Every Day Counts! Attend Today, Achieve for a Lifetime
September is attendance awareness month. Berkeley Unified School District Student Services, Office of Family Engagement & Equity, and the City of Berkeley’s School Linked Health Services have teamed up to celebrate and encourage good school attendance.
An attendance celebration at Berkeley High School took place on September 14. Upon arrival at school, students were welcomed to school by BHS Attendance Dean Heidi Weber, district administrators, parent liaisons, and parent volunteers. There were balloons, buttons, treats, and encouragement of students to attend school every day. Elementary and Middle School celebrations will take place in the upcoming weeks.
Every day of the school year counts! This is the message that BUSD is sending to our students and families. When children miss school for any reason, they lose academic instruction time that affects their learning. Research shows that students with good school attendance are more likely to do well in school, graduate from high school, and find jobs later in life.
There are many obstacles that get in the way of good attendance. Staff of the Office of Family Engagement and Equity (OFEE) and BHS Parent Liaisons are reaching out to families to help remove barriers that might impede academic achievement. We want parents to know that there are many resources in the community to help if they are facing tough challenges related to access to health care, unstable housing, poor transportation or lack of food.
Families having a hard time getting their children to school on time and have children who are often ill should feel free to contact the Office of Family Engagement and Equity @ 510-644-8991, or other school staff. We have many resources that may be helpful.
For some families, OFEE site coordinators can help to arrange BUSD transportation for their children, and school attendance improves. For others, multiple issues such as transportation, and health impede children’s attendance. BUSD partners with the City of Berkeley’s Office Public Health to assist these families with getting appropriate medical support, clarifying when children should attend school, and making sure that the appropriate treatments/supports are in place at the child’s school.
We invite and encourage everyone to get on board with our attendance focus because – Every Day Counts!