You're managing a classroom and struggling with attendance. What can you do to keep students engaged?

When a school struggles with attendance, we must do the necessary work to uncover the mitigating factors. As educators, we often forget that we are being written into the middle of an ongoing story. I would push educators to co-create goals and expectations. Our goals can't be constructed in a vacuum of privilege but must be reflective of the communities we serve.

In my early teaching experience, I faced challenges with low attendance and maintaining a positive classroom culture. To address this, I organized an open forum where students and I discussed class culture. Afterwards we collaboratively established a class culture. Students were more responsible for the culture they set. Additionally, I focused on students consistently missing school or arriving late. It emerged that they were burdened with pressing responsibilities outside the classroom. I took the initiative to visit their homes, engaging with parents more extensively. This proactive approach yielded positive results, as students recognized my genuine interest not only in teaching but also in their personal development.

Según mi experiencia con respecto al ausentismo es importante considerar lo siguiente: 1. Identificar las barreras, el rechazo o valoración que tienen algunas familias con respecto al colegio. 2. Crear un cambio cultural, para que toda la comunidad educativa valore la asistencia a clases. 3. Las acciones deben sostenerse en el tiempo, mejorar asistencia no es fácil. 4. Integrar a la familia en el proceso. 5. Tener un mecanismo eficiente de medición de la asistencia y que levante alertas. 6. Crear un comité de asistencia. 7. Tener un sistema de monitoreo para los estudiantes con ausentismo crónico. 8. Involucrar a los profesores jefes o tutores en este proceso. 9. Realizar campa?as para promover la asistencia.

Managing a classroom and dealing with attendance challenges can be a tough task, but there are strategies you can employ to keep students engaged. Here are some suggestions:Interactive Activities: Incorporate hands-on and interactive activities in your classes. This may include group exercises, classroom discussions, practical projects, or activities that actively involve students. Relevance: Ensure that the content covered is relevant and applicable to students' everyday lives. When students see the usefulness of what they are learning, they are more likely to participate actively

Something I've done to make sure I have time to do attendance and any beginning of class chores that need to be taken care of, is to simply put a question or topic on the board for students to respond to in a journal. It keeps the students busy and gets their minds focused on the subject area we're discussing.

Communication is the most powerful tool that not only keeps student , parent , teacher connected but also active and aware of what is going on in school. -Making a student and parent feel 'CONCERNED' or 'WE CARE FOR YOU' ensures the attendance of students. -Timely communication of students achievement , a little good act is equally important to ensure attendance. - Communicating only 'complains' keep not only the students away from school but the parents also. - A healthy, swift and feedback oriented communication is most vital.

Technology and multimedia can be powerful tools to enhance your teaching and learning, increasing student engagement and interest. You can use various devices, platforms, and applications to create interactive and dynamic lessons, such as videos, podcasts, games, quizzes, simulations, and virtual reality. Additionally, technology can facilitate collaboration and communication among your students through online forums, chats, blogs, and wikis. It can also help you differentiate and personalize your instruction to meet the diverse needs, preferences, and learning styles of your students.

Everything in a classroom rises and falls on relationship. Consistent expectations but also personalised praise and support. In a classroom where there is already disruption, some people say it’s about zero tolerance. I’m not so sure. Get down on the students’ wavelength, physically at times. Avoid shouting. Work hard with influencers in the room. Oh, and do things other than just class based activities. Get involved in sports, XC clubs and champion students outside of your domain.

It can be really powerful to acknowledge that you are glad a student is present rather than pointing out prior absences. No one likes to be greeted with "Nice of you to show up today..." or "We haven't seen you in awhile..." If a student knows they are going to enter your classroom (even after a long absence) and be greeted with excitement and kindness, they will be more motivated to attend.

Building a supportive community within the classroom is extremely important. When students feel welcome and important, they are more likely to want to come to school. One thing I use a lot is a fun program called Classcraft. We start each class with a fun random event that gets the students excited. Students also send electronic Kudos to classmates. These first come to me to approve, then are posted on the classroom feed so that everyone sees them. It has greatly improved morale. Doing some team building exercises also helps tremendously. Empower the students as well. Let them volunteer to welcome students to class. Celebrate when everyone is present. Its often these little things that matter the most to our students.

An essential element in enhancing attendance is cultivating positive and trusting relationships with both individual students and among the student body. Demonstrating genuine care for each student as an individual, along with a deep respect for their opinions, feelings, and experiences, creates an environment where attendance becomes a natural and valued commitment. By gaining insight into their backgrounds, interests, strengths, and challenges, I can personalize my instruction, fostering a connection that promotes not only attendance but also a more meaningful and engaged learning experience.

Building positive relationships with students is the cornerstone to good teaching practice. Research has shown over and over again that students are not able to learn if their engagement is not considered thoroughly and planned for with intention. Educators must take the time to know their chargers. Interest inventories can help to understand your students unique characteristics, background and interests. Incorporating this information into the classroom structure goes along way to make students feel seen thereby increasing their engagement. Educators should also take some time to talk with students about their interests and learning styles, observe them in different settings and provide opportunities for students to express themselves.

Family engagement is the key! If parents feel welcome at school, have opportunities to volunteer and attend events, they will feel part of the school community. They will encourage their child to attend school daily and join after school activities. Parents and teachers need to communicate with email, newsletters and phone calls.

Los padres hoy en día están atravesando un proceso abandónico de sus hijos, están concentrados en vivir la vida en forma egoísta, entonces no le prestan atención a sus ni?os y cuando el docente desea imponer la escasa autoridad que puede aplicar, esos padres atacan a esos docentes; sin darse cuenta que su hijo lo único que está reclamándoles su atención.

As a teacher with a caring and nurturing approach, my ultimate goal is to see my students flourish both academically and personally. Establishing regular and open communication with parents is crucial in achieving this. I make it a priority to inform parents about my goals, expectations, and attendance policies, inviting them to share their valuable feedback, concerns, and suggestions. Moreover, I extend invitations for parental involvement in classroom activities, events, and projects, fostering a collaborative and supportive learning community that contributes to the overall success and well-being of each student.

Another key factor in improving attendance is to build positive and trusting relationships with your students and among them. Demonstrate that you care about your students as individuals and respect and value their opinions, feelings, and experiences. Learn more about their backgrounds, interests, strengths, and challenges, and use this information to connect with them and personalize your instruction. Encourage students to interact with each other and form support and cooperative groups. Create a safe and inclusive classroom environment where students feel comfortable and confident to participate and express themselves.

More often than not, parent attitudes influence the reasons why students are absent or not. For some, it's going to sick very unwell so as to not miss a day. For others, it's taking longer holidays because attendance is perceived not to matter. Educating the families on school expectations is paramount to align these two things. In my experience, using attendance data correlated with achievement often helps to bridge this gap. Ultimately, if students don't see the value in something they are more likely to "vote with their feet" so explicitly sharing that value is paramount.

It comes down to understanding students and their family background, that's the first step, identifying the cause. To address the issue you should be considering all of the above, but it generally comes down to having a streamlined systems and processes in your organization and making sure they're all being used and implemented effectively.

If you work at a school where students aren’t served free breakfast in the morning, that may be something to strongly consider to help improve student attendance. How many students do you know are going to turn down a good meal or pass up the opportunity to socialize with their friends early in the morning? If students know that free breakfast is available at school, that may be enough of an incentive for some to get to school early. Also, if you have the flexibility, you can extend the breakfast period into the first instructional period of the day to ensure that every student has a chance to eat.