Attendance dips in some area school districts

(KWTX) - In a school year unlike any other, some districts across Central Texas are seeing a dip in attendance.

“They can’t learn if they aren’t there,” Midway ISD spokeswoman Traci Marlin said Friday.

Earlier this week the district sent a letter to parents encouraging them to make sure their children were attending class after a significant number of absences.

Part of the reason for the dip may be confusion over online instruction.

Students learning remotely may check in online daily to receive attendance credit, she says.

But students attending classes may not.

“What happened is we had a lot of face-to-face families trying to do the same thing and it doesn’t apply to them.”

The Temple ISD, is also seeing a dip in attendance, but officials believe it’s from virtual students.

“With our virtual students the teachers have a lot more things to consider to determine if the student was present or not,” Assistant Superintendent Eric Haugeberg said.

The Killeen ISD says attendance has improved since the start of the year, but still could be better.

“At the very beginning we were in that 88% range now we are really starting to see it go up,” districvt spokeswoman Taina Maya said.

“This increase is something we really attribute to making attendance phone calls,” Maya said.

The Valley Mills ISD has notified parents and students that remote learning will be suspended effective Oct. 20 “for any student who has demonstrated poor attendance, a lack of instructional engagement, or receives a failing grade for any course in the first six weeks period.”

While getting students to attend class is important, every district we spoke to says student safety is still a top priority.

“Please do not send you kids to school if they are sick,” Maya said.

“Those who are sick need to stay home take advantage of the virtual opportunities you have,” she says.

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