Title
School Attendance Proclamation - Adams County Youth Initiative
Body
In Adams County (School Districts 1, 12, 14, 27J, and 50) on average 1 out of every 3 students are not succeeding in our schools. For example, among 3rd graders, 34% are not proficient in reading, 60% of 8th graders are not proficient in math, an average of 35% of all high school seniors do not graduate on time.
Research indicates that chronic absence (defined as missing 10% of school days) has a profound impact on student success. In Adams County 15.0% of all students were chronically absent in the first semester of the 2013-2014 school year; equating to 10,900 K-12 students, for more than 98,000 days at least 600,000 hours of lost instruction time. The chronic absenteeism rate for elementary students was 10%, middle school 14%, and in high schools an average of 24% (40% in some schools).
In addition, there is evidence that chronic absenteeism greatly impacts student success in Adams County, as schools with higher rates of chronic absenteeism also have much lower rates of academic achievement. For elementary schools with high chronic absentee rates (15-20%), the majority of 3rd graders do not read proficiently (50-68% not proficient, versus 34% county-wide). In middle schools with high rates of chronic absenteeism over 75% of 8th graders are not proficient in math; and on-time graduation rates plummet below 50% in high schools with the largest chronic absentee rates.
The Adams County School Attendance Action Team is committed to improving student achievement by increasing student attendance and decreasing chronic absence through school and community-based prevention and early intervention strategies focused primarily for Kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade students.
Staff Responsible (Department Head): Chief Troy Smith
Staff Member Presenting: Chief Troy Smith
Financial Impact: $0
Funding Source: N/A
Staff Recommendation: Sign