School districts across the country have struggled to get kids back into the classroom following the COVID-19 pandemic.
When in-school learning resumed, about one-quarter of students in Richmond Public Schools missed 18 or more days — the definition of chronic absenteeism.
“For two years with the pandemic, we told families: 'Don't come to school,'” said Shadae Harris, who was hired by the district to connect with students’ parents. “That was our message to families: Don't come, protect yourself.”
Districts have struggled to buck that narrative. To help combat it, Harris developed new attendance strategies that shifted away from a punitive approach and toward family engagement.
That means encouraging meaningful interactions between staff and families that build mutual trust. Staff are doing more home visits and making more phone calls to parents. If a kid misses the bus or transportation falls through, district staff occasionally pick them up.
“It builds the relationship,” Harris said. “We have a minute to talk, and I'm bringing your child to school. That builds trust.”
The extra effort seems to be paying off. Multiple schools have seen chronic absenteeism rates fall below pre-pandemic levels — including Boushall Middle School, where only 8% of students were chronically absent last year.
Boushall has incorporated monthly incentives for students with perfect attendance: The school raffles off gift cards, PlayStations, Air Jordan sneakers and more. Principal Timothy Vaughn said the excitement around the sneaker raffles is palpable.
“Kids like Jordans,” Vaughn said. “They’re like: ‘Oh, man, is it gonna be me?’”
Another incentive: having an ice cream truck stop by to award those with perfect attendance. On a Monday in May, students stepped up to the window to make their selections. Sour Wower and Cotton Candy bars were the most popular choices.
Student Jahrae Wilson said seeing her friends, learning and getting out of the house motivate her to show up for school. But she said the incentives don’t hurt; she won a pair of black and red Air Jordans.
“It makes me feel proud of myself for coming to school every day,” Wilson said.
Boushall staff also engage with students one-on-one about their attendance, especially those on the verge of becoming chronically absent in order to tap into what motivates each of them to come to school.
“The whole attendance team, they're very methodical around how they're checking in and supporting our children,” Vaughn said. “Their system has really worked in ensuring they make kids feel welcome.”
Boushall social worker Alandra Copeland, who is on the school’s attendance team, said kids heading toward chronic absenteeism get rewarded if they show improvement. Another thing staff do to encourage students is make them breakfast.
“We make it ourselves, we have the griddle set up in one of the rooms,” Copeland said. “We make pancakes, bacon, we have juice and things like that.”
Assistant Principal Jamie Wick said incentives are moving the attendance needle.
“Sometimes, we've got little bags of chips or things to give them in the morning, just to say ‘Glad you're here, and keep coming,” Wick said. “It works. It definitely works.”
But Harris, who led the district’s attendance initiatives over the past several years, said while incentives can help, schools can’t rely on them alone.
“If you just do those twice a year and think that's going to change attendance, it's not,” Harris said. “The incentives are just a vehicle to build the relationship.”
