Attendance
We know that students who miss even a few days of school each month are at far greater risk of academic failure and dropout than students who attend school regularly.
Getting into the habit of daily attendance is more important than ever. Regular attendance helps to:
- reduce stress
- make it easier to connect with friends and teachers
- support learning
MHASD is working to make our school environment a place where everyone can be safe, healthy, and learning. We will do our best to listen and partner with you so that our children have a successful year.
We have included a visual below that will help you keep track of your child’s absences from school. We will also monitor each student’s attendance across the year so we can work with families when the number of absences puts a student at risk. We will be happy to work with you to help your child attend school regularly and have greater opportunities for success!
Help Your Child Develop Healthy Habits
Tips for Improving Your Child’s (age 6–13) Sleep and Reducing Absenteeism
Did you know that your child needs 9–11 hours of sleep a night? Inadequate sleep can lead to:
- Mood swings
- Behavioral problems
- Exacerbating symptoms of ADHD or misdiagnosis of ADHD
- Problems learning
- Illness
- And other problems at school and personally
Here are some tips to help your child get the sleep they need (Information drawn from the National Sleep Foundation and Centers for Disease Control):
- Minimize activities involving bright lights, excitement, or stress in the hour before bedtime. Minimize activities such as:
- Exercise
- Video games
- Cell phones
- Television: watching TV close to bedtime has been associated with bedtime resistance, difficulty falling asleep, anxiety around sleep, and sleeping fewer hours
- Restrict cell phones and other electronics from your child’s bedroom during sleeping hours. For example, have a charging station in your room where all electronics charge at night.
- Keep a regular and consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine, even on weekends.
- Make your child’s bedroom conducive to sleep—dark, cool, and quiet.
- Avoid your child having caffeine during any time of the day.
- Avoid your child having large meals before bedtime.
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Additional Attendance Resources:
Is your child missing school due to anxiety?
School Refusal: When a child won’t go to school
When Kids Refuse to Go to School
10 Tips to get your child to school on time
Attendance Matters! - Information for Elementary Parents
Attendance Matters! - Information for Secondary Parents
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