Educators at Silver City Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas, welcomed students back to school on Wednesday with pom-poms, high-fives and hugs.
Principal Zaneta Boles said “a hug and a smile” is what most motivates students to show up.
“They just want to be seen and loved on,” Boles said. “We're at the elementary age, and so they will hug you big and hug you tight and all that means is, ‘I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad you want me to be here.’”
“School is a safety place for them, so when they come to school and they feel safe and feel loved, they want to come back,” she added.
Building relationships with students and ensuring they’re at school every day is Boles’ priority each school year — but it’s become more important since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chronic absenteeism at Silver City Elementary School reached 55% in the 2020-2021 school year, according to school officials. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss more than 10% of school days.
Students across the country have been missing more school since they returned to in-person classes after the pandemic shuttered classrooms. Attendance has increased slightly since then, but is still lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Boles said her school has decreased its chronic absenteeism rate by about 6% each year — reaching 38% in the 2023-2024 school year.
She credits that improvement to her staff’s relationships with families and being intentional about creating a support plan.
“We call them, and we talk to them and say, ‘Hey, it's starting to become critical so let's build a success plan,’” Boles said. “That success plan is all about, ‘What supports do you need? What can we do to help you get your child here every day?’”
Heidi Chavez, the school’s assistant principal, said families face a wide range of challenges getting their kids to school consistently. She said that includes transportation, housing insecurity and whether their child lives in multiple households.
Chavez said addressing absenteeism starts with teachers, who are ready to call families on the second day their child misses class to see what they may need. The school nurse can check on a sick child or recommend they see a doctor, and the attendance secretary can refer families to other resources, like a social worker.
But Chavez said they also work to ensure kids want to be at school.
“I know that when the kid wants to be here and they nudge on their parents in the morning and say, ‘Hey, come on, find a way to get me there,’ parents are going to make that happen for them,” Chavez said. “We're hoping that we can build that desire in our students to want to be here continuously and get them.”
Kindergartner Elena Garcia and fourth-grader Mia Garcia were ready for their first day of school on Wednesday, but the sisters have different reasons to be excited about coming to class.
Mia said she looks forward to making new friends this year and loves learning new things — especially about math.
“Multiplication, division, plus, minus, a lot of stuff,” Mia said.
Elena said she prefers to read and color, but also looks forward to meeting her teachers.
One way the school hopes to strengthen students’ relationships with teachers and other staff members is through its “champion campaign.”
Every staff member, including nutrition workers and school secretaries, takes five or six students they will “champion” throughout the school year with notes of affirmation, pep talks before big tests and lunch bunches.
“We are trying to make sure that students feel seen, that they are heard, that they know that they belong here at Silver City, that we are anticipating their arrival every day, and that we are here to help them succeed,” Chavez said.
School staff are also trying to motivate students through this year’s theme, “Get in the Game,” with students participating in sports-related educational activities.
Boles said she wants students to know in order to be “in the game,” they need to be in their seat. To make her point, she referenced Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“If Mahomes was on the field and his mind wasn't in it, do you think he would be doing what he's doing?” Boles said. “No, he wouldn't, so you have to be in the game. You can't be on the sidelines.”
