In 2023, the average LAUSD absence rate reached a high of 31%. This was due to the impact that the Covid-19 had on school’s attendance around the world. LAUSD has struggled greatly to revive their records as the percentage of absent students has not gotten much better since the pandemic. With all the new plans the district is putting into place, a new assistant principal, Ms. Melissa Shelton was placed at LACES. A relevant part of her job is centered around fixing the damage the pandemic did on the student body’s mindset towards the importance of school and being present.
“I think the pandemic had a significant impact. Families and students got used to the sort of flexibility and convenience of learning from home,” said Shelton.
To complete her goal of bringing absence rates down, Ms. Shelton is bringing new monthly attendance rewards to LACES. One has already been completed for the first month of august, the top three homerooms in middle and high school with the highest attendance were rewarded with Churros. As a way to entice students, the churros were handed out in the zone and students started lining up believing they could get one for free, not knowing they would be rejected. Along with the monthly rewards, Shelton has hopes of becoming more connected with LACES Leadership.
“I would love to work with [Leadership] because they are just great at being role models for the rest of the students and spreading awareness in a way that’s fun and quirky, so it sticks.” said Shelton.
Along with the new plans Ms. Shelton is bringing to our school, LAUSD has put some other district wide initiatives into effect.
This year, the district is celebrating 25 day milestones throughout each semester. There are three different categories of attendance: excellent (0-1 absences), basic (2 absences), and chronic (3+ absences). Every 25 days all students are put into a category based on their attendance records. The first milestone took place on September 17th and the grade with the highest percentage in the excellent category received an invite to a Nacho Party. Last year, the chronic percentage at LACES had reached 12%, and with every step that the administration is taking, the goal to lower that number to around 7-8% seems increasily more achievable. To guarantee a place in excellent attendance, students can miss school a maximum of seven days to stay at a 96% attendance rate.
Another person overseeing attendance is the Intervention Prevention Coordinator, Mr. Brandy Alexander. He believes that the key to having better attendance starts at home with the student.
“Students should practice better habits that will have you here and healthy. Eating healthy balanced meals, staying off the phone late at night, and getting enough sleep all lead to an overall better attendance.” said Alexander
With the new strategies both the school and the district are putting into place, the main goal is to reach and educate all students about how important attendance is for not just them but for their school. Along with all the benefits relating to the student, the school itself is heavily impacted.
The overall attendance percentage determines how much funding the school receives. This means that if the percentage is too low, our school will receive less money from the district which will affect our resources.
