Schools can help students in numerous ways…this guide will help you incentivize them to get there more often.
The one fact that holds true no matter what school you work in is that students need to actually be present in school to be successful in school.
Good attendance is essential for student success. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well academically, graduate from high school, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.
They are also less likely to drop out, get involved in crime, or receive discipline infractions when they attend school regularly.
Even though we know this…many students still struggle with attendance. There are a number of challenges that can lead to absenteeism, including poverty, homelessness, family instability, and health problems.
Schools can and should play a role in helping students overcome these challenges.
Let’s take a look at the ways that schools can incentivize students to improve their attendance.
Good attendance in schools is defined as the regular and consistent attendance of students at school. Students who have good attendance are present for the majority of classes and school activities.
It also means they are on time for the majority of those classes. For the purpose of this discussion, we are combining attendance, skipping, and tardiness.
They originate from different root problems but the solutions have enough overlap that I believe you can improve both at the same time. There’s also a practical reason we want to group these together. The end goal isn’t to get students in the building…it’s for them to learn while they are there.
Good attendance means that students are present at school and that they have the opportunity to learn the material and participate in class.
Good attendance can help students raise their academic ceiling, increase their educational opportunities, improve their health, develop stronger social skills, and increase their self-esteem.
Not only that but, attending school regularly can also help students to develop a sense of belonging, learn about different cultures, and make lifelong friends.
Students can’t reap the rewards of the school community if they aren’t regularly in the school community.
Here are some specific examples of how attending school regularly can benefit students:
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from high school. This is pretty self-explanatory…how would you fare if you were asked to take a test on a class you haven’t taken?
Would you understand a book if you only read the odd-numbered chapters? If a student has attendance in the 50% range that’s exactly what they are being asked to do.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be accepted to college and gain the employment options that come with that experience.
But it goes past collegiate opportunities. Many schools now have technical certifications and trade school recruitment events baked into their curriculum.
Those can be big advantages when the student enters the workforce…but they needed to be present to gain access to that opportunity.
Students who attend school regularly are less likely to experience health problems, such as obesity and depression.
This is because they are more likely to be physically active and they are more likely to eat healthy foods.
The daily activity that students receive in PE and even just walking to and from class is significant when compared to someone who is sedentary.
Regardless of how you feel about cafeteria food taste, our schools do a great of providing well-balanced meals for students.
Students are more likely to attend school regularly if they feel welcome and supported at school.
Whatever your plan is, it needs to start there. All of the incentive ideas in the world will not matter if your students don’t feel like they belong in school.
Schools can create a positive school climate by doing three things:
What that looks like in your school can vary a bit by grade level so I have broken up our ideas by age group.
Want to increase attendance AND improve behavior in your primary grades? Tie your behavior and attendance goals to an annual ice cream party!
Our suggestion would be for this to be an event that all students who meet behavior expectations and attendance goals can participate. 🍨
You may already celebrate academic achievements and growth…why not do the same for attendance? Could your student of the month be the student who has improved their attendance the most?
Yes, you read that correctly. A snowball fight can be a great way to incentivize good attendance! Click the link above for details on how you can do it sans real snow!
Most elementary schools don’t have after-school clubs and athletic teams but you can get creative with events like snowball fights to incentivize students to attend school more regularly and improve your school culture.
Similar to the ice cream party, you want to tie an event like this to both attendance and behavior. This means you are simultaneously improving attendance and helping ensure that you have a safe and orderly atmosphere when everyone does show up to school.
Save me a cheeseburger! 🍔
Do you know what must be awful as a student? When you miss a few days and you're greeted with accusations or sarcasm when you do actually show up.
This is the opposite of that.
When a student who has been chronically absent from class does show up…we want to reinforce that behavior. The hallway high-five is perfect for exactly that.
“Good to see you. Glad you are here. Let’s have a great day.” 🙋♂️
What’s a middle school student's favorite part of the day? Lunch. It’s always lunch. This idea is all about taking their favorite part of the day and making it as special as possible. You can’t be too over the top here, get a velvet rope if you think it’ll help!
This is an improv show that you can host in your gym that students are going to love. To improve both behaviors and attendance you could make the tickets and/or participation free to those who have no referrals and over 90% attendance.
