The Blue Valley Schools Podcast

BV Unmuted: Why Attendance Matters

• Dr. Tonya Merrigan & District Staff

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Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on school attendance. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by principals Leah Vomhof, Stacey Sperry and Dr. Cory Cox to discuss the why attendance matters.

#BVTogether

BV Unmuted Intro:

I think the beauty about our community in the Blue Valley School District is that we can all work together. You're really always just looking forward to just go back to school, just to see the pride that people have in Blue Valley School District year after year. Is so much fun to watch. You can't find this anywhere else. I am so thankful We live where we live and can have our children in the Blue Valley school systems.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Hello, Blue Valley community. My name is Tonya Merrigan, and I am the proud superintendent of the Blue Valley School District, and I want to welcome you to another edition of The Blue Valley podcast. Unmuted today we are going to tackle a conversation that has really resonated in our schools in the last couple of years, and that is one around student attendance and the social and academic success that that brings for students. And joining me in this conversation are three of our amazing building administrators. I have Stacy Sperry, who is the principal at Prairie Star Elementary, Dr. Cory Cox, who is the assistant principal at Blue Valley North, and Leah Vomhofoff, who is the principal at Blue Valley Northwest. So I want to welcome all three of my guests to this podcast. Thank you for having me. Thank you so Stacy. I'm going to start with you. What trends do you or have you noticed regarding attendance at the elementary level?

Stacey Sperry:

I think we've seen a higher increase of little ones missing school. I think they're like, oh, it's gonna hurt or, Oh, it's first grade. It's okay to miss. But the impact that that has so we've really just having some crucial conversations with families, and we notice a trend of them being gone, why it's so important to be at school, and if there are things that we can do to help them, because a lot of times, there's a underlying cause that I want to help so they're here every day to learn and grow. Corey, what are you seeing at the high school level?

Dr. Cory Cox:

Really, I think since the pandemic, it's been school is is optional, and I need to I can access everything online, so if I get my work done, then that should be good enough. But we all know that there's more to school than just the completion of work. It's building resiliency, it's time management, it's collaboration with peers, and so we've really tried to stress that with our students of building on the process of school and not just the final grade that you get on a project, because that process is what's going to prepare you for life when you leave here. And we try and be diligent when we're talking to parents about this is not punitive. We We want what's best for your students when they leave our buildings, and this is part of it, and those personal conversations, I think, have gone a long way with our parents and our students.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Yeah, absolutely. So. Leah, what are you seeing at your school?

Leah Vomhof:

I think, like Dr Cox, we see similar concerns, where sometimes students think that they can just do their work on Canvas, or there's something bigger going on that we don't know about, and sometimes then it's just like students are skipping. And so we have to kind of think about those in three buckets, and how do we support students? And have those conversations in different ways to figure out what supports are needed. One of Blue Valley Northwest goals is student belonging and connectedness. And I think what I always tell parents is we can't help your student if they're not here, and that being at school helps them, number one, just feel connected to our school community, but then going into the classroom and having that relationship with their teacher and with their classmates cannot be replicated online. And if they're not there and they're just turning in work online. They're missing whole element of the classroom with little questions that people ask, that the teacher clarifies, or really interesting discussion that comes up because of some of the learning that was planned.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Right.

Leah Vomhof:

And that just can't be replicated online. And we're we're a brick and mortar school, and we take a lot of pride in the work that we do in our classrooms once and with students there.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Yeah, so Stacey, think about the elementary level and when, when kiddos miss school for various reasons. What impact does that have on their academic performance and just kind of their overall feeling about school?

Stacey Sperry:

Yeah, I think it's a deep level. Worksheet doesn't equate learning. And so that is that community of learners together. And I often say what I'm working with on these situations like attend today so you can achieve tomorrow. The research is clear that if you miss 10% of kindergarten and first grade, the reading ability by third grade, we have to work twice as hard to be proficient, and that just continues to scaffold up. So we really work hard in creating a culture that the kids want to be here like we do wish you wells and so their name is on the board when they come back, we have teachers reach out if it's an extended. Period, but just understanding that we can send work home, but that does not equate to learning, and that we miss them, that

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

You miss them. I love that because you really do.

Stacey Sperry:

We really do.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

So Dr. Cox, talk to us about your former counselor, just like my background, and we've always had students who have had some school avoidance concerns, and how does that play into this? And what are some things that you would suggest to parents if they're listening to this and not really sure what to do for their student?

Dr. Cory Cox:

Yeah, I think you know, school avoidance, if you're gone for an extended period of time, it just compounds, and itincreases that anxiety. And one thing we've tried to do is maybe stair step a student back in who if they're struggling with attendance and they're not coming to school at all, having a conversation with the student using zoom, getting the parents involved, but really involving that student in the plan. Because the adults, we can come up with the greatest plan in the world, but the student's not going to see it that way if they don't have any say in it. So getting them on your side and applying what school is preparing them for to what they're interested in outside, because I see a lot of kids who struggle coming to school but thrive in their job community, and they have a passion for graphic design, and they work on it at their job placement, but just physically walking into the building is challenging for them, so making them a part of that plan, maybe getting them in for one to three classes one day, and then three or four the next, and then fully that are in a full schedule. And really that's what I've seen have a lot of success with kids, because we're celebrating those small victories. And they may be great academically, but their biggest accomplishment is walking into that building that day. We have great teachers, we have great support staff, we have great counselors that can really work with students, but we just got to get them in that building and a part of that conversation.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

I think that is a great message. We have great people in every single one of our buildings. Every single one of our buildings has a mental health support team of a counselor, a social worker, a school psychologist, caring administrators, and if we can just get the student in school, we can connect them.

