Jefferson City Public Schools announced at the beginning of the current school year that raising the attendance rate of its students over the same time last year is one of the district's shorter-term goals, and that's guided the counselors at Lewis and Clark Middle School to organize several attendance improvement initiatives.
Attendance across the district is generally not what anyone would like it to be, and the examples of improvement efforts of Lewis and Clark speak to a wider expansion of attention and resources on the issue.
Data released at the JCPS Board of Education's July work session showed the district's overall attendance rate last year was down again, to 85.3 percent, and most buildings had seen attendance rate decreases since 2013-14 - with the exceptions of marginal improvements at Cedar Hill Elementary and Jefferson City High School.
JCPS Chief of Learning Brian Shindorf said in August that the district was continuing to pursue strategies that included contests and celebrations to spur student attendance - recognizing classes with the best attendance or with no tardies or early-outs.
At Lewis and Clark, this month's NCAA basketball tournaments inspired counselors to craft the school's "Missing School is Madness!" contest - and the campaign even has its own bracket, posted prominently in the halls of the middle school.
"We're kind of sports lovers around here," counselor Lauren Pierce said.
Twelve teachers' core morning classes are taking part in the contest that has classes facing off in a bracket, with winners determined by which class has the higher attendance rate.
Round one was the last week of February into the first days of this month, and the final round will be the last week of March.
The prize for winning classrooms on each grade level will be T-shirts and bragging rights, of course. Classes also decorated paper "jerseys" to build camaraderie - many, if not all of which have now been laminated by teachers and hung up near the classrooms.
Counselor Carrie DeSimone said the contest is all about "supporting that team relationship." DeSimone added students have "done really well in encouraging each other" to be in class.
However, the attendance rates at Lewis and Clark haven't yet really changed all that much from the last year's third quarter.
Lewis and Clark had an overall attendance rate of 92.66 percent in the third quarter last year, compared to 92.62 percent in the same quarter this year.
The school did see some improvement in the second quarter, with a rate of 94.33 percent this year compared to last year's 93.46 percent.
Principal Sherri Thomas said, "I think that's a compliment" to their efforts. Thomas said relative stability is not bad considering late starts and snow days this year.
Counselor Samantha Cassmeyer also noted the school is just getting over the brunt of the flu season.
"Any time that we have to do a call for a late start at school, our attendance drops," Shindorf said Friday of district trends.
"We have not noticed an improvement over last year," he said of the district's trends so far this year, and he cited factors they couldn't control like late starts and the day of the eclipse in August. He added, though, even if those kinds of days hadn't happened, the district is still not seeing the results it would like to see.
Furthermore, the most recent proportional attendance data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shows students across the district last year who are African-American, Hispanic, eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or have Individualized Education Plans generally had lower attendance rates than students who are white.
"I don't believe that we stand a chance of making a difference unless we can determine what is a reason why a student from one of those subgroups is deciding not to come to school," Shindorf said. "Subgroup" is how groups of historically under-served students have been categorized in the results of state performance assessments when distinct data from student bodies overall is identified.
Shindorf said the district will have to identify the challenges those groups of students face and see what the district can do to help fix them - family expectations and values about education or issues of transportation access, for example.
"If the reason is because of transportation, we now have an ability to support that," he said of the full-time, K-12 truancy officer the district attained this year, who can bring children to school if need be.
The counselors at Lewis and Clark said that officer frequently checks in with them, and she's been great about coordinating with families and students.
Another thing Shindorf said the district has learned is that regardless of racial or other identities of students, attendance improves when students feel engaged at school - connected to a club or organization.
"Are you currently connected to some kind of organization, group or club?" is a question he said is asked at truancy court, where the truancy officer also coordinates communication between families and authorities.
Shindorf said there hasn't necessarily been a district wide push or guidance on getting more students involved yet, but he added "that's a conversation we're having at the administrative level and with school counselors."
"That's really where the conversation started," he said of anticipation of expanded opportunities for students once the second high school - Capital City High School - is opened.
For now, the counselors at Lewis and Clark continue to come up with ideas to keep engaging students and motivating them to want to be in school. The counselors said their goal was not to add to the work of teachers, so they've been spearheading the efforts.
According to DESE's proportional attendance data, 83.1 percent of students at the school attended 90 percent or more of the time last year overall.
In October, Lewis and Clark classes with students who had 100 percent attendance received a letter each day that happened. Once the word "attendance" was spelled out, those classes got to celebrate the Halloween season.
"I think we're going to attempt another dance party in April," Cassmeyer said of a successful December dance party for students who achieved 90 percent attendance.
Thomas and the counselors pointed out community partners have helped in efforts such as the dance by donating rewards and other incentives for students to have good attendance such as "Stronger Together" bracelets and use of a popcorn machine from the JCPS athletic department, Coca-Cola products from Jefferson City Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and coupons from establishments such as Sonic, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Casey's and Daisy Delight. Thomas also mentioned Central Bank.
"It's all about relationships in middle school," Thomas said of the importance of connecting with students.
If students are absent from class for two or three days, teachers are encouraged to call and inquire.
Social media posts by the district have also encouraged families to schedule things like doctor and dentist appointments and haircuts for scheduled early release days or days off.
"(Absences that lead to academic consequences) is a problem we can fix when schools and communities work with students and families - and recognize we all play a role in this change," one district Facebook post from February read.