Want to up the demand? Make sure your popular teachers have a turn on stage!
This is a popular one! Most high schools require parking passes to be purchased or at least obtained in the front office. Make regular attendance a stipulation to being eligible for one of those coveted passes.
This is one aimed directly at your awesome seniors and their inevitable “senioritis”. Host a separate event to celebrate seniors and only allow students with good attendance to obtain tickets and you’ll keep your seniors in class all year long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incentivizing good attendance. There are a few things that are universal though:
If your school has an awesome attendance incentive that works we’d love to hear about it and you can even get it posted on the site on our Rewards that Rock page!
The one fact that holds true no matter what school you work in is that students need to actually be present in school to be successful in school.
Good attendance is essential for student success. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well academically, graduate from high school, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.
They are also less likely to drop out, get involved in crime, or receive discipline infractions when they attend school regularly.
Even though we know this…many students still struggle with attendance. There are a number of challenges that can lead to absenteeism, including poverty, homelessness, family instability, and health problems.
Schools can and should play a role in helping students overcome these challenges.
Let’s take a look at the ways that schools can incentivize students to improve their attendance.
Good attendance in schools is defined as the regular and consistent attendance of students at school. Students who have good attendance are present for the majority of classes and school activities.
It also means they are on time for the majority of those classes. For the purpose of this discussion, we are combining attendance, skipping, and tardiness.
They originate from different root problems but the solutions have enough overlap that I believe you can improve both at the same time. There’s also a practical reason we want to group these together. The end goal isn’t to get students in the building…it’s for them to learn while they are there.
Good attendance means that students are present at school and that they have the opportunity to learn the material and participate in class.
Good attendance can help students raise their academic ceiling, increase their educational opportunities, improve their health, develop stronger social skills, and increase their self-esteem.
Not only that but, attending school regularly can also help students to develop a sense of belonging, learn about different cultures, and make lifelong friends.
Students can’t reap the rewards of the school community if they aren’t regularly in the school community.
Here are some specific examples of how attending school regularly can benefit students:
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from high school. This is pretty self-explanatory…how would you fare if you were asked to take a test on a class you haven’t taken?
Would you understand a book if you only read the odd-numbered chapters? If a student has attendance in the 50% range that’s exactly what they are being asked to do.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be accepted to college and gain the employment options that come with that experience.
But it goes past collegiate opportunities. Many schools now have technical certifications and trade school recruitment events baked into their curriculum.
Those can be big advantages when the student enters the workforce…but they needed to be present to gain access to that opportunity.
Students who attend school regularly are less likely to experience health problems, such as obesity and depression.
This is because they are more likely to be physically active and they are more likely to eat healthy foods.
The daily activity that students receive in PE and even just walking to and from class is significant when compared to someone who is sedentary.
Regardless of how you feel about cafeteria food taste, our schools do a great of providing well-balanced meals for students.
Students are more likely to attend school regularly if they feel welcome and supported at school.
Whatever your plan is, it needs to start there. All of the incentive ideas in the world will not matter if your students don’t feel like they belong in school.
Schools can create a positive school climate by doing three things:
What that looks like in your school can vary a bit by grade level so I have broken up our ideas by age group.
Want to increase attendance AND improve behavior in your primary grades? Tie your behavior and attendance goals to an annual ice cream party!
Our suggestion would be for this to be an event that all students who meet behavior expectations and attendance goals can participate. 🍨
You may already celebrate academic achievements and growth…why not do the same for attendance? Could your student of the month be the student who has improved their attendance the most?
Yes, you read that correctly. A snowball fight can be a great way to incentivize good attendance! Click the link above for details on how you can do it sans real snow!
Most elementary schools don’t have after-school clubs and athletic teams but you can get creative with events like snowball fights to incentivize students to attend school more regularly and improve your school culture.
Similar to the ice cream party, you want to tie an event like this to both attendance and behavior. This means you are simultaneously improving attendance and helping ensure that you have a safe and orderly atmosphere when everyone does show up to school.
Save me a cheeseburger! 🍔
Do you know what must be awful as a student? When you miss a few days and you're greeted with accusations or sarcasm when you do actually show up.
