Kindergarten is a critical time for children transitioning from home to school life. During this time, students learn fundamentals that help them become successful in grades ahead. But that can't happen if kids don't go to school and educators say excessive absences are a problem that impacts both students and schools.
Pineview Elementary School Principal Carmen Conner has worked hard to raise her school's grade. When she came to Pineview, the school was rated an "F" school by the state. Today, it's a "C". Much of that improvement is due to Conner focusing on attendance, mainly in Kindergarten.
“I don’t think there is a value placed on the importance of kindergarten,” Conner says.
In Florida, children who are at least 6-years-old on, or before February 1st must attend school regularly according to the Florida statute 1003.21. This can be done through private school, public school, virtual school or home schooling.
But student attendance isn’t consistent at many schools, and educators say being absent and/or tardy hinders a student’s learning and makes it harder for them to catch up to their peers.
"Let's say they're 30 minutes late. If I'm 30 minutes late every day in a week, that means I missed 150 minutes of instruction," explains Oakridge Principal Jasmine Smith. That time adds up.
"If I multiply that time...times 180 days of school, for some children, [they] didn't even need to come to school for the first month or so."
That's a loss of valuable teaching time and leads to learning gaps. Students fall further behind. Absenteeism also has a correlation to school performance.
In Leon county, nearly 2,800 kindergarteners were absent from school during the 2017-2018 academic school year. That's about 30,000 missed days between them. That year, Pineview, Oakridge and Bond Elementary schools all received a school letter grade of a "D" or below. Each of those schools saw a high rate of absences from kindergarteners during that time, according to data from the Leon County School District.
On the other hand, schools like Gilchrist, Roberts and Hawks Rise Elementary schools had lower rates of absences and earned a school grades of "A".
Teachers and school officials say when it is raining, a little chilly, or even when kids have a small cough, some parents elect to keep their kids home.
Pineview’s Conner says Monday and Friday are the most common days for absences, leaving teachers to try and cram as much as they can into three days.
“I tell my parents they have to be here. I know sometimes they have a little cold, but you cannot keep them home for a little cold,” says Sabal Palm kindergarten teacher Judy Volpe.
She's spent the past 30 years in education and says she always encourages parents to send their kids to school.
Volpe says today's Kindergarten is very different from what many parents experienced. Gone are the days of playing house and doing colors. Volpe says, "its not that kind of kindergarten anymore."
Today's five, and 6-year-olds are taught as if they are first-graders. They learn to read, formulate sentences using sight words and identify meanings of sight words according to the language arts Florida Standards.
Kindergarten is considered a foundation grade. By the time students enter the third grade, they are expected to perform well on stat standardized tests that will determine if they can keep going. A low school letter grade runs the risk of having a school shut down.
Many children spend most of their day in a classroom so the time at home is usually very short. Yet, teachers say in order for students to be successful learners, the work starts at home.
“The one thing I’m finding with the children now and day is that parents are not reading to them,” says Volpe.
She’s had to teach some of her students ow to look a book from the left page to the right, “and when I ask them how many of your mommyies and daddies read to you, I had three children raise their hands. And I was appalled. “
Absenteeism is an ongoing issue for many elementary schools. Kindergarteners tend to have the most missed days of any grade. Parents must be aware of the negative effects that their child could face if they miss too many school days. Education is an important factor in a child’s upbringing and going to school every day helps kids to retain the information better but it also teaches routine.
