Skip To Main Content

New Year, New Goals: Tips for Supporting Student Attendance and Success in 2025

New Year, New Goals: Tips for Supporting Student Attendance and Success in 2025


As the New Year gets underway, it’s a great time to refresh routines. Every day at school is an opportunity for students to spend time with peers, gain new academic skills, and to take steps toward reaching their goals–making regular attendance a great goal for all.

Coming to school each day is key for children to stay on pace with their learning. Research shows that missing 10% of school, or just 2 days every month, can make it harder to learn to read and cause children to fall behind.

General Attendance Tips:

  • Set a consistent morning routine to reduce stress and get out the door on time

  • Create a visual calendar for your child to track school days, breaks, and holidays

  • Talk with your child regularly about the importance of school attendance and how it helps them succeed

  • Recognize and celebrate your child’s good attendance with small rewards or praise

However, it is not always easy to get to school. There are a few strategies and tips that can help families overcome common obstacles to attendance such as illness, transportation, and child care.

Illness Prevention:

  • Promote handwashing and healthful hygiene

  • Eat healthy meals provided at school and home

  • Encourage children to dress appropriately for the weather

  • Teach children to cover coughs and sneezes with their elbow or tissue

  • Stay up-to-date on routine health checks

  • Schedule doctor appointments during breaks and other non-school days

  • Practice routine sleep schedules

Transportation and Childcare:

  • Connect with other families to create a “buddy system” for walking or biking to school safely.

  • Ask your school site about community resources

  • Network with families to trade “playdate” days

  • Check with your school for a list of after school programs or childcare resources

Also, when school is in session, families should avoid extended family trips or non-urgent appointments whenever possible.

Following these tips and staying connected with your child’s teacher and school site regarding absences will help support students in reaching attendance goals in the New Year.

Studies regarding attendance and chronic absenteeism reveal that students who miss fewer days build more confidence, grow stronger relationships with peers, and are more likely to attend higher education. Students also have stronger reading and language arts skills and more opportunity for community engagement.

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has set its own goal to address chronic absenteeism as part of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), a key strategic document that outlines RCSD’s goals, actions, and funding priorities for improving student outcomes.

Chronic absenteeism in RCSD was reduced from 24.7% to 18.9% between 2022 and 2023, with an ultimate goal of reducing to just 5%.

Goal One of the 2024-25 LCAP is aimed at elevating student achievement and fostering a supportive learning environment, specifically addressing reduction of chronic absenteeism across all student groups and enhancing overall attendance rates.