Addressing Chronic Absenteeism in VISD: A Community Approach to Boost Early Education

Chronic absenteeism among young students in VISD is a serious issue due to its potential impact on academic progress. A significant number of students aged 3, 4, and 5 miss around 10 percent of the school year. This is concerning as regular classroom engagement is key for developing reading and math skills.

Chronic absenteeism in early education can predict poor attendance in later grades. This underlines the need for promoting good attendance within VISD, especially in the early grades. In the first semester of this school year, about 500 of VISD's young learners missed 10% or more school days. This highlights the need to address this issue urgently.

A collaborative approach involving the district, families, and the community is needed to address this problem. The district is implementing initiatives to encourage regular school attendance. Resources are provided to parents to support their child's attendance, and additional support is offered to students facing attendance challenges.

Families are encouraged to prioritize school attendance, communicate absences, and ensure their child is prepared for school. VISD is committed to ensuring all students, particularly the young learners, have the opportunity to establish a strong educational foundation.

VISD has made the 2023-24 Attendance Data Dashboard available for real-time attendance data. This tool provides a comprehensive view of the attendance situation, helping stakeholders understand the problem and monitor the effectiveness of the measures implemented.

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