The State Board of Education is still grappling with the data that will be included in our new accountability system, yet one data point that is definitely going to be a part of the conversation is Chronic Absenteeism.  NPR has an article on 5 reasons why this is a good idea.  here are their reasons:

1. It’s measurable
2. There is lots of room for improvement
3. Reducing chronic absenteeism improves student achievement.
4. Rates of chronic absence differ greatly, so any state should be able to see which of its schools are doing well and which ones need improvement.
5. There’s strong evidence that schools can control and reduce chronic absence

One of the best reasons that we feel that this is a measure that will spur Sweetwater staff and students to improvement is because of our focus on Quality First Instruction.  Students who are missing out on that Quality First Instruction will not gain as much by attending Saturday school as they would if they were in attendance in the first place.  We can also learn some things from this district in Michigan who uses their data to make positive changes in the culture of their district.