With Celtics' assist, Quincy schools put full court press on chronic absenteeism

QUINCY ‒ On a Friday morning in early May, about 1,100 middle schoolers filled the bleachers in Veterans Memorial Stadium. On one end of the playing field, a half-dozen large inflatable obstacle courses beckoned with the promise of something more fun and physical than typical classroom exercises.

They earned it.

The carnival, sponsored by Quincy-based Arbella Insurance and the Boston Celtics, marked the culmination of a yearlong program incentivizing strong attendance. The students, representing all five of Quincy’s middle schools, hadn’t missed a day between November and April.

Now they could have fun, play field games, take cheerleading lessons from Celtics dancers, or engage in general shenanigans with Celtics mascot and stunt man "Lucky the Leprechaun."

“With chronic absenteeism where it is, programs like this are huge,” said Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins. “If students don’t attend, they can’t learn. We’re fortunate to have partners like the Celtics and Arbella that make these things possible for us.”

Perkins said this is the third year that Quincy Public Schools partnered with Arbella and the Celtics on the initiative.

Chronic absenteeism by the numbers. A concerning trend in Quincy and across the state

The state defines chronic absenteeism as missing at least 18 school days – 10 percent – over the course of the academic year. In 2022-23, almost one in four Massachusetts public school students met this criteria, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education. 

Quincy only slightly outperformed the state with a 20.2 percent chronic absence rate, meaning about 1 in 5 students missing at least 18 days last academic year. At Quincy High School, the district’s second largest school, a staggering 32.7 percent, or one in three students, suffered from chronic absenteeism.

Absences have risen since 2019-2020, when only 11.8 percent of Quincy public school students missed at least 18 school days.

Attendance rates in general have fallen steadily in Quincy over the past five years. The district has seen drops in attendance almost every year, falling from a 95.6 percent rate in 2019-20 to 93.1 percent in 2021-22. Attendance ticked up to 93.7 percent last year.

Encouragement from a Boston hoops legend

Before the kids rushed the field, they received congratulations and words of encouragement from a special guest, 14-year NBA veteran and former Celtic Dana Barros.

Barros, who grew up in Mattapan and played at Boston College, dared the kids to dream big and hold themselves accountable.

“Never let one day go by when you say, ‘I didn’t work out today. I didn’t do what I was supposed to today,’” Barros said. “Push yourself to the limit.”

Barros told The Patriot Ledger that his big dream began at age 7, when his father gave him a basketball for Christmas. “I thought it was the illest (thing) ever,” he said of his introduction to the game.

From that point forward he had perfect school attendance, if only to make sure he could stay on the court. His parents wouldn’t let him miss school unless he required ambulatory care, Barros said, and any grade below a B meant no basketball.

Barros said his parents’ focus on school had to do with the environment in which he was raised. During the 1980s, the crack epidemic in the United States hit hardest in dense urban populations with predominantly African American populations, such as Mattapan.

“This is a lesson not about sports, but just about life,” he said of the program. “You have to hold yourself accountable every day through difficult situations and distractions.”

A popular program with a track record of success

The challenge began in the fall, when Celtics rookie Jordan Walsh and reserve big man Neemias Qeta visited an ecstatic Atlantic Middle School to launch the program. Since then, students have received monthly rewards, including autographed posters with personalized messages, for perfect attendance.

The large crowd of students from across the district testified to the program’s success, as about 46% of eligible students met the attendance challenge set back in the fall.

Principal of Southwest Middle School Courtney Mitchell said chronic absenteeism is a major concern throughout the district. She attributed the trend to the reinstatement of regular attendance policies for the 2020-21 academic year, after they were suspended in the spring of 2020 with the outbreak of the pandemic.

In the following years, kids were still getting sick at high rates, but the policies didn’t reflect that reality, leading to higher absence rates, Mitchell said.

While Mitchell said she doesn’t know if the Celtics have helped with chronic cases, she said they've definitely had a positive impact in general.

“The kids are Celtics fans and they enjoy the monthly rewards,” she said. “They wanted to attend this event specifically.”

As she spoke, one of her students called to her from where he stood in the batter’s box during a wiffle ball game.

“This one’s for you, Mrs. Mitchell,” he said, pointing the bat toward the bleachers like Babe Ruth.

“You see, he wants to be here,” Mitchell said, as the student hit a soft dribbler back to the pitcher. “It means a lot.”

'It instilled motivation.' Quincy 8th-graders applaud the extra incentive

Eight graders at Central Middle School Naraya DaSilva and Cooper Nelson both said they like school, and while they personally didn’t need extra incentive to attend, they said the program created a positive atmosphere.

"It instilled motivation,” said DaSilva, who will attend Thayer Academy next year. DaSilva said she loves math, especially statistics, because it helps her better understand the world.

Cooper, who will go to North Quincy High School next year, said the challenge made it exciting to come to school. For hitting benchmarks, such as perfect attendance for a month, Celtics stars would send autographed posters with personalized messages to individual students, Cooper said.

DaSilva and Cooper described receiving posters from Jason Tatum, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.

Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy's perfect attendance kids get Celtics carnival