Wicomico officials support Attendance Awareness Month

As students across Delmarva settle into a new school year, educators are urging parents to keep their attendance up.

September is Attendance Awareness Month.

Research finds if children miss more than ten percent of the school year, or about 18 days, it could negatively affect their academic performance.

Mark Thompson, coordinator for Mentoring and Community Services at Wicomico County Public Schools, says it could also hurt teachers as they’ll spend time catching that student up.

Thompson tells 47ABC parents should try to avoid taking their kids out of class, even if it’s excused.

“We want to stress to parents…try to get doctors’ appointments later in the afternoon or days off. Even though it’s excused, they’re still missing critical work in the school system,” he explains.

AttendanceWorks.org reports low income students are four times more likely to be chronically absent. Reasons can be out of their control, such as unstable housing or unreliable transportation.

School officials say if this a concern, its best to contact the school directly and find a way to work through the situation together.