Attendance Matters
Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning. Too many absences not only can affect achievement for the absent student but also can disrupt learning for the entire class. Because attendance is so important, the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District is making a district-wide goal of reducing chronic absenteeism by 50% in the next 3 years.
Research shows that students who consistently miss school are at risk of lower academic achievement, failure and even dropping out of school altogether. Here are some facts:
Chronic absenteeism begins as early as pre-kindergarten
Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
Compared to children with average attendance, chronically absent students gained 14% fewer literacy skills in kindergarten and 15% fewer literacy skills in 1st grade
By 6th grade, chronic absence is one of three early warning signs that a student is more likely to dropout of school
By 9th grade, student attendance is a better predictor of graduation than 8th grade test scores
What is Chronic Absence and What is its Impact?
Most children miss a few days of school each year without long-term consequences. However, when they miss many days, the effects are almost always negative. Researchers have defined absences as “chronic” when they reach the level at which a child’s school success is at significant risk. Chronic absence has been established when a student misses 10 percent of school days, and it is different from truancy, which counts only unexcused absences.
In the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District, students are considered chronically absent when they miss 18 school days a year for any reason (10% of our 180 school day calendar).
That works out to less than 2 days per month.
Over the course of a student’s high school career, missing 10 percent of school days would equate to missing almost an entire semester of school.
10 Facts About School Attendance
Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.
Over 7 million U.S. students (1 in 7) miss nearly a month of school each year.
Absenteeism and its ill effects start early. One in 10 kindergarten and first grade students are chronically absent.
Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade or be held back.
By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
Research shows that missing 10 percent of school days, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.
Students who live in communities with high levels of poverty are four times more likely to be chronically absent than others, often for reasons beyond their control, such as unstable housing, unreliable transportation and a lack of access to health care.
When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating.
Attendance improves when schools engage students and parents in positive ways and when schools provide mentors for chronically absent students.
Most school districts and states don’t look at all the right data to improve school attendance. They track how many students show up every day and how many are skipping school without an excuse, but not how many are missing so many days in excused and unexcused absence that they are headed off track academically.
Ongoing Improvements
Managing over 205,000 square feet of building space and 100 acres of fields and lots requires consistent effort to maintain, upgrade, and renovate our school facilities. I would be remiss to not commend our custodial team for their effort. Over the past several years, we have undertaken small capital outlay projects to address critical infrastructure needs.
Capital outlay projects have a limited scope of under $100,000, must be completed within the same year they are started, and the work is restricted to a single building. Unlike traditional capital projects, which provide state building aid over a 15-year period, these projects allow the district to receive 71% of the project cost in state aid the following year.
While $100,000 doesn’t stretch far in today’s public works market, this approach has enabled us to address smaller yet essential improvements efficiently. Below are some examples of recent projects:
- 2021-22: Elevator renovation at Edward J. Arthur Elementary School (EJA).
- 2022-23: New exterior doors with keycard access installed at Coxsackie Elementary (CE).
- 2023-24: New doors with keycard access added at EJA.
- 2024-25: New basketball hoops, wall mats and scoreboards at the High School (HS), and a new wireless sound system and upgrades to the existing scoreboard at the Middle School (MS).
These targeted projects demonstrate our commitment to maintaining and improving our facilities, ensuring they are safe, modern, and functional for our students, staff, and community.
Athletics
As we move through the winter sports season, Coxsackie-Athens athletes continue to shine on both the local and state stages. Here are some of the remarkable achievements so far:
Girls Basketball
The girls' basketball team has earned the #1 ranking among Class B schools by the Times Union and is currently ranked #9 statewide for Class B.
Junior Baileigh Briski is making history on the court, averaging over 25 points per game. She recently became the all-time leading scorer for girls' basketball at Coxsackie-Athens, and currently sits at 1,197 career points.
Baileigh now has her sights set on breaking the all-time scoring record of 1,256 points held by Athens' own Bill Stafford.
Wrestling
The wrestling program celebrated a milestone as Neil Murphy broke the all-time wins record at Coxsackie-Athens with his 136th victory. As a senior, Neil continues to climb the wins ladder and is poised to finish his final season on a high note.
Additionally, two other wrestlers, Sophomore Ryker Cox and Senior Brendan Woytowich, reached the impressive 100-win mark in their careers.
Congratulations to all our athletes for their incredible accomplishments. We look forward to seeing what the rest of the season holds! More highlights to follow in the next family update.
Re-Start on Restricting Phone Use
As we begin the second half of the school year, I acknowledge the enforcment of our cell phone policy in the high school needs improvement. We also know it will need to be a team effort to improve.
