Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[lewisc]

I think Covid changed the way schools and businesses view attendance. So I think attendance policies in general are much looser.

School policies are not looser - if anything, they're becoming more strict as parents have chosen to take kids out more easily. Chronic absenteeism has jumped through the roof, and when kids are absent - especially consistently - it impacts school funding. This isn't an individual school by school or district by district decision either - my state made it impossible for districts to have looser attendance policies this year, and that conscious effort is ongoing.

Parents attitudes toward attendance has changed. The schools aren't necessarily looser but they are limited in what they can do.

NY TIMES April 4 had an article. Paywall.

Our relationship with school became optional,” said Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor with the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University.

The habit of daily attendance — and many families’ trust — was severed when schools shuttered in spring 2020. Even after schools reopened, things hardly snapped back to normal. Districts offered remote options, required Covid-19 quarantines and relaxed policies around attendance and grading.

I don't know if this link works.

Has Your Relationship to School Attendance Changed Since the Pandemic? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/04/...-the-pandemic.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

 

[Tha Realest]

Interesting. Because I teach at a public school in Ma and we don’t hold kids accountable to attendance at all. Like there’s some making up tardies at the end of the year but even that is like 30 minutes for 5 days of being absent.

During the first year or two of Covid the “if you don’t feel well, just stay home” mentality was predominant. This year they really cracked down and a number of families got letters telling them any further absences imperiled their ability to progress or pass that grade.

I suspect funding is tied to attendance rates or days in school.

I know in the last other school districts offered promotions (inner city school) for first day attendance because that too affected the funding for that school.

So yes, while people got a little more adventurous in 2022-23, 2024 was a corrective at our school district.

 

[bwr827]

I suspect funding is tied to attendance rates or days in school.

I know in the last other school districts offered promotions (inner city school) for first day attendance because that too affected the funding for that school.

Where I live, they care most about September attendance for this reason.

As a parent very willing to take my kids out of school for a Disney trip, I would respect September not re: funding but simply because the kids are busy getting established for the new school year.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Parents attitudes toward attendance has changed. The schools aren't necessarily looser but they are limited in what they can do.

NY TIMES April 4 had an article. Paywall.

Our relationship with school became optional,” said Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor with the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University.

The habit of daily attendance — and many families’ trust — was severed when schools shuttered in spring 2020. Even after schools reopened, things hardly snapped back to normal. Districts offered remote options, required Covid-19 quarantines and relaxed policies around attendance and grading.

I don't know if this link works.

Has Your Relationship to School Attendance Changed Since the Pandemic? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/04/...-the-pandemic.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

I agree parents' views have changed, just sharing that school views haven't. My state, for ex, is now having districts identify children who are chronically absent or in danger of being chronically absent and inviting these students to come to school during school breaks to "earn back" attendance days. (Just one strategy).

More parents have also been receiving truancy letters earlier in the process than they ever would have before, and "invitations"'to create attendance plans, etc.

 

[Splash4eva]

I agree parents' views have changed, just sharing that school views haven't. My state, for ex, is now having districts identify children who are chronically absent or in danger of being chronically absent and inviting these students to come to school during school breaks to "earn back" attendance days. (Just one strategy).

More parents have also been receiving truancy letters earlier in the process than they ever would have before, and "invitations"'to create attendance plans, etc.

Are there any “punishment” to these students if they continue missing etc?

 

[Lilofan]

Interesting. Because I teach at a public school in Ma and we don’t hold kids accountable to attendance at all. Like there’s some making up tardies at the end of the year but even that is like 30 minutes for 5 days of being absent.

That’s pretty sad. Back when we went to school schools did hold the kids accountable and was discussed with the parents. A good friend took his whole family to Europe for 2 weeks and the kids missed school for the entire time. Wonder how the kids make up the missed time of schoolwork while they going vacation ?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Are there any “punishment” to these students if they continue missing etc?

It depends on the communication with the school. If there is a known issue and the parents and school are working on it together, then generally no. But things happen. I know of a family who was taken to court by the school district last year, despite the fact that the family was actively working with the school already to get the student back in the building. It was deemed a "mistake," but they still had to go to court

 

[John park hopper]

Corrrect me if I am wrong don't Schools get federal funds based on attendance

 

[Ayla]

Are there any “punishment” to these students if they continue missing etc?

Truancy court, in the most severe cases.

 

[Tha Realest]

Corrrect me if I am wrong don't Schools get federal funds based on attendance

Likely, yes.

Nothing motivates school administrators more than the prospect (or clawing back) of school funding.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I suspect funding is tied to attendance rates or days in school.

I think it is in some places, depending on where you live. I also think funding can be tied to test scores, which can be impacted significantly by attendance once students are missing a significant number of days (I don’t think a week at Disney would impact things much.)

 

[Tha Realest]

I think it is in some places, depending on where you live. I also think funding can be tied to test scores, which can be impacted significantly by attendance once students are missing a significant number of days (I don’t think a week at Disney would impact things much.)

Yep:

Do Schools Lose Money When Students Are Absent? | Orah Blog

Discover the financial impact of student absenteeism on schools and the potential loss of funding.

www.orah.com

 

[seabreezept813]

What is the funding model for your school?
Way back when I was in the public system the schools got more funding based on days attended so truant officers were a real thing to get bodies in classrooms

I’m seeing the post below yours and thinking it’s more that parents won’t accept a limitation, They’ll get a doctors note or fight it and we tend to cave to parents. We get state funding and town funding. I know our budget is slightly less next year because Covid funding ends. But the town I’m in has never cut positions or really struggled to get funds. I’ve always wondered if it’s because there’s a large shopping complex nearby that must generate solid tax income.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

So... the thread is on WDW attendance being down, but we've kind of moved into public school attendance instead.

 

[lewisc]

So... the thread is on WDW attendance being down, but we've kind of moved into public school attendance instead.

Apparently some parents think Disney offers better education then their local schools

 

[JoeCamel]

So... the thread is on WDW attendance being down, but we've kind of moved into public school attendance instead.

Killing time until the quarterlies, if parents can pull kids from school they can go to the world any time of the year so tenuous connection or not there is a connection

 

[Nubs70]

So... the thread is on WDW attendance being down, but we've kind of moved into public school attendance instead.

With the triple bank shot hypothesis that summer is the new low period due to parents taking children out of school during the school year to go to WDW.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

There are families traveling at all times of year, so I don't think anyone could pin the overall drops on parental philosophies of the importance of education or the scheduling strictures presented by the school year as currently devised. Lots of travel traffic, less of it going to Disney.

Them's the breaks! Blame something else.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

With the triple bank shot hypothesis that summer is the new low period due to parents taking children out of school during the school year to go to WDW.

That horse may be percussively rendered glue at this point.

 

[bwr827]

There are families traveling at all times of year, so I don't think anyone could pin the overall drops on parental philosophies of the importance of education or the scheduling strictures presented by the school year as currently devised. Lots of travel traffic, less of it going to Disney.

Them's the breaks! Blame something else.

I don’t think anyone reasonable is trying to blame one lone factor.

But this seems to be a common attempt at rebuttal, pretending a factor needs to be the sole explanation for it to count.

Maybe the discussion would be too boring if we all accepted that a variety of factors are involved.