SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — In a recent school district report, 44% of the Syracuse City School District’s employees took eight or more absences last school year. According to the SCSD, any more than eight absences a year from a teacher needs to be improved.
Christopher Miller, the district’s chief human resources officer, says there’s a variety of reasons teachers may be taking days off of work. “It is challenging, tiring work, and sometimes teachers may take a day for mental health because of the challenges they’re experiences.”
But, a day off here and there for illness or personal days does not seem to be the district’s biggest issue. Last school year, 115 teachers in the SCSD missed every single Friday. And despite efforts from individual schools, the high numbers of chronic absenteeism have yet to be seen.
Miller says that individual schools within the district are implementing their own ways of increasing attendance, in both teachers and students. Some schools have started to reward teachers and students with shoutouts on the morning announcements and other prizes.
The district is also trying to incentivize good attendance in teachers, by allowing employees to cash in their saved sick days. Because no matter what, Miller says, a student benefits most from having a reliable teacher consistently in the classroom.
“When teachers are not there, a substitute needs to come in place, and even the best substitute cannot fulfill the role the same way that the regular classroom teacher can.”
