundamental to improving student attendance and engagement.
Students are more likely to attend school if they feel safe, connected and supported.
Keeping students, families and school staff physically and emotionally healthy supports attendance.
Whole community collaboration with families and schools can overcome barriers to attendance and engagement.
See the complete key messages guide at attendanceworks.org.
By Joe Robertson/LINC Writer