Be Here, Get There! 

Time lost in the classroom - excused or unexcused - can quickly create academic challenges for children. 

Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways schools, families and communities can work together to prepare students for success in school and in the workforce. To that end, Mapleton Public Schools is launching a multi-year effort to support the District’s goal of improving daily average attendance and decreasing absenteeism at all District schools.

Mapleton will be sharing important attendance information with staff, students, families and the community with the Be Here, Get There campaign.

“Being here, in school, on time, every day, is the only way to get to where you want to go and truly achieve your dreams,” says Charlotte Ciancio, Superintendent of Schools, about the idea behind the campaign. “We want students and families to know that the ‘here’ is Mapleton and the ‘there’ is anywhere you dream of exploring or anything you hope to accomplish.”

Excused or not, when students miss school, they are likely to fall behind in their work and lose their attachment to positive attitudes toward school. Poor attendance in the first month of school can predict chronic absenteeism for the entire year. Studies have found that kindergartners and first graders who miss 9-17 days of school during the year are 50 percent less likely to read proficiently by third grade. Students who are chronically absent in high school, defined as missing four or more days in a month or 10 days over the school year, are much more likely to drop out and have a decreased chance of earning a postsecondary degree.

Through attendance awareness, Mapleton hopes to increase the District-wide attendance level from 93 percent to 98 percent. Improvement strategies outlined in the Mapleton’s Unified Improvement Plan look at increasing support to help students and families overcome barriers to poor attendance. The District will be looking into everything from incentive programs, to partnerships to additional mental health and academic support to promote good attendance. From health to housing and transportation, Mapleton can help connect families to the resources needed to get students out the door and off to school on time, every day. Mapleton encouraged parents to talk to their child’s teacher or school director for more information about how to help improve their child’s attendance, or for additional information on the importance of attendance. The District hopes to inform the community about attendance through the use of billboards, posters and T-shirts promoting the Be Here, Get There campaign

Think to miss a day of school here and there is no big deal? Click on the links below to learn more about why attendance matters!

Learn more at www.attendanceworks.org