A small school district in East Bakersfield is being recognized statewide for a major turnaround in student attendance.
Edison School District, which includes Edison Preschool, Edison Middle School and Orangewood Elementary School, has received its first Golden Bell Award, a statewide honor recognizing outstanding educational programs. Vice Principal Stephanie Rios said the recognition reflects the work staff have put in to support students.
“They put a lot of hours making sure our students are here and they feel welcome,” Rios said. “So it’s really good and heartwarming that we get this recognition as a small school district.”
Rios said the award was tied to the district’s improvement in attendance, including chronic absenteeism.
“It was for our student attendance increase. So that was great, specifically with our chronic absenteeism,” she said.
Over the last four years, the district has seen a significant shift. According to the district, chronic absenteeism dropped from about 40% to 8.89%, while overall attendance climbed from below 90% to 96.42%.
Staff said the work has been especially challenging in the aftermath of the pandemic, when getting students back into classrooms has not always been easy. David Lawson, the district’s director of business services, said attendance barriers can vary widely from student to student.
“So each student and their attendance challenge has some unique part. Everyone’s different, whether it be family problems, transportation problems. Everyone’s different,” Lawson said.
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all strategy, staff said they focused on building trust and personal connections with students. They credited school secretary Gina Ehoff with helping one student move from struggling with attendance to showing up more consistently. Her strategy?
“Just encouraging him, letting him know, if he doesn’t feel like staying, then we’ll take a walk. We’ll get out for a bit,” Ehoff said. “Just knowing that there’s some options for him if he’s feeling uncomfortable or if anything’s going on.”
Ehoff said she cannot take all the credit and said students have put in the work to change. She also said they have taught things along the way.
“They taught me six seven, But these kids always have a good attitude. I love that. It helps keep people good out here,” Ehoff said.
The district received the Golden Bell Award in June and is expected to attend a reception in San Diego in December to receive the physical award.
Exterior shot of Edison Middle School. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFX
Rios said the recognition is an honor, but the district is not finished with its efforts to keep students coming to school.
“It was the genuine care that our staff had for our students, and we just highlighted and focused on that,” Rios said.