Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr and the Fulton Common Council present Geri Geitner, FCSD Director of Student Support Services, Todd Terpening, olney Prinicpial; Donna Parkhurst, GR Principal; and Superintendent Pulino with the Attendance Awareness Proclamation
FULTON, NY – The Fulton City School District hosted its annual Attendance Awareness Celebration as part of a district wide campaign to promote regular attendance for all students.
Earlier this month, Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. and the Fulton Common Council officially declared September 2017 as Attendance Awareness Month in the city of Fulton.
The proclamation addressed the several issues associated with chronic absenteeism as district officials remain focused on combating them.
Chronic absence, as defined as missing more than 10 percent of school, is a “proven predictor of academic trouble and dropout rates,” it detailed.
During the 2016-2017 school year, more than 20 percent of FCSD students were chronically absent with a total of 52,247 absences, 27,275 instances of tardiness, and 18,688 early departures from school district wide.
In an effort to encourage good attendance to benefit student success and positively impact the community as a whole, the district has led an attendance awareness campaign to significantly reduce the amount of chronic absences.
As a true community effort, the district organized a free Attendance Awareness Celebration kick off event with several partnerships with community agencies available to offer resources and information to promote good school attendance.
The joint effort between school and community followed the overall goal addressed in the proclamation to reduce the amount of chronic absences by ensuring “schools, parents, and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles that keep children from getting to school.”
Dozens of FCSD families attended the free celebration and took advantage of the many opportunities to explore community services, win prizes, and enjoy fun family activities and a picnic style lunch.
Additionally, each student in the district with the support of their family had the opportunity to sign and submit an Attendance Pledge, promising to uphold their commitment to attend school on a daily basis.
“It’s been fantastic,” Superintendent of Schools, Brian Pulvino said of the celebration. “We have had perfect weather and have seen a nice flow in attendance. We’ve had a great showing of parents, students, community members, district administration, and teachers. It’s been a very balanced group and I think it’s a great way to celebrate attendance.”
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In some states, failure to attend school for a minimum number of days precludes promotion to the next grade. There has to be consequences for one’s actions.
If they had some out near the buses at the high school they would see kids getting off the bus and heading away from the school. These kids are using the buses for a lift into town instead of going to to school to learn. I watch this every day that i drop my kid off at school.