DCSD Attendance

The "Attendance Guidebook 2024-2025" provides a comprehensive look into the importance of regular school attendance, emphasizing its critical role in children's academic, social, and emotional development. Here's a summary of its key contents:

1. Why Attendance Matters: The guidebook details how consistent attendance helps students develop essential skills and thrive academically. It points out that chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10% or more of school days, is linked to negative outcomes.

2. Current Challenges: It addresses the increase in chronic absenteeism post-pandemic, noting the profound impact on both individual students and school environments.

3. Role of Parents: Parents are encouraged to prioritize school attendance, establish routines, and communicate with schools to address and resolve attendance issues.

4. Talking Points and Roles: The guidebook provides specific talking points and roles for teachers, parents, community members, and athletic coaches, emphasizing the collective responsibility to promote attendance.

5. Colorado Attendance Laws and Policies: It outlines state laws and district policies regarding compulsory school attendance and truancy, specifying the legal framework that supports regular attendance.

6. A Comprehensive Approach: Strategies for improving attendance are discussed, including building strong foundational relationships at school, employing tiered response systems, and understanding the root causes of absenteeism.

7. Role of School Nurses: School nurses are highlighted as vital in promoting attendance by managing health-related issues.

8. Strategies and Best Practices: The guidebook mentions various effective strategies for improving attendance, such as relationship-based interventions, family connections, and continuous communication efforts.

Consider being proactive in communicating with families about attendance and scheduled school breaks. An example of messaging is below:

With the upcoming holiday breaks, we encourage you to plan family activities around our school calendar to ensure your child is present in school all day, every day. Each day of instruction is vital in helping our students meet their educational goals and maintain their learning progress. Make-up work does not fully help students recover from missed instruction, and due to the collaborative nature of learning, one student’s absence affects classmates’ progress.

Access the 2024-25 school year calendar to plan appointments and travel around the following breaks:

• December Break: Dec. 20, 2024 - Jan. 6, 2025

• January: January 17th and 20th

Note: Some schools may have their own calendars, so be sure to also check your child's school calendar for any important, school-specific dates.

• Chronically absent students benefit from digital instruction
• NPR: Video

• Scholastic Sponsors Attendance Awareness Campaign to Curb Chronic Absence

• IC Generated Attendance Letters

• Elementary Care and Concern Letters

• Elementary Exhibit A

• Secondary Exhibit A

• Exhibit B; All Levels

Email: lmdelapena@dcsdk12.org
Website: DCSD Attendance
Location: 373 Inverness Parkway, Englewood, CO, USA
Phone: 303-387-9636