LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) - It may seem like a no brainer, but school attendance can be a trickier topic than you think. Jefferson County Public Schools is launching a new initiative to tackle it.
It announced the program Monday as part of Attendance Awareness Month. The district is encouraging students to miss no more than six days of school this year.
It made the announcement at Okolana Elementary, which the district named as the 2018 Attendance Champion School. JCPS calls the school an example of excellence.
"They go above and beyond to make sure that their students get their heads out of bed and go ahead and come to school,” JCPS Chief of Communications and Community Relations Renee Murphy said.
If you miss a day of school at Okolona, you'll get a call from Principal Karen Stearman. If it continues, you may even get a home visit.
"If a student misses because they miss the bus or their parents car won't start, we will go out and pick them up,” Okolona Elementary Principal Karen Stearman said.
Okolona has plenty of super scholars to choose from when it comes to perfect attendance.
"I really want to be a lawyer when I grow up, and I think that attendance would get me there,” fifth grader Deidreonna Anderson said.
"When I grow up, I want to be a paleontologist. To do that job, I have to be there every day, or I could get fired,” fifth grader Axel Labrada said.
That commitment to class hasn't always come so easy for Labrada, though. It's one he learned after missing 14 days of school in third grade.
"My son went from mom, my head hurts to no mom, we can't go on vacation while I'm in school. I want perfect attendance this year, and I will work really hard to get it,” Labrada’s mom, Ivy Santana, said.
The school celebrates that mindset year-round with attendance trophies and parties. Every day, classes with perfect attendance are recognized and the class with the best attendance at the end of each grading period gets a special trophy. Every student with perfect attendance at the end of that period gets a certificate, prize, and picture put on the school's perfect attendance board. There's also a big party at the end of the year.
"If students are not in school, we know they miss valuable instruction time we know can never be made up,” Stearman said.
JCPS said its research shows concerning trends when it comes to poor attendance. For third graders, they have a harder time mastering reading. Sixth graders can fail different subjects, and ninth graders may even drop out of school. Those statistics are ones the district wants to slash starting now.
"This is a call to all schools, all students, and to the community members to help make sure that we get kids here every day. We know that kids have to be here to be present to begin their first step into their journey of learning,” Murphy said.
The Grand Lodge of Kentucky is also partnering with Okolona this year. It's donating a bunch of bikes for the school to give out at the end of the year. Two students from each grade with perfect attendance will be chosen from a raffle. JCPS is also inviting parents, students, and schools to share their attendance success on social media using the hashtag #schooleveryday.