Burbank Unified School District Office of the Superintendent
REPORT TO THE BOARD TO:
Members of the Board of Education
FROM:
Matt Hill, Superintendent
PREPARED BY:
Kimberley Clark, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
SUBMITTED BY:
Kimberley Clark, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
DATE:
August 17, 2017
SUBJECT:
Adoption of Resolution 4 – Proclaiming the Month of September 2017 as Attendance Awareness Month
Background: An awareness campaign about the importance of attendance has been recognized by many school districts throughout the country by proclaiming the month of September as “Attendance Awareness Month.” Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways to prepare students for success— both in school and in life. Good attendance helps students earn better grades, develop healthy life habits, avoid dangerous behavior, ensure graduation from high school. Discussion/Issues: Making regular school attendance a priority involves a joint effort on the part of parents, students, and teachers. For parents, it is important to determine the reasons for student absences—both physical and emotional—and to take advantage of support services that the District and wider community have to offer. These resources include confidential counseling services, free literacy tutoring offered by the Burbank Public Library, and afterschool activities. The Burbank Unified School District’s Board of Education wishes to adopt the formal resolution that follows to bring a greater awareness of the importance of attendance. By proclaiming September 2017 as “Attendance Awareness Month,” the District wishes to encourage all of our stakeholders to reinforce for our students the importance of regular school attendance. District-Wide Goals: 7. Create a positive school climate by maintaining a safe environment and developing a sense of belonging for all students and staff. Fiscal Impact: Each student absence results in a loss to the District in funding of $47.29 per day. Recommendation: Matt Hill, Superintendent, recommends that the Board of Education adopt Resolution 4 proclaiming the month of September 2017 as Attendance Awareness Month, as presented.
BURBANK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 2017-2018 - RESOLUTION NO. 4 PROCLAIMING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2017 AS ATTENDANCE AWARENESS MONTH
WHEREAS the Burbank Unified School District Board values and recognizes positive school attendance as a critical element for student success; and WHEREAS good school attendance is essential to pupil achievement and graduation, and systemic approaches are needed to reduce chronic absenteeism rates, with a focus starting as early as kindergarten; and WHEREAS chronic absenteeism, defined as a student missing 10 percent of the school year or about 18 days a year, is one of the strongest indicators of future dropout; and WHEREAS nationwide, one out of every ten students in kindergarten and first grade are chronically absent; and WHEREAS chronic absenteeism in kindergarten predicts low academic achievement in later grades with research demonstrating that students chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade; and WHEREAS 75 percent of students who are chronically absent in sixth grade will drop out of high school; and WHEREAS California enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which encourages school districts to track and establish goals and specific actions for reducing chronic absence; and WHEREAS increasing school attendance requires community-wide involvement and begins with an awareness of the cumulative negative effects of chronic absence on academic and social success; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Burbank Unified School District hereby declares the month of September 2017 as Attendance Awareness Month and supports activities to increase awareness of the importance of daily attendance, especially in the early grades of PreK-3. I HEREBY CERTIFY that Resolution No. 4 was approved and adopted by the Board of Education of the Burbank Unified School District at a regular meeting held on the 17th day of August, 2017. Ayes: Noes: Abstain: Absent: ___________________________________ Dr. Armond Aghakhanian, Clerk Board of Education