This is the opposite of that.
When a student who has been chronically absent from class does show up…we want to reinforce that behavior. The hallway high-five is perfect for exactly that.
“Good to see you. Glad you are here. Let’s have a great day.” 🙋♂️
What’s a middle school student's favorite part of the day? Lunch. It’s always lunch. This idea is all about taking their favorite part of the day and making it as special as possible. You can’t be too over the top here, get a velvet rope if you think it’ll help!
This is an improv show that you can host in your gym that students are going to love. To improve both behaviors and attendance you could make the tickets and/or participation free to those who have no referrals and over 90% attendance.
Want to up the demand? Make sure your popular teachers have a turn on stage!
This is a popular one! Most high schools require parking passes to be purchased or at least obtained in the front office. Make regular attendance a stipulation to being eligible for one of those coveted passes.
This is one aimed directly at your awesome seniors and their inevitable “senioritis”. Host a separate event to celebrate seniors and only allow students with good attendance to obtain tickets and you’ll keep your seniors in class all year long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incentivizing good attendance. There are a few things that are universal though:
If your school has an awesome attendance incentive that works we’d love to hear about it and you can even get it posted on the site on our Rewards that Rock page!
The one fact that holds true no matter what school you work in is that students need to actually be present in school to be successful in school.
Good attendance is essential for student success. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well academically, graduate from high school, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.
They are also less likely to drop out, get involved in crime, or receive discipline infractions when they attend school regularly.
Even though we know this…many students still struggle with attendance. There are a number of challenges that can lead to absenteeism, including poverty, homelessness, family instability, and health problems.
Schools can and should play a role in helping students overcome these challenges.
Let’s take a look at the ways that schools can incentivize students to improve their attendance.
Good attendance in schools is defined as the regular and consistent attendance of students at school. Students who have good attendance are present for the majority of classes and school activities.
It also means they are on time for the majority of those classes. For the purpose of this discussion, we are combining attendance, skipping, and tardiness.
They originate from different root problems but the solutions have enough overlap that I believe you can improve both at the same time. There’s also a practical reason we want to group these together. The end goal isn’t to get students in the building…it’s for them to learn while they are there.
Good attendance means that students are present at school and that they have the opportunity to learn the material and participate in class.
Good attendance can help students raise their academic ceiling, increase their educational opportunities, improve their health, develop stronger social skills, and increase their self-esteem.
Not only that but, attending school regularly can also help students to develop a sense of belonging, learn about different cultures, and make lifelong friends.
Students can’t reap the rewards of the school community if they aren’t regularly in the school community.
Here are some specific examples of how attending school regularly can benefit students:
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from high school. This is pretty self-explanatory…how would you fare if you were asked to take a test on a class you haven’t taken?
Would you understand a book if you only read the odd-numbered chapters? If a student has attendance in the 50% range that’s exactly what they are being asked to do.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be accepted to college and gain the employment options that come with that experience.
But it goes past collegiate opportunities. Many schools now have technical certifications and trade school recruitment events baked into their curriculum.
Those can be big advantages when the student enters the workforce…but they needed to be present to gain access to that opportunity.
Students who attend school regularly are less likely to experience health problems, such as obesity and depression.
This is because they are more likely to be physically active and they are more likely to eat healthy foods.
The daily activity that students receive in PE and even just walking to and from class is significant when compared to someone who is sedentary.
Regardless of how you feel about cafeteria food taste, our schools do a great of providing well-balanced meals for students.
Students are more likely to attend school regularly if they feel welcome and supported at school.
Whatever your plan is, it needs to start there. All of the incentive ideas in the world will not matter if your students don’t feel like they belong in school.
Schools can create a positive school climate by doing three things:
What that looks like in your school can vary a bit by grade level so I have broken up our ideas by age group.
Want to increase attendance AND improve behavior in your primary grades? Tie your behavior and attendance goals to an annual ice cream party!
Our suggestion would be for this to be an event that all students who meet behavior expectations and attendance goals can participate. 🍨
You may already celebrate academic achievements and growth…why not do the same for attendance? Could your student of the month be the student who has improved their attendance the most?
