School Absences Are Academic Losses
Community Contributed
By Laura Peterson, Molokai Resource Teacher
The elementary schools and high school on Molokai have recently made revisions to their attendance policies. This is for a good reason. There is a clear correlation between, for example, missing school in Kindergarten and first grade, and mastering reading by the third grade. Another correlation is that attendance in the ninth grade is directly related to successful graduation and post-secondary enrollment.
Illness is the first and foremost reason students can’t go to school. It is important to keep them home when they are sick, but studies show that fewer than six percent of children miss more than 11 days due to illness. …