As the Poughkeepsie City School District continues to battle chronic absenteeism, schools are celebrating and rewarding students who have been diligent in attending class through the fall and winter months.

The district in January continued to see improvement in students attending school and chronic absenteeism compared to the same period last school year, though rates increased slightly over last month.

Parents, students and community members are encouraged to provide their thoughts on how to reduce chronic absenteeism through the district’s online survey available here.

On Feb. 10, Krieger Elementary held a special recognition ceremony for students who had perfect attendance during the first and/or second quarters. Each was called to the front of the auditorium to be recognized and receive a certificate. Eighty-three students did not miss a day during the first quarter, sixty-seven did not in the second quarter. The 28 who had perfect attendance during both quarters were given special gift bags with a water bottle and other trinkets.

“Attendance impacts student achievement,” Fields said. “The more they come to school, the more they learn. We want to make sure every student is represented here every day.”

Krieger was the school with the highest attendance in December, garnering $500 in Community Schools’ incentive program. Fields said they planned to use the funds for a student luncheon.

Poughkeepsie Middle School earlier this month held a painting party for the 13 students who had perfect attendance in the second quarter.

“We had some snacks and each student had a personal easel and their own painting supplies,” school attendance caseworker Jamie Greene said. “It was a simple way for us to recognize these students and their dedication to attending school every day.” The school also recognizes students’ attendance during its regular PBIS ceremonies. “It's important to shine a light on positive behaviors that the students are displaying,” Greene said. “We want them to be commended for their efforts and we wanted to highlight them in a special way.”

Across the district, 722 students had perfect attendance in January.

The district, though, is closely monitoring the other end of the spectrum to prevent students from falling through the cracks. A student is considered chronically absent if they miss 10% of their school days, which equates to two or three days a month. Research has shown students who are chronically absent are more likely to struggle at the elementary level to gain the literacy skills needed to thrive, and are less likely to ultimately graduate from high school. This is particularly true of children in poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem of chronic absenteeism nationally, and Poughkeepsie has taken steps to respond to the issue, such as prioritizing engagement with families, incentivizing and acknowledging attendance achievements, and instituting the Everyday Labs system for notifying families of attendance trends. Most recently, the district in December launched an incentive program in each school building and the Attendance Matters social media campaign.

Chronic attendance grew by roughly 3.8% in January compared to December, as temperatures dipped. As of the end of the month, chronically absent students had missed an average of 17.3 of the 89 total possible days of attendance.

Still, the district showed year-over-year improvement with 87.8% attendance and 37% of students chronically absent, as compared to January 2024 when attendance was at 84% and 44.1% of students were chronically absent.

Each month, schools are competing to see which can reduce chronic absenteeism the most and which can have the highest overall attendance percentage. In January, the school that showed the smallest gain in chronic absenteeism was Poughkeepsie High School and Clinton Elementary had the highest overall attendance. Both schools are receiving $500 to be used on elements to enhance the educational environment, at the principals’ discretion. The uses span from new pencils and children’s supplies to new games at recess. The program is financed through a My Brother’s Keeper Family and Community Engagement grant.