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’s 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’s rating.

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

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

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.

“Lots 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,” 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’ll stop in the hallway to celebrate classes with perfect attendance, and sometimes, the school’s mascot, Drake the Dragon, joins the celebration.

“It’s all about our love and support that everybody gives each other at this school,” Ryan said. “And it’s spiraling — the kids know that they’re important to us, and we’re important to them.”

The pandemic changed families’ 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’t want to return the following day.

“So how can we support you at school when you get here to make sure your day is better?” Ryan said. “Meeting those social-emotional needs are very important, as well as our basic needs.”

School leaders have stressed the importance of scheduling doctor’s appointments, if they have to during the day, during lunch and recess, because “every minute does count,” 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.

“Connecting 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,” Ryan said.

It’s not just important for students to be in class, Gadley said, but “it’s learning that we want our students to attend.” 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, “‘Don’t worry, they’re at a doctor’s appointment and they’re coming in late,’” she said.

In the school’s front office, under a banner that says “Attendance Matters,” every grade level’s attendance percentage regularly gets updated. Next to it, on a small whiteboard, is the school’s 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.

“We 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,” Gadley said.