Yes, you read that correctly. A snowball fight can be a great way to incentivize good attendance! Click the link above for details on how you can do it sans real snow!
Most elementary schools don’t have after-school clubs and athletic teams but you can get creative with events like snowball fights to incentivize students to attend school more regularly and improve your school culture.
Similar to the ice cream party, you want to tie an event like this to both attendance and behavior. This means you are simultaneously improving attendance and helping ensure that you have a safe and orderly atmosphere when everyone does show up to school.
Save me a cheeseburger! 🍔
Do you know what must be awful as a student? When you miss a few days and you're greeted with accusations or sarcasm when you do actually show up.
This is the opposite of that.
When a student who has been chronically absent from class does show up…we want to reinforce that behavior. The hallway high-five is perfect for exactly that.
“Good to see you. Glad you are here. Let’s have a great day.” 🙋♂️
What’s a middle school student's favorite part of the day? Lunch. It’s always lunch. This idea is all about taking their favorite part of the day and making it as special as possible. You can’t be too over the top here, get a velvet rope if you think it’ll help!
This is an improv show that you can host in your gym that students are going to love. To improve both behaviors and attendance you could make the tickets and/or participation free to those who have no referrals and over 90% attendance.
Want to up the demand? Make sure your popular teachers have a turn on stage!
This is a popular one! Most high schools require parking passes to be purchased or at least obtained in the front office. Make regular attendance a stipulation to being eligible for one of those coveted passes.
This is one aimed directly at your awesome seniors and their inevitable “senioritis”. Host a separate event to celebrate seniors and only allow students with good attendance to obtain tickets and you’ll keep your seniors in class all year long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incentivizing good attendance. There are a few things that are universal though:
If your school has an awesome attendance incentive that works we’d love to hear about it and you can even get it posted on the site on our Rewards that Rock page!
The one fact that holds true no matter what school you work in is that students need to actually be present in school to be successful in school.
Good attendance is essential for student success. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well academically, graduate from high school, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.
They are also less likely to drop out, get involved in crime, or receive discipline infractions when they attend school regularly.
Even though we know this…many students still struggle with attendance. There are a number of challenges that can lead to absenteeism, including poverty, homelessness, family instability, and health problems.
Schools can and should play a role in helping students overcome these challenges.
Let’s take a look at the ways that schools can incentivize students to improve their attendance.
Good attendance in schools is defined as the regular and consistent attendance of students at school. Students who have good attendance are present for the majority of classes and school activities.
It also means they are on time for the majority of those classes. For the purpose of this discussion, we are combining attendance, skipping, and tardiness.
They originate from different root problems but the solutions have enough overlap that I believe you can improve both at the same time. There’s also a practical reason we want to group these together. The end goal isn’t to get students in the building…it’s for them to learn while they are there.
Good attendance means that students are present at school and that they have the opportunity to learn the material and participate in class.
Good attendance can help students raise their academic ceiling, increase their educational opportunities, improve their health, develop stronger social skills, and increase their self-esteem.
Not only that but, attending school regularly can also help students to develop a sense of belonging, learn about different cultures, and make lifelong friends.
Students can’t reap the rewards of the school community if they aren’t regularly in the school community.
Here are some specific examples of how attending school regularly can benefit students:
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from high school. This is pretty self-explanatory…how would you fare if you were asked to take a test on a class you haven’t taken?
Would you understand a book if you only read the odd-numbered chapters? If a student has attendance in the 50% range that’s exactly what they are being asked to do.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be accepted to college and gain the employment options that come with that experience.
But it goes past collegiate opportunities. Many schools now have technical certifications and trade school recruitment events baked into their curriculum.
Those can be big advantages when the student enters the workforce…but they needed to be present to gain access to that opportunity.
Students who attend school regularly are less likely to experience health problems, such as obesity and depression.
This is because they are more likely to be physically active and they are more likely to eat healthy foods.
The daily activity that students receive in PE and even just walking to and from class is significant when compared to someone who is sedentary.
Regardless of how you feel about cafeteria food taste, our schools do a great of providing well-balanced meals for students.
Students are more likely to attend school regularly if they feel welcome and supported at school.
