Greetings Cradlerock Families,
Research is clear that showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic and social success, starting from kindergarten and continuing through high school. Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school, or even facing social challenges.
- Missing 10% (or about 18 days of a school year) can drastically affect a student’s academic success.
- By the 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that can indicate if a student is at risk for dropping out of high school.
- In the 9th grade, regular and high attendance predicts graduation rates better than 8th grade test scores.
Student attendance is also a major point of focus for the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, MSDE lowered the chronic absenteeism rate from 20% to 10%, meaning that at 10%, a student should receive support and interventions to improve their absenteeism.
HCPSS believes that attendance is key to student success. Maryland's attendance rate represents the average daily attendance rate of students in grades 1-12, including special education students. The state's proficient standard for attendance rate is 94%, and the advanced standard is 96%."
In support of achieving Exemplary Attendance for all students, we are sharing with you a comprehensive approach to attendance supports and interventions.
- If a student has missed 5% of their monthly attendance days (as few as 1-2 days a month), parents/guardians will receive a Care and Concern Phone Call and letter from their school. This step will allow staff members to coordinate with families to determine how the student can be supported for better attendance.
- If a student has missed 10% of their monthly attendance days (this is defined as chronic absenteeism by MSDE), parents/guardians will receive a 10% Chronic Absenteeism Attendance Letter. Parents/guardians and students may be scheduled for an attendance conference. Other interventions and supports may also be used in an effort to assist the student.
- If a student has missed 15% of their monthly attendance days, in addition to the interventions and supports at 5% and 10%, these students may require an attendance support plan. Students may also be referred to the Central Attendance Team.
- If a student has missed 20% of their monthly attendance days, parents/guardians will receive a 20% Emergency Chronic Absenteeism Letter or Habitual Truancy Letter. Students may be referred to Project Attend and/or the State’s Attorney’s Office for habitual truancy.
With the collaborative effort of HCPSS parents/guardians, staff, and students, we are confident that all students can have successful attendance. This will improve student success in school and future life.
Here is a snapshot of our current attendance data here at The Rock…
- Overall CRES Attendance: 94.7%
- Percentage of Students Meeting MSDE Chronically Absent Rate: 13.9%
- Overall Percentage of Students Tardy Daily: 3.2%
- Our current attendance rates across grade levels…
- Pre-Kindergarten: 90.4%
- Kindergarten: 93.9%
- First Grade: 94.2%
- Second Grade: 94.8%
- Third Grade: 95.5%
- Fourth Grade: 94.8%
- Fifth Grade: 96.2%
We want our Bulldogs here with us learning and growing every day! Thank you for your efforts and partnership in getting your child to school at 8:30 daily when healthy. Please review the information in our NEW NEWS section regarding our School-based Wellness Center which can support students' consistent attendance and reach out to me personally at dnotari@hcpss.org if our school team can do anything to support your child’s consistent and on-time attendance, social-emotional well-being, or academic growth. Thank you for reading this long, but important, message and have a great weekend, Cradlerock!
With Bulldog Pride,
Dan Notari
Cradlerock Principal