This year attendance is being taken much more seriously than in previous years. As a country, chronic absenteeism has been on the rise. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or 18 days. The number of students who miss a month or more of school has doubled since before the pandemic to more than 25% according to “School Attendance, Truancy & Chronic Absenteeism: What Parents Need to Know” written by the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health. Rates of absenteeism are still significantly higher than before COVID-19 but have shown a slight decrease in the past few years in Kansas.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Blue Valley West has assembled a team of teachers to help manage attendance. This team tracks unexcused absences and tardies and administering consequences promptly. This means that students who are tardy to class have consequences now.
Truancy is described as three consecutive unexcused absences in a row, five unexcused absences in a semester, or seven unexcused absences in one school year. However, Assistant Principal Bryan Brutto notes that there is a trend at West in which parents are all too quick to excuse an absence.
“Oftentimes our parents do get caught in [the] trap [that] they so much want to be the good guy,” Brutto said. Brutto described that when students skip class the parent can call them out because they either are trying to be their student’s friend or they know that the student would face consequences at home and school.
“I think it’s very hard for parents to see their student get consequences,” said Brutto. Parents are even more likely to let their students miss class when they feel that their students don’t gain anything from going to class.
“The only way to motivate students is for our teachers to make their classes irresistible,” Brutto said regarding getting students to show up to class. Brutto believes that when students feel they have a connection with their teacher and look forward to class they will try harder to make sure that they will be there in class.
Another way the school has pushed to improve attendance is by limiting the number of tests students are allowed to take in the testing center.
Brutto explained the reason behind limiting how many tests you can take in the testing center.
“We saw some trends in students…utilizing that method of, ‘I’m going to skip the class, or miss the class, or be sick for the class, and then take the test in the testing center,’” said Brutto. This is also a measure to enforce the honor code, by preventing students from waiting to see what others saw on the test before taking the test themselves.
Administration’s goal of the stricter implementation of attendance policies is to improve student habits to help them prepare for their future successes.
“You want the success or the accolades of money, you’re going to have to put the time in it first,” Brutto said.