Whatever your plan is, it needs to start there. All of the incentive ideas in the world will not matter if your students don’t feel like they belong in school.
Schools can create a positive school climate by doing three things:
What that looks like in your school can vary a bit by grade level so I have broken up our ideas by age group.
Want to increase attendance AND improve behavior in your primary grades? Tie your behavior and attendance goals to an annual ice cream party!
Our suggestion would be for this to be an event that all students who meet behavior expectations and attendance goals can participate. 🍨
You may already celebrate academic achievements and growth…why not do the same for attendance? Could your student of the month be the student who has improved their attendance the most?
Yes, you read that correctly. A snowball fight can be a great way to incentivize good attendance! Click the link above for details on how you can do it sans real snow!
Most elementary schools don’t have after-school clubs and athletic teams but you can get creative with events like snowball fights to incentivize students to attend school more regularly and improve your school culture.
Similar to the ice cream party, you want to tie an event like this to both attendance and behavior. This means you are simultaneously improving attendance and helping ensure that you have a safe and orderly atmosphere when everyone does show up to school.
Save me a cheeseburger! 🍔
Do you know what must be awful as a student? When you miss a few days and you're greeted with accusations or sarcasm when you do actually show up.
This is the opposite of that.
When a student who has been chronically absent from class does show up…we want to reinforce that behavior. The hallway high-five is perfect for exactly that.
“Good to see you. Glad you are here. Let’s have a great day.” 🙋♂️
What’s a middle school student's favorite part of the day? Lunch. It’s always lunch. This idea is all about taking their favorite part of the day and making it as special as possible. You can’t be too over the top here, get a velvet rope if you think it’ll help!
This is an improv show that you can host in your gym that students are going to love. To improve both behaviors and attendance you could make the tickets and/or participation free to those who have no referrals and over 90% attendance.
Want to up the demand? Make sure your popular teachers have a turn on stage!
This is a popular one! Most high schools require parking passes to be purchased or at least obtained in the front office. Make regular attendance a stipulation to being eligible for one of those coveted passes.
This is one aimed directly at your awesome seniors and their inevitable “senioritis”. Host a separate event to celebrate seniors and only allow students with good attendance to obtain tickets and you’ll keep your seniors in class all year long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incentivizing good attendance. There are a few things that are universal though:
If your school has an awesome attendance incentive that works we’d love to hear about it and you can even get it posted on the site on our Rewards that Rock page!
Jordan resides in Lexington, Kentucky. He has experience in Public Education as an Administrator, Science Teacher, and as a Coach. He has extensive experience with School Discipline, PBIS, SEL, Restorative Practices, MTSS, and Trauma-Informed Care.
What’s the one thing we can all agree on in education? There are very few topics that are almost universally free of debate…but this is one.
The one fact that holds true no matter what school you work in is that students need to actually be present in school to be successful in school.
Good attendance is essential for student success. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well academically, graduate from high school, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.
They are also less likely to drop out, get involved in crime, or receive discipline infractions when they attend school regularly.
Even though we know this…many students still struggle with attendance. There are a number of challenges that can lead to absenteeism, including poverty, homelessness, family instability, and health problems.
Schools can and should play a role in helping students overcome these challenges.
Let’s take a look at the ways that schools can incentivize students to improve their attendance.
Good attendance in schools is defined as the regular and consistent attendance of students at school. Students who have good attendance are present for the majority of classes and school activities.
It also means they are on time for the majority of those classes. For the purpose of this discussion, we are combining attendance, skipping, and tardiness.
They originate from different root problems but the solutions have enough overlap that I believe you can improve both at the same time. There’s also a practical reason we want to group these together. The end goal isn’t to get students in the building…it’s for them to learn while they are there.
Good attendance means that students are present at school and that they have the opportunity to learn the material and participate in class.
Good attendance can help students raise their academic ceiling, increase their educational opportunities, improve their health, develop stronger social skills, and increase their self-esteem.
Not only that but, attending school regularly can also help students to develop a sense of belonging, learn about different cultures, and make lifelong friends.
Students can’t reap the rewards of the school community if they aren’t regularly in the school community.
