Dallas ISD has launched a perfect attendance challenge amid staggeringly low attendance rates among Texas students across the state.
The district is holding a month-long perfect attendance competition led by its Graduation, Recovery, Attendance/Advocacy, and Dropout Intervention Department (GRAAD).
The competition is meant to motivate students to be present and engaged from the very first day of school.
Students with perfect attendance through August 30 will be automatically entered into a raffle for a chance to win a prize. One student will be selected from each school board trustee’s district.
“We must encourage students to be present in school because instruction begins on the first day. Social and emotional connections begin to be made between students, their friends, school staff, and the entire school community on the first days of school,” Marcia Williams, director of the GRAAD Department, said in a news release.
“Being present every day also sets students up for success because it begins the good practice for attendance and how they will attend school for the rest of the year,” she said.
State law requires Texas students ages 6-19 to attend school each day that instruction is provided, per the GRAAD Department. However, student absences are increasing at a concerningly fast rate.
A new study showed that one in five students in Texas was classified as chronically absent during the 2022-2023 school year, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Students are considered chronically absent if they miss at least 10% of the school year, according to the analysis conducted by the Associated Press in collaboration with Stanford University economist Thomas Dee.
Student absenteeism has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 lockdowns. Before the pandemic, 11% of students were chronically absent. Now, that share has risen to 20%.
In the 2021-2022 school year, Dallas ISD reported a chronic absenteeism rate of nearly 28%. The troubled district has been struggling for years, with only 41% of its students scoring at grade level on their STAAR exams that term. Additionally, almost 20% of the graduating Class of 2022 failed to earn a diploma in four years despite the hard work of the system’s dedicated teachers.
Chronic absenteeism is linked to higher risks of illiteracy and dropping out. Absentee students also miss out on vital services such as meals and school counseling.