We will be havng a new emphasis in our high school regarding the use of cell phones during the school day. Interim high school principal Karen Miller will be supporting teachers in making sure students are not on personal devices in classrooms, hallways and the cafeteria.
We ask that you talk with your child about keeping their phones in their pockets or backpacks during the school day.
These changes are intended to enhance our learning environment and support the well-being of all students.
Enhanced Focus on Learning:
By reducing distractions from cell phones, students can concentrate more effectively on their lessons, leading to improved academic performance and engagement in class activities.
Promotes Social Interaction:
Limiting cell phone use encourages students to interact face-to-face, fostering stronger peer relationships, better communication skills, and a more positive school environment.
Reduces Cyberbullying:
Restricting cell phone access during school hours helps minimize instances of cyberbullying, creating a safer and more supportive environment for all students.
Decreases Anxiety and Stress:
Constant access to social media can contribute to anxiety and stress. Limiting cell phone use allows students to disconnect and focus on their well-being during the school day.
Supports Classroom Management:
Without the distraction of cell phones, teachers can maintain better control over the classroom environment, ensuring a more organized and productive learning experience for all.
We recognize that cell phones and other electronic communication devices, including earbuds, smartwatches, and wearable computing devices, are a regular part of the lives of our students and their families. However, we must work together to balance this with the safety and well-being of all students, while maintaining the integrity of our academic environments.
Guidelines for Cell Phone and Device Use:
Use of Cell Phones and Electronic Devices is not permitted during school hours:
8:00 AM to 3:09 PM for Middle School and High School students.
8:50 AM to 3:25 PM for Elementary School students.
Use of electronic devices in hallways, or when students are visiting locations such as the bathroom, nurse’s office, library, or computer lab, is strictly prohibited.
Earbuds may only be used in the classroom, library, or cafeteria with staff permission and when connected to a school device.
For elementary students, if a cell phone is brought to school, it must be turned in to the main office and will be held until the end of the school day.
Wireless communication devices with photographic capabilities are prohibited from being used to take photos or record images or conversations during school hours without authorization. Any student using such a device to record or take pictures of fights, arguments, or altercations will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include in-school suspension (ISS) or out-of-school suspension.
Consequences for Violating the Policy:
First Offense:
A warning will be issued by school personnel and documented in the Student Management System (SMS).
Second Offense:
The device will be confiscated until the end of the period, and the teacher will contact the parent/guardian. This will also be documented in the SMS.
Third Offense:
The device will be confiscated and turned in to the Main Office. The teacher will assign detention, contact the parent/guardian, and the student will collect the device from an administrator at the end of the day. Documented in SMS.
Subsequent Offenses:
The device will be confiscated, and the parent will be contacted. The student will be referred to a building administrator for follow-up. The device must be picked up from the Main Office by a parent/guardian, and the student will face progressive disciplinary action, which may include placement in the Alternative Learning Setting (ALS). Documented in SMS.
The District may modify its response based on the specific circumstances of each violation.
Readiness for ALL Students
We all learn in a variety of ways. Students should be able to demonstrate readiness in a variety of ways.
-----------------------------------------------------
Below are several resources that highlight the opportunities we offer ALL students. WE truly are a small school with BIG Opportunities!
- Did you know that every student at C-A HS can have one early college course paid for in full by the district? The reduced tuition rates for all college courses allows many students to graduate with over 20 credits. Many of our alum are able to enter college as sophomores or graduate from a college a semester early saving thousands of dollars.
- Our parternship with Questar III BOCES provides 23 offerings in career technical education pathways. Our students who complete these programs are ready to enter the workforce in a varirty of occupations and fields.
We believe ALL students CAn be life, career and college ready when they graduate from C-A. I very muhc apprecait the collaborative work taking place in all classrooms to ensure ALL students are self-directed and prepared to succeed in our global society.
LINKS -Establishing our What and How
Each annual plan it aimed at making progress towards achieving our 3-year district wide performance goals. The most recent goals were set last summer to be achieved by 2025. These 3-year goals are aligned to our 2030 DESTINATION - a set of four possibilities we want to become reality by 2030.
Our LINKS Team Page will include notes from our quarterly meetings so that you can stay up to date on our collective work. Reach out to a LINKS member if you have questions or ideas-- or talk with your principal about being part of the LINKS team.
Coxsackie-Athens Central Schools
Email: squierr@cacsd.org
Website: www.cacsd.org
Location: 24 Sunset Boulevard, Coxsackie, NY, USA
Phone: 518-731-1700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100043677108930&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Twitter: @coxathschools