Here are some specific examples of how attending school regularly can benefit students:
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from high school. This is pretty self-explanatory…how would you fare if you were asked to take a test on a class you haven’t taken?
Would you understand a book if you only read the odd-numbered chapters? If a student has attendance in the 50% range that’s exactly what they are being asked to do.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be accepted to college and gain the employment options that come with that experience.
But it goes past collegiate opportunities. Many schools now have technical certifications and trade school recruitment events baked into their curriculum.
Those can be big advantages when the student enters the workforce…but they needed to be present to gain access to that opportunity.
Students who attend school regularly are less likely to experience health problems, such as obesity and depression.
This is because they are more likely to be physically active and they are more likely to eat healthy foods.
The daily activity that students receive in PE and even just walking to and from class is significant when compared to someone who is sedentary.
Regardless of how you feel about cafeteria food taste, our schools do a great of providing well-balanced meals for students.
Students are more likely to attend school regularly if they feel welcome and supported at school.
Whatever your plan is, it needs to start there. All of the incentive ideas in the world will not matter if your students don’t feel like they belong in school.
Schools can create a positive school climate by doing three things:
What that looks like in your school can vary a bit by grade level so I have broken up our ideas by age group.
Want to increase attendance AND improve behavior in your primary grades? Tie your behavior and attendance goals to an annual ice cream party!
Our suggestion would be for this to be an event that all students who meet behavior expectations and attendance goals can participate. 🍨
You may already celebrate academic achievements and growth…why not do the same for attendance? Could your student of the month be the student who has improved their attendance the most?
Yes, you read that correctly. A snowball fight can be a great way to incentivize good attendance! Click the link above for details on how you can do it sans real snow!
Most elementary schools don’t have after-school clubs and athletic teams but you can get creative with events like snowball fights to incentivize students to attend school more regularly and improve your school culture.
Similar to the ice cream party, you want to tie an event like this to both attendance and behavior. This means you are simultaneously improving attendance and helping ensure that you have a safe and orderly atmosphere when everyone does show up to school.
Save me a cheeseburger! 🍔
Do you know what must be awful as a student? When you miss a few days and you're greeted with accusations or sarcasm when you do actually show up.
This is the opposite of that.
When a student who has been chronically absent from class does show up…we want to reinforce that behavior. The hallway high-five is perfect for exactly that.
“Good to see you. Glad you are here. Let’s have a great day.” 🙋♂️
What’s a middle school student's favorite part of the day? Lunch. It’s always lunch. This idea is all about taking their favorite part of the day and making it as special as possible. You can’t be too over the top here, get a velvet rope if you think it’ll help!
This is an improv show that you can host in your gym that students are going to love. To improve both behaviors and attendance you could make the tickets and/or participation free to those who have no referrals and over 90% attendance.
Want to up the demand? Make sure your popular teachers have a turn on stage!
This is a popular one! Most high schools require parking passes to be purchased or at least obtained in the front office. Make regular attendance a stipulation to being eligible for one of those coveted passes.
This is one aimed directly at your awesome seniors and their inevitable “senioritis”. Host a separate event to celebrate seniors and only allow students with good attendance to obtain tickets and you’ll keep your seniors in class all year long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incentivizing good attendance. There are a few things that are universal though:
If your school has an awesome attendance incentive that works we’d love to hear about it and you can even get it posted on the site on our Rewards that Rock page!
What’s the one thing we can all agree on in education? There are very few topics that are almost universally free of debate…but this is one.
The one fact that holds true no matter what school you work in is that students need to actually be present in school to be successful in school.
Good attendance is essential for student success. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well academically, graduate from high school, and go on to college or other post-secondary education.
They are also less likely to drop out, get involved in crime, or receive discipline infractions when they attend school regularly.
Even though we know this…many students still struggle with attendance. There are a number of challenges that can lead to absenteeism, including poverty, homelessness, family instability, and health problems.
Schools can and should play a role in helping students overcome these challenges.
Let’s take a look at the ways that schools can incentivize students to improve their attendance.
Good attendance in schools is defined as the regular and consistent attendance of students at school. Students who have good attendance are present for the majority of classes and school activities.
