Addressing Student Needs to Improve Attendance

We thank Lisa Goihl, Associate Principal, River Falls High School, for contributing this article and presenting at this year's Associate Principals' Convention on this topic.

On January 9, 2024, Newsweek reported in their article “America Has A School Attendance Crisis” that “school attendance remains at startling lows” and emphasized the importance of understanding the connection between absenteeism and its effects on not only learning gaps but also mental health concerns. The issue of chronic absenteeism and its effects have been seen nationwide, and River Falls High School is no exception.

As we moved past the pandemic restrictions and back toward “normal” (or the new normal), attendance did not bounce back as quickly. We worked at tackling learning loss and making school become more active and fun again with a return to the activities and opportunities we had to pause during the restrictions. However, that was not enough. While our attendance was not horrible, the repeated absences and truancies were of major concern as they impacted student learning as well as student mental health and well-being.

One of the first measures we took, with the compliments of a grant from the local Lions Club, was partnering with Restorative Services in River Falls to provide in-school therapy. Once a student in need had therapy underway, we noticed the benefit in their attendance and behaviors while at school–an apparent result of some of their needs being met through the therapy. The Lions Club and Restorative Services have helped RFHS  help more than 60 students through this avenue.

We also continued practices we had done before and during the pandemic related to family outreach. Focusing on the whole child and their well-being, phone calls, meetings, and home visits continued as we worked at having our students with attendance issues create a habit of choosing to come to school on a regular basis.  For those who continued to be absent, we referred students for truancy to the municipal court and worked with the court to keep communication open so we could address attendance through legal means as a team. In other cases, we worked closely with the two counties connected to the district to offer support through county referrals to social workers who could offer further support to students and families who struggled with attendance. Families who qualified were offered resources such as Comprehensive Community Services, temporary resources such as food and gas cards, and follow up support through utilizing our Student Services Team (school social worker, school psychologist, school counselors, student resource officer) and school administrators to check in and connect periodically as students made their way back into the building. 

With all hands on deck, we realized the need for even further support. In the spring of 2023, RFHS created a Student Success Coordinator position to act as a coach for students in the areas of behavior and attendance and a liaison between the student and the administration. This teacher has conversations with students who are struggling with attendance or behavior issues to get to the root cause and help support them to make better choices. Additionally, the RFHS Student Success Coordinator teaches a Leadership and Success class to students identified as being in need of additional life skills to support themselves in and out of school to make the best choices possible.  In our first year with this position, we found that 50% of these identified students had a 0.6 or more improvement on their previous semester’s GPA.  We also had 21% of these students improve their attendance rates by 7.4% or more from the previous year which equates to 13 or more additional days attended for each of those students. This new position and the implementation of SmartPass in the fall of 2023 have made a valuable and positive impact on student attendance, behavior, and accountability while offering the students more support in areas of need. 

In summation, we believe that the focus on mental health, increased accountability, partnership with students and families, and the creation of the Student Success Coordinator position have all contributed towards our attendance success. We are excited about the growth that we have seen, but know there is still room for improvement. As we move forward, we will continually watch the data and adjust to meet the needs of more and more students following the RFHS Mission: “River Falls High School is a community of care serving students to empower them to become their personal best.”  After all, our students are the reason our school exists in the first place.