AHPS Announces Local Efforts to Celebrate the Attendance Awareness Campaign Alleghany Highlands Public Schools pledges to engage community, families, and students in concerted effort to reduce chronic absenteeism   Low Moor, VA (Sept. 21, 2023) - Alleghany Highlands Public Schools has joined a nationwide effort to celebrate the Attendance Awareness Campaign in September. AHPS has pledged focus on reducing chronic absenteeism in the new school year. “AHPS recognizes that good attendance is essential to academic success. But far too many students are at risk academically because they are chronically absent. Chronic absence is described as missing 10 percent of the school year—or about 18 days— for any reason,” said Cindy Fox, AHPS supervisor of customized learning. Chronic absenteeism has been an issue across the country as schools attempt to recover from the effects of the pandemic and get students back into the classroom. Federal data from the 2021-2022 school year shows that more than 70 percent of schools saw increases in chronic student absenteeism since the onset of the pandemic. In Virginia, about 27 percent of schools had a chronic absenteeism rate above 25 percent for the 2021-2022 school year, according to a survey conducted by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and presented at the board meeting. Starting as early as kindergarten or even preschool, chronic absence predicts lower third grade reading scores. By middle school, it’s a warning sign that students will fail key classes and drop out of high school, research shows. Chronic absence disproportionately affects children from low-income families and communities of color, creating attendance gaps that exacerbate achievement gaps in local schools. This is not just a matter of truancy. Many children, especially in the early grades, miss too much school because of chronic health problems, unreliable transportation or housing moves—barriers that local agencies and community partners can help families address. AHPS Superintendent Kim Halterman said, “Improving student attendance matters to all of us, not just those with school-age children. When more students graduate on time, our communities and our economy are stronger. We have more people who are prepared for the workplace and more engaged in our community’s civic life.” In September, schools, city agencies, community nonprofits, faith-based groups, businesses and others around the nation are committing time and resources to raise public awareness, map local attendance gaps and work with community partners to improve school attendance and student engagement starting as soon as children enter school. “September is a particularly good time to focus on attendance,” said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a national nonprofit initiative dedicated to improving school attendance. “Research shows that students who miss two to four days in the first month of school are more likely to become chronically absent during the school year. By paying attention to absences early in the school year and early in a child’s academic career, we can turn around attendance and achievement.” For the Attendance Awareness Campaign, Attendance Works and Alleghany Highlands Public Schools are asking school leaders, community advocates, parents and students to act upon these critical first steps to help stem chronic absenteeism: • Build a habit and a culture of regular attendance. • Use data to determine when and with whom chronic absence is a problem, and • Identify and address barriers to getting children to school. Alleghany Highlands Public Schools is a joint school division, funded by Alleghany County and the City of Covington. AHPS was formed in July 2022 through the merger of Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, Covington City Public Schools. AHPS was created to provide students in the Alleghany Highlands with greater opportunities by combining community resources. AHPS serves approximately 2,700 students. AHPS news and events are regularly updated on Facebook at AHPublicSchool and on Instagram at ahpublicschools. News and information is also available on the division website www.ahps.k12.va.us.

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