It also means they are on time for the majority of those classes. For the purpose of this discussion, we are combining attendance, skipping, and tardiness.
They originate from different root problems but the solutions have enough overlap that I believe you can improve both at the same time. There’s also a practical reason we want to group these together. The end goal isn’t to get students in the building…it’s for them to learn while they are there.
Good attendance means that students are present at school and that they have the opportunity to learn the material and participate in class.
Good attendance can help students raise their academic ceiling, increase their educational opportunities, improve their health, develop stronger social skills, and increase their self-esteem.
Not only that but, attending school regularly can also help students to develop a sense of belonging, learn about different cultures, and make lifelong friends.
Students can’t reap the rewards of the school community if they aren’t regularly in the school community.
Here are some specific examples of how attending school regularly can benefit students:
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from high school. This is pretty self-explanatory…how would you fare if you were asked to take a test on a class you haven’t taken?
Would you understand a book if you only read the odd-numbered chapters? If a student has attendance in the 50% range that’s exactly what they are being asked to do.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be accepted to college and gain the employment options that come with that experience.
But it goes past collegiate opportunities. Many schools now have technical certifications and trade school recruitment events baked into their curriculum.
Those can be big advantages when the student enters the workforce…but they needed to be present to gain access to that opportunity.
Students who attend school regularly are less likely to experience health problems, such as obesity and depression.
This is because they are more likely to be physically active and they are more likely to eat healthy foods.
The daily activity that students receive in PE and even just walking to and from class is significant when compared to someone who is sedentary.
Regardless of how you feel about cafeteria food taste, our schools do a great of providing well-balanced meals for students.
Students are more likely to attend school regularly if they feel welcome and supported at school.
Whatever your plan is, it needs to start there. All of the incentive ideas in the world will not matter if your students don’t feel like they belong in school.
Schools can create a positive school climate by doing three things:
What that looks like in your school can vary a bit by grade level so I have broken up our ideas by age group.
Want to increase attendance AND improve behavior in your primary grades? Tie your behavior and attendance goals to an annual ice cream party!
Our suggestion would be for this to be an event that all students who meet behavior expectations and attendance goals can participate. 🍨
You may already celebrate academic achievements and growth…why not do the same for attendance? Could your student of the month be the student who has improved their attendance the most?
Yes, you read that correctly. A snowball fight can be a great way to incentivize good attendance! Click the link above for details on how you can do it sans real snow!
Most elementary schools don’t have after-school clubs and athletic teams but you can get creative with events like snowball fights to incentivize students to attend school more regularly and improve your school culture.
Similar to the ice cream party, you want to tie an event like this to both attendance and behavior. This means you are simultaneously improving attendance and helping ensure that you have a safe and orderly atmosphere when everyone does show up to school.
Save me a cheeseburger! 🍔
Do you know what must be awful as a student? When you miss a few days and you're greeted with accusations or sarcasm when you do actually show up.
This is the opposite of that.
When a student who has been chronically absent from class does show up…we want to reinforce that behavior. The hallway high-five is perfect for exactly that.
“Good to see you. Glad you are here. Let’s have a great day.” 🙋♂️
What’s a middle school student's favorite part of the day? Lunch. It’s always lunch. This idea is all about taking their favorite part of the day and making it as special as possible. You can’t be too over the top here, get a velvet rope if you think it’ll help!
This is an improv show that you can host in your gym that students are going to love. To improve both behaviors and attendance you could make the tickets and/or participation free to those who have no referrals and over 90% attendance.
Want to up the demand? Make sure your popular teachers have a turn on stage!
This is a popular one! Most high schools require parking passes to be purchased or at least obtained in the front office. Make regular attendance a stipulation to being eligible for one of those coveted passes.
This is one aimed directly at your awesome seniors and their inevitable “senioritis”. Host a separate event to celebrate seniors and only allow students with good attendance to obtain tickets and you’ll keep your seniors in class all year long.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incentivizing good attendance. There are a few things that are universal though:
If your school has an awesome attendance incentive that works we’d love to hear about it and you can even get it posted on the site on our Rewards that Rock page!
All the behavior resources you need to create the positive culture your school community deserves.
