Attendance

Attendance Matters

The Link Between Attendance, Achievement, and Funding

Regular attendance is one of the most important factors contributing to student success. It also directly impacts the resources available to our schools. In California, public schools are funded on Average Daily Attendance (ADA), which means that a student must be physically present in class for the district to receive funding that day. Even a small improvement in attendance makes a big difference. Increasing average daily attendance by just 1% each year can bring approximately $1.5 million in additional funding to support our students, staff, and programs.

Here are a couple of common misconceptions about school funding and attendance:

• All absences, whether they are excused or unexcused, result in a loss of funding for our district.
• Attending school for even a partial day counts toward our ADA and allows us to claim funding for that day. 

This is not to suggest that every absence can, or should be avoided. Missing school when sick can help a student recover faster and prevents illness from spreading to others.

 

Supporting Attendance

The district shall abide by all State attendance laws and use any legal means to correct the problems of excessive absence or truancy. The responsibility for school attendance must be shared by the Board, students, parents/guardians, teachers, and school administrators. The Board recognizes its responsibility under the law to ensure that students attend school on a regular basis.

Our district invests in Child Welfare and Attendance staff who support families at schools and throughout the District. We encourage families to contact their children's school whenever they have questions about attendance or would like support.