Stacey Sperry:

I don't jump in real quick. Absolutely, we have had students that have, like, a shortened schedule because of the school avoidance, and nine times out of 10, once we get them there, they don't leave early. So, you know, their tummy hurts, the belly hurts. I'm like, okay, they can take a little snooze in the nurse's office, but typically, once they're in the building, it's like a three minute check and then they're back to class. It, but you're 100% right. It's just getting them in the door, but just working with us, just having those conversations and being open to talk about it.

Dr. Cory Cox:

You know, we have a program Sources of Strength, where the students who have struggled with school have lack of a better term become leaders in that group, because they have a story of resiliency and overcoming, something that they can help guide students and say, Don't make the same mistakes I did. I'm here to support you, and it's really cool to see peers helping other peers. And that's I think that's why we got into education, to see kids helping each other and just being better people.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

That is a great example. Great example. Leah, you know, it's not just students who are affected if they're if they're absent. There's a component of this that really affects our teachers and other educators in the building. So when students are absent, how does that affect a teacher?

Leah Vomhof:

So I actually do bring that up in those conversations about attendance. Number one, our teachers and students in those classrooms notice when their classmates and students are gone. And so number one, I do, I know there's a level of worry and concern when a student misses multiple days in a row, and if there's not any communication, then you know, sometimes, like, we send an email to just check in. But then if it continues to snowball and there's multiple days missed, that's a lot of work that on the teacher to help that student get caught up when they come back. And it's not that our teachers don't want to put that work in, but if you have four or five students with some long term absences, there's only so much academic support time built into the day or after school days, and our teachers already work so hard in their normal kind of workflow and systems. And it's, again, it's not that they don't want to help students, but it it compounds when you have four or five days missed in a row because you just a teacher can't replicate what happens in the class, like they can't sit there and do a full like 20 minute lecture or replicate a classroom discussion, so they try to explain a lot verbally, give them like missing worksheets or or course classwork that they did. But I think then they also worry about that the skills and the knowledge that the student has missed while they've been. Gone, because, again, there's only so much that can be had in those AST conversations or after school conversations, and I always want to make sure people understand that it really does impact a teacher in a classroom when, when that student is gone for multiple reasons, there's that worry, but there's also a lot of kind of work required of the teacher to catch up students, and it's not, you know, there's usually multiple students involved in different days missed, and the paperwork that that requires. And again, our staff are not unwilling to do that, but I don't think people think about the work on the other end that that requires.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Right.What about at the elementary level, Stacey?

Stacey Sperry:

It's a lot of work to help them get caught up, because the times that the staff during the school day would have to work with them is during preferred activities, recess, specials, lunch and so then we're trying to figure out, like, how we make sure that they have the knowledge that they understand, but when they were gone during the limited time that we have. So it isn't as easy as like log on to Canvas or look at the seesaw activity. It's making sure that the teachers understand exactly where they are so we can guide next steps.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Yeah, absolutely. So Cory, we know we have these students who are struggling with attendance, and I know that every single one of our schools have support systems in place to really help identify the students who have those issues and then to actually help those students. Can you talk to me a little bit about what North does around that?

Dr. Cory Cox:

We have we have intervention classes, we have a counselor assigned with every administrator in our building, and we work in tandem of, you know, communication with teachers and what are you seeing when the student is here? Are we noticing a pattern of, are they missing the afternoon classes? Are they missing the morning classes? Overall, communication with parents, email, phone calls. I think our team does a really good job of being proactive in these approaches, even when we're issuing consequences for tardies, we've come up with a it's very simple. If you have three tardies to a class, you get a 30 minute detention. But in giving that detention, the teacher is having a conversation with the kids of I'm not doing that. I just, I need you here, because the first 10 minutes class, we are covering this amount. So it's not your detention. You're a bad kid. It is. I want you in my class. And then we work through that. If we notice kids are continue, continuously missing first hour, then we're working as a team and bringing in other people again, bringing the student in, what is, what's the issue with this one class specifically, and trying to show them how this plan that we're putting in place is just for you, and it's so that you're successful here and you enjoy coming to school. I worry that our kids, when we issue consequences, view it as I'm a bad student, and that's not the case. It's we are preparing you for life when you leave here and you got to be somewhere at a certain time, and it's accountability, and we're always going to work with you. We just, we got to see you so we can work with you.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

You just want them there.

Dr. Cory Cox:

Yeah, we just want them there.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Right. What about elementary Stacey? Are there supports in place that you can think of that our elementary schools do?

