\u201cThey put a lot of hours making sure our students are here and they feel welcome,\u201d Rios said. \u201cSo it’s really good and heartwarming that we get this recognition as a small school district.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rios said the award was tied to the district\u2019s improvement in attendance, including chronic absenteeism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was for our student attendance increase. So that was great, specifically with our chronic absenteeism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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%.<\/p>\n
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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\u2019s director of business services, said attendance barriers can vary widely from student to student.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo each student and their attendance challenge has some unique part. Everyone’s different, whether it be family problems, transportation problems. Everyone’s different,\u201d Lawson said.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
\u201cJust 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,\u201d Ehoff said. \u201cJust knowing that there’s some options for him if he’s feeling uncomfortable or if anything’s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey taught me six seven, But these kids always have a good attitude. I love that. It helps keep people good out here,\u201d Ehoff said.<\/p>\n