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The districts' new attendance methods have caused an increase in attendance records
© 2018 Josh Liepper
By Josh Liepper SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)
A new list has been released where schools are ranked based on attendance records in the Central NY area.
Lafayette Central School District ranked #11 in the attendance record rankings, but Belfield has implemented new strategies to improve the district’s record by recognizing students who attend class on a regular basis. The district’s high school had what Belfield called “attendance wars” in which the class who came in first place received a prize.
Belfield knew he needed to do something to fix the attendance records when he took over as superintendent two years ago.
“That was a conversation that did come up when I was coming on board with the district about some attendance concerns relative to our district,” Belfield says.
Teachers voiced their frustrations to Belfield and the rest of the district administrators regarding student attendance.
“Some of the concerns that were voiced from staff were largely due to students not coming to school or not coming to school on time,” Belfield explained.
Michela Del Rio thinks it is necessary for her child to go to school every day. Del Rio believes the parents are to blame for the poor records.
“(The children) definitely need someone to lead them. It should be the parents job to make sure their attending school everyday,” Del Rio says.
The rankings were made by the NYS Department of Education and contain attendance rates as high as 89% to as low as 73%.
