NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Going door-to-door, New Haven Public Schools wants families to know students need to be in school.
"Our numbers were unusually high compared to previous years and so this year we are committed to doubling down and letting our families know particularly in kindergarten and 9th grade that attendance is critical," said Gemma Joseph Lumpkin, chief of youth, family, and community engagement for NHPS.
So before school starts on August 29th, school and city leaders will be canvassing neighborhoods speaking to students and parents about why it's so important they come to class.
"It is vital that we get our kids into school. For very obvious reasons, academic performance but also because in schools often times adults can provide other kinds of resources. Social workers, or guidance counselors making sure kids have all the kind of support they need," said Mayor Justin Elicker.
Support that's provided by people like Jose Camacho, a community care coordinator. When a student is need, he works with the entire family to help.
This week, his job is to make sure families understand what chronic absenteeism is.
"Chronic absenteeism is that you've missed 10% of the school year up until the actual day. So I'll give you an example if we're at day 100, and you've missed 10 days, you're chronically absent," Camacho said.
As well as what can happen if a student is chronically absent.
"Statistics show that students chronically absent in the earlier years are more likely not to finish high school," Camacho said.
The goal is to get kids to be excited about going to school. Staff handed out bags with supplies and books during the canvass but officials said parents play a big role too.
"It's a part of our job as parents to make sure that our students get ready for school that's part of what we have to do," Joseph Lumpkin said. "If we're not excited about school it's gonna be really hard for our students to be excited," she said.
The focus of the canvass is on kindergarten and ninth-grade students because officials said research shows those groups are more vulnerable to lower attendance rates.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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