MACON, Ga. — September is Attendance Awareness Month, and on Monday, Bibb County school leaders discussed the issues of truancy and academic performance.
Bibb County educators, school councilors and staff members talked with other schools about student absences and ways to keep kids engaged in the classroom. They brainstormed ideas and better methods for attendance accountability.
Assistant Superintendent of Student Affairs Jamie Cassady was there along with Superintendent Dan Sims and Instructional Supervisor Takeysha Lewis. They provided absence data trends and talk about best practices to implement in schools.
"Even Pre-K and kindergarten is very important," Cassady said. "It's about culture and climate. Creating a positive culture and climate so when students come to school, they have a great experience and that's what we want to do as adults in the building every day."
Counselors and administrators talked about implementing "Breakthrough teams", where schools would identify 20 to 25 students who are consistently absent and they would take these students and put their efforts towards increasing their attendance.
Bruce Elementary School counselor Sharnell Harris says that getting kids invested in attending class is really important.
"I know attendance issues in elementary school typically start with the parents," Harris said. "These kids can't wake themselves up, they don't drive if they're not in a bus zone like somebody has to get them to the bus, but if we make these kids excited about it and they're like 'I don't want to miss my treat or my reward', they may have to hound their parents to bring them in."
In the 2022 school year, the state says 30% of Bibb County students missed 15 or more days. The state calls anything over 15% unacceptable.