Stacey Sperry:

Yes, I think me personally, I like I work with my mental health team, whether it's social worker or counselor. A lot of times we have released to talk to like outside therapist services as well, just helping us make sure we understand the whole child and how we can best support them, and just getting them in the door. If you ever come to Prairie Star and you see our drop off line at the end, when our parents are coming in, the kiddos that might be considered in, quote, tardy, they're running in the building because they want to be there. So we've waffled the leadership team going back and forth on consequences, because it's typically not a lot of times in my students control, although I've had a lot of great conversations with parents where it is and then, you know, I direct that more at the child that conversation, but just yeah, it every case is unique, but just a lot of with my social worker and counselor, classroom teacher, just wrapping around the child to get them there.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Yeah. So, Leah, you know, we've talked a little bit about what you all do, what parents can do. But what can we do to help students kind of take ownership for their own attendance and encourage them to be there?

Leah Vomhof:

So, I think we can start with why it's important, like building in that relevancy for it's not just like an arbitrary start time, but everything that you do in life has a start time. And why is this important? And how are we building these skills for, like, the long term, but then also holding them accountable. I think that that's part of our our job is to have the conversation explain why, try to build in that relevancy. But then, if there's multiple days that they're late to school, or multiple days that they're unexcused absent that we have to have some accountability there, because we know that, like long term, there are going to be like consequences to not consistently showing up for work or being late for work multiple times, and you feel like we're doing them a disservice if we don't try to build those pieces in. But I also think like that sounds like there's also this part of like, the social, emotional side of the student that we need to know about if there's an individual situation going on that's preventing them from getting to school on time. So if they could communicate with a trusted adult at school for what the struggle is, it could be their counselor, it could be our social worker. Could be our school nurse. It could be a teacher, an administrator. Like, what is the barrier? Is it like, you know, we don't have a working car right now, or like, I have to take my siblings to school. What is it then that barriers that our staff can then help them remove, to try to get them to school on time, or to school in general. I think a lot of a lot of what we need from students and parents is just that communication so we know how to help. And sometimes I think students are worried about communicating, because they're worried there's just going to be a consequence, but like, I just want them to know, like, yeah, we have to have some knowledge of what's going on, and we're not just going to assign a detention without asking questions and engaging in that conversation. And so communication is really critical in helping us support some of those individual situations that

Dr. Cory Cox:

That fear of the unknown and like, them building it up in their head is always 20 times worse than what an actual conversation is going to be, and it's usually an easy fix, and they're so relieved after that conversation.

Stacey Sperry:

Yeah, I think back to the middle school days, like how much strategic scheduling we did for students that we knew had a history of maybe not wanting to come to school of whether it was a favorite subject, teacher, special, I'm sorry, electives in the middle school, not specials, helping them. So there's a lot that we even do behind the scenes to help once they have communicated with us that we know there's ways to support them

Leah Vomhof:

For sure, I think like scheduling, if math is like very anxiety inducing. We won't put math first hour or if they know that they need just a break, if that anxiety starts to come up, we have fast passes to our counselors like but we just need to know what they need to help them create that best schedule or that best strategy if they can just come to school. It's so much easier to help them there than not knowing and them not being at school.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

So we've been talking a lot about how important it is for students to be at school, and how much we want our parents to help get them to school. Does this mean that we want kids to come to school when they're sick? No,

Dr. Cory Cox:

No, never.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

I just had to ask that question, because I want to make sure that that we're sending the right message to parents listening to this, or students listening to this. This doesn't mean that when you're home with a fever that you need to come to school. We want you to continue to take care of yourself and not come when you're sick. So to wind this up, Stacy, what any final thoughts on what students or families can do to really improve student attendance and support their students.

Stacey Sperry:

I think just long term planning and thinking like it might not seem like a big deal to like, take a couple days here and a couple days there, but knowing that it does affect over time and that we are here to help them, and we want them at school, learning and growing, because we do really notice when they're gone and we miss them, and we want to help them just be their best selves, and the only way we can do that is that they come to school.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Awesome. What about you? Dr Cox?

Dr. Cory Cox:

Just we have a lot of great educators. We have a lot of great students, and I think that's what makes Blue Valleysuch a great place, is everyone is in it for the right reasons, and the way that our students benefit from that is bycoming to school and working with our professionals that we have so we will do whatever we can, and we look forward to seeing them in our buildings.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

What about you, Mrs. Vomhof?

Leah Vomhof:

I think if a parent starts to notice that their student is starting to have like a stomach ache or not wanting to get out of bed, what is there an underlying cause in addressing it with our school sooner rather than later, where it's snowballed and come like, where it feels like a much bigger issue, if we don't know, we can't help. And so if a parent is noticing some of those signs early on, please let us know, and let us engage in the process with that family.

Dr. Tonya Merrigan:

Well, I want to end this by just saying that we have 40 school buildings or programs in the Blue Valley School District, and I know that every single one of them have caring adults who want to work with students and families. So I would just want to encourage any parent or student listening to this who wants some help with attendance or has concerns or questions to reach out to those administrators or mental health professionals within their buildings, because we want you in school. It is important that you are in school every single chance that you can get. So Blue Valley community, thank you for listening to us today. We appreciate your time, and we hope everybody has a great day.