Fairfax Co. school celebrates small attendance victories to combat chronic absenteeism

Last spring, the parent of a Dranesville Elementary second grader walked into the Virginia school鈥檚 office to share what administrators viewed as an attendance success story.

The student had an appointment, and the mom told her that she could stay home the whole day. But, the student pushed back, explaining that she could go to the appointment and then attend school afterward.

Many students have started holding themselves accountable, Principal Jamie Gadley said, after the school reset its approach to combating chronic absenteeism in January 2023.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, over 20% of students at the Herndon school were chronically absent in 2022-23, meaning they missed 10% or more of the school days in a calendar year.

Many other schools across the D.C. region have reported similar challenges. In Virginia, chronic absenteeism is a factor used for accreditation as part of the formula to calculate a school鈥檚 rating.

With a renewed focus on connecting with every student at Dranesville, chronic absenteeism fell to about 7% last year.

鈥淲e recognized that the pandemic has had an impact on students attending every day, and we had to make a difference,鈥� Gadley said. 鈥淲e had to reset and change that narrative. And so we started to consider how we might systematize joy.鈥�

Addressing the troubling trend started with getting students excited to come to school. Every morning at Door 5, staff members greet students with hugs, dancing, singing and jumping up and down with them to celebrate their successes.

There are fist bumps, too, and school counselor Melinda Ryan said the staff makes sure to emphasize how excited they are to see the students. That often results in conversations about topics outside of school, such as siblings or sports.

鈥淟ots of interaction and lots of talking about their lives and making them know that they are important to us, not just as a student, but as a person, all-around person,鈥� Ryan said.

Students who have perfect attendance over 10 days are entered into a raffle, with the chance to win prizes ranging from gift cards to posters or books.

When an entire grade level has 100% attendance, school leaders make an announcement over the PA system. They鈥檒l stop in the hallway to celebrate classes with perfect attendance, and sometimes, the school鈥檚 mascot, Drake the Dragon, joins the celebration.

鈥淚t’s all about our love and support that everybody gives each other at this school,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淎nd it’s spiraling 鈥� the kids know that they’re important to us, and we’re important to them.鈥�

The pandemic changed families鈥� relationships with schools, Gadley said, which prompted the school to adjust its approach.

Sometimes, students miss school with an illness. But other times, habits, such as staying up too late, prompt kids to be absent, Ryan said. There have also been transportation issues, and students who have bad days at school don鈥檛 want to return the following day.

鈥淪o how can we support you at school when you get here to make sure your day is better?鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淢eeting those social-emotional needs are very important, as well as our basic needs.鈥�

School leaders have stressed the importance of scheduling doctor鈥檚 appointments, if they have to during the day, during lunch and recess, because 鈥渆very minute does count,鈥� Ryan said.

Sometimes, there are unrelated complications. Ryan said she reached out to one family to discuss attendance and learned the electricity was cut off.

鈥淐onnecting our families with resources at home that they might need, and knowing their story and them feeling comfortable enough to tell their story to us, has really helped with our attendance,鈥� Ryan said.

It鈥檚 not just important for students to be in class, Gadley said, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 learning that we want our students to attend.鈥� For 415 students who attended the first 10 days of school, that equated to over 1,000 minutes of language arts instruction, she said.

Now, when Ryan enters a classroom, students tell her that their peers may be absent, but let her know, 鈥溾€楧on鈥檛 worry, they鈥檙e at a doctor鈥檚 appointment and they鈥檙e coming in late,鈥欌€� she said.

In the school鈥檚 front office, under a banner that says 鈥淎ttendance Matters,鈥� every grade level鈥檚 attendance percentage regularly gets updated. Next to it, on a small whiteboard, is the school鈥檚 chronic absenteeism percentage through the first 20 days of this year: 7.8%.

Gadley wants it at 5% by the end of the school year.

鈥淲e know that our students come to school when they can look forward to a person or a program that matters to them, that fills their bucket and makes them feel like they belong as a member of our school community,鈥� Gadley said.