Attendance is key

At Lincoln, our goal is for students to be here all day, every day, to learn, learn, learn!

Why do we place so much emphasis on coming to school all day, every day? One in 10 kindergarten students nationally is chronically absent, missing nearly a month of school.

  • Emerging research shows even higher rates among preschoolers.
  • These early absences correlate with reading difficulties and poor attendance patterns in later years. One study found that only 17 percent of students who were chronically absent in both kindergarten and first grade were reading proficiently by third grade.
  • The effects of poor attendance are particularly pronounced among low-income children, who need more time in the classroom to master reading and are less likely to have access to resources outside of school to help them catch up. Unfortunately, low-income children are four times more likely to be chronically absent.

Lincoln parents can look at our daily attendance board in front of the school to keep track of our total school attendance rate, as well as the number of total tardies for that day. This communication is simply a reminder to get our students to school all day, every day and to celebrate when the attendance rate is high and the tardy numbers are low.

Did you know?

    • Your children can suffer academically if they miss 10 percent of school days in a year, or about 18 days. That can be just one day every two weeks and can happen before you know it.
    • It doesn’t matter if these absences are excused or unexcused. They all represent lost time in the classroom and lost opportunities to learn.
    • Attendance matters as early as kindergarten. Studies show that many children who miss too many days in kindergarten and first grade can struggle academically in later years. They often have trouble mastering reading by the end of third grade.

Resources

School information

Attendance line:
360-313-1424

School hours:
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.