In 2012 the SCHS attendance rate was 89.25%. “The last 2 years we have worked very hard to improve our rate, we are proud to have achieved success with this goal.” We celebrate the fact that we were at 93.66% in June 2013; and 94.5% this past June 2014. The 5.25% gain in attendance is credited to different people, community agencies, and various implemented strategies. “The efforts of our Attendance Officer JoKay Beatty have made great impact on the rate, she does a very good job trying hard to communicate with students and parents/guardians.” Mrs. Beatty also works very well with Judge Coy and Monica Hensley the County Prosecutor. The support from various county agencies is greatly appreciated. Students and families receive support from Community Mental Health, Guidance staff, Probation Officer Jeff Theetge, etc. Mr. Todd and Mr. Goewert as well as the teaching staff hold students accountable with regard to their attendance and how important it is to be present in order to learn. Our school policy states you must bring a note to receive work that you missed, this policy enforced consistently by all SCHS staff has also helped greatly. Students and their parent/guardian know that they must bring a parent note, doctor note, … on the day they return to school.

When a student misses 12-15 days of school for parent notes, we file with the court for the violation of the compulsory attendance law. Parents and students have bought in with regard to how important getting an education, especially earning a HS diploma is. This alone has helped our attendance rate. Accountability actions have been fair and consistent. The graduation rate for 2013 was 94.8%. Our graduation goal moving forward is to average 92%+ for the next 5 years. Support from the superintendent and board of trustees has been important as well – they have provided financial support for online software & approved staff to work with students in Opportunity school. Students know we meet them where they are and support them. We offer opportunities for credit recovery and we observe very few students who just give up and no longer feel they can be successful earning their diploma. This has also been a benefit to the attendance rate. An increasing school spirit, implementation of 1:1 technology, and teachers creating dynamic lesson plans while implementing more Project Based Learning to connect the real world to the curriculum helps engage students and thus create a higher interest in attending school.

We have set a goal of 95.5% for our attendance rate for this school year. We thank everyone in advance for doing their part to help us achieve that goal. Our school is a welcoming place. Feedback from students and the school community is that we care a great deal about our students; we care about data & set specific goals but we don’t judge our success by any one single piece of data like SAT scores.