Attendance Matters
Regular attendance is critical for student success. Good attendance is important for:
- Academic achievement and growth,
- Building social skills through connections with peers, and
- Creating healthy habits and mindsets around responsibility that will help with life beyond school.
When do absences become a problem?
- Good attendance: 9 days or less per school year
That's 1.8 weeks per school year, or 0.9 days per month. - Caution zone: 10-17 days per school year
That's 2-3.5 weeks per school year, or 1-1.7 days per month. - Chronic absence: 18+ days per school year
That's 3.6 weeks per school year, or 1.8 days per month.
It adds up quickly...
- A Grade 1 student who misses 2 days of school per month (or 20 days a year) every year will miss a full year of school by the time they get to grade 10.
- A Grade 9 student who has frequent absences may not be eligible to register in preferred courses.
- High school students who go on a 10-day holiday will miss 1.5 hours of a course every day. That’s 15 hours of instruction per course missed.
Tip: If you know your child is going to be away for any an extended period of time, connect with your child's teachers.
Keep up with your child's attendance.
Download our attendance tracker document to print and use at home.
