Principal Brian Jones: Why It’s Important to Address Student Attendance Issues at an Early Stage
Former principal Brian Jones has seen the benefits of improving student attendance. He was the principal at an elementary school located in Baltimore City Public Schools; a low performing school were a number of students regularly missed classes. For the eight years he worked there, Jones helped keep the attendance rate above the state approval target.
Jones' efforts are replicated across the nation by many other institutions that acknowledge a simple educational fact: students have to attend class to learn. That's why it's important to address any absences, especially in young students, at an early age. Schools and communities have little choice but to work together to ensure children attend class consistently.
Schools serve an important role in a child's growth and development. They are the gateways for more opportunity, and keeping a child in school greatly increases their chances of realizing these opportunities. In their elementary years, children gain the necessary academic and social skills required to achieve academic success. By the third grade, students are expected to have attained these vital skills; otherwise, they need extra effort to catch up.
Children who are consistently absent have been shown to perform poorly in aspects such as reading, math and general knowledge. Attending class, especially in early years, is critical for children who come from low-income families that likely lack the resources to help children catch up for on missed classes.
School attendance rates are a useful marker of the degree to which educational institutions, families and the community is working to address the needs of students. Chronic absence reduces when these parties actively collaborate to address the issues that contribute to absences.
Principal Brian Jones's mission as an educational leader is to ensure highquality education is provided to all students.