Education Matters: ‘We want our kids here’: Kings Canyon Unified on absenteeism
REEDLEY, Calif. (KSEE) – The King’s Canyon Unified School District has always prided itself on having high attendance rates as the students liked coming to class.
“We really just try to focus on a culture and climate here at school where kids are comfortable, they love being here. Our teachers have an open door and very warm classroom,” said Greg Visser, the Principal at Washington Elementry.
But like many school districts, Kings Canyon saw absenteeism rates spike after the pandemic going from an average of around six percent to 14 percent.
“Especially with our kinder and TK that’s where our biggest absenteeism, was occurring,” said Visser.
Washington Elementary Principal, Greg Visser says they reached out to parents, educating them, and letting them know it was not only safe for their child to return to class, but necessary.
“We have to do a good job of showing them how important it is by educating them about every time your child misses a day of school at that grade level they’re missing out on more reading instruction,” says Visser.
For older students, the district offered incentives for good attendance and provided social workers to address students’ social and emotional needs.
“Once they’re in my office and we’re talking about some of the concerns we’re seeing,” says Sebastian Villasenior, Social Worker for Kings Canyon Unified. “They’ll start to share some of the barriers that they’re facing and what’s making it difficult for them to come to school.”
They also did home visits connecting with kids who were chronically absent and they provided opportunities for independent studies so students wouldn’t fall behind.
“We have to look at every student with an individual lens and look at their individual needs and figure out an individual plan for them,” says Villasenior.
Kings Canyon’s approach to addressing chronic absenteeism has been recognized by the state. It is one of the twenty districts in California that saw its rates drop below the state average.
“We want our kids here, we care about them, we want success for them and we want them to be able to progress and continue to build and have a successful educational career,” says Visser.
