Attendance Matters & Morning Meeting

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 11/19/2023 03:50 PM EST

We invite you to visit your child’s classroom to see how we start each day. Morning Meeting is an engaging way to build a strong sense of community and belonging and sets children up for success socially and academically. Each morning, students and teachers gather in a circle for twenty minutes and interact with one another during four purposeful components.

Grades K,1,3,4,5,and 6 join us in the library when you drop off your child. Your child will have an opportunity to unpack and get settled as you can enjoy coffee with classmate's parents. 

Grade 2 join us in the library at 9:45. You will join us after your child has specials first and then will have the opportunity to have coffee with parents in the library and then join your child in their morning meeting. 

Each grade has it's own designated date for you to join. Please save the following dates if you would like to join us. 

12/1- 3rd grade   
12/5 2nd grade   9:45-10:05
12/6- 1st grade 
12/11- 4th grade 
12/13 5th grade 
12/14- 6th grade 
12/15- Kindergarten 

 

Attendance Matters and Engagement

Chronic absenteeism — which is defined as a student missing 10% or more of school for any reason — is a concern across Virginia school districts. Although FCPS continues to outperform the state average in attendance rates, we are tracking chronic absenteeism closely and stressing the importance of attendance to students and parents while providing a multi-tiered system of intervention.

Attendance is critical for academic success. Data shows that:

  • Missing just 10% of school — just two days a month — negatively affects a student’s academic performance. 
  • Only 17% of students who were chronically absent in both kindergarten and first grade were reading proficiently in third grade, compared to 64% of those with good attendance.
  • Students who fail to read at grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely than students who achieve proficiency to drop out of high school.
  • By sixth grade, chronic absenteeism becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.

As we start the second quarter of the school year, let’s continue to stress the importance of strong attendance habits.