Present & Ready To Learn
This week marks the beginning of the second semester (aka the 3rd quarter) for LaRue County students. It’s a different time of year in many ways for students when they come back from Winter Break. Kindergarten teachers remark positively at how much growth they see in some of the youngest hawks compared to the beginning of the school year. At the other end of the student timeline, seniors are beginning the final stretch to their walk across the stage, accepting their diploma upon graduation in the Spring.
For all students, this week begins the mark of an important learning season in the school year. Apart from snow days, this stretch of time until Spring Break is the largest uninterrupted time of learning for students. This means that student attendance is crucial to their success.
Absences that drive down attendance are more complex than the often thought of reasons of sickness and skipping classes. There are many contributing factors to why students might not be at school. For this reason, LaRue County Schools has implemented a host of creative solutions to ensure students are in school and ready to learn.
One of the most significant approaches to help students be at school is the use of the Healthy Kids Clinic. In each school building, a nurse from the Health Kids Clinic is able to see students and ensure common issues can be addressed to keep students at their healthiest. If students are not healthy and feeling ready for the day, they are not ready to learn.
Another successful approach has been community partnerships. Judge McMahan-Miller has been instrumental in helping LaRue County Schools administrators navigate newly implemented state-level legislation regarding attendance and student absenteeism. Administrators have also had the support of the Hodgenville Police Department for home visits when necessary.
Inside the district, staff at every level are doing what they can to check on students and see to it that underlying contributors to student absences are addressed where possible. Front office staff at each school call and check on students when they miss a day, Director of Pupil Personnel Penny Cecil and Assistant Director Chris Price conduct over 20 home visits to student families every month, and FRYSC coordinators assist with students' needs as much as possible.
As a result of these approaches along with “no pass, no drive” and enforcing tardiness have led to monthly increases in attendance compared to last year with the recently passed legislation being a major driver of this change.
Attendance for students is simply where the learning journey begins for students, it’s not an end in and of itself. The baton is then passed to teachers and support staff to take them to the next level of success.
