November 5, 2024 • 20 mins
Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on school attendance. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by principals Leah Vomhof, Stacey Sperry and Dr. Cory Cox to discuss the why attendance matters.
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Episode Transcript
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BV Unmuted Intro (00:00):
I think the beauty about our community in
(00:06):
the Blue Valley School Districtis that we can all work
together. You're really alwaysjust looking forward to just go
back to school, just to see thepride that people have in Blue
Valley School District yearafter year. Is so much fun to
watch. You can't find thisanywhere else. I am so thankful
We live where we live and canhave our children in the Blue
Valley school systems.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (00:29):
Hello, Blue Valley community. My name is
Tonya Merrigan, and I am theproud superintendent of the Blue
Valley School District, and Iwant to welcome you to another
edition of The Blue Valleypodcast. Unmuted today we are
going to tackle a conversationthat has really resonated in our
schools in the last couple ofyears, and that is one around
student attendance and thesocial and academic success that
(00:52):
that brings for students. Andjoining me in this conversation
are three of our amazingbuilding administrators. I have
Stacy Sperry, who is theprincipal at Prairie Star
Elementary, Dr. Cory Cox, who isthe assistant principal at Blue
Valley North, and LeahVomhofoff, who is the principal
at Blue Valley Northwest. So Iwant to welcome all three of my
guests to this podcast. Thankyou for having me. Thank you so
(01:16):
Stacy. I'm going to start withyou. What trends do you or have
you noticed regarding attendanceat the elementary level?
Stacey Sperry (01:23):
I think we've seen a higher increase of little
ones missing school. I thinkthey're like, oh, it's gonna
hurt or, Oh, it's first grade.
It's okay to miss. But theimpact that that has so we've
really just having some crucialconversations with families, and
we notice a trend of them beinggone, why it's so important to
be at school, and if there arethings that we can do to help
(01:45):
them, because a lot of times,there's a underlying cause that
I want to help so they're hereevery day to learn and grow.
Corey, what are you seeing atthe high school level?
Dr. Cory Cox (01:55):
Really, I think since the pandemic, it's been
school is is optional, and Ineed to I can access everything
online, so if I get my workdone, then that should be good
enough. But we all know thatthere's more to school than just
the completion of work. It'sbuilding resiliency, it's time
(02:17):
management, it's collaborationwith peers, and so we've really
tried to stress that with ourstudents of building on the
process of school and not justthe final grade that you get on
a project, because that processis what's going to prepare you
for life when you leave here.
And we try and be diligent whenwe're talking to parents about
this is not punitive. We We wantwhat's best for your students
(02:39):
when they leave our buildings,and this is part of it, and
those personal conversations, Ithink, have gone a long way with
our parents and our students.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (02:49):
Yeah, absolutely. So. Leah, what are
you seeing at your school?
Leah Vomhof (02:52):
I think, like Dr Cox, we see similar concerns,
where sometimes students thinkthat they can just do their work
on Canvas, or there's somethingbigger going on that we don't
know about, and sometimes thenit's just like students are
skipping. And so we have to kindof think about those in three
buckets, and how do we supportstudents? And have those
conversations in different waysto figure out what supports are
(03:15):
needed. One of Blue ValleyNorthwest goals is student
belonging and connectedness. AndI think what I always tell
parents is we can't help yourstudent if they're not here, and
that being at school helps them,number one, just feel connected
to our school community, butthen going into the classroom
and having that relationshipwith their teacher and with
their classmates cannot bereplicated online. And if
(03:39):
they're not there and they'rejust turning in work online.
They're missing whole element ofthe classroom with little
questions that people ask, thatthe teacher clarifies, or really
interesting discussion thatcomes up because of some of the
learning that was planned.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (03:55):
Right.
Leah Vomhof (03:55):
And that just can't be replicated online. And we're
we're a brick and mortar school,and we take a lot of pride in
the work that we do in ourclassrooms once and with
students there.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (04:05):
Yeah, so Stacey, think about the
elementary level and when, whenkiddos miss school for various
reasons. What impact does thathave on their academic
performance and just kind oftheir overall feeling about
school?
Stacey Sperry (04:20):
Yeah, I think it's a deep level. Worksheet
doesn't equate learning. And sothat is that community of
learners together. And I oftensay what I'm working with on
these situations like attendtoday so you can achieve
tomorrow. The research is clearthat if you miss 10% of
kindergarten and first grade,the reading ability by third
(04:42):
grade, we have to work twice ashard to be proficient, and that
just continues to scaffold up.
So we really work hard increating a culture that the kids
want to be here like we do wishyou wells and so their name is
on the board when they comeback, we have teachers reach out
if it's an extended. Period, butjust understanding that we can
send work home, but that doesnot equate to learning, and that
(05:05):
we miss them, that
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (05:09):
You miss them. I love that because you
really do.
Stacey Sperry (05:11):
We really do.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (05:12):
So Dr. Cox, talk to us about your former
counselor, just like mybackground, and we've always had
students who have had someschool avoidance concerns, and
how does that play into this?
And what are some things thatyou would suggest to parents if
they're listening to this andnot really sure what to do for
their student?
Dr. Cory Cox (05:29):
Yeah, I think you know, school avoidance, if
you're gone for an extendedperiod of time, it just
compounds, and itincreases thatanxiety. And one thing we've
tried to do is maybe stair stepa student back in who if they're
struggling with attendance andthey're not coming to school at
all, having a conversation withthe student using zoom, getting
(05:50):
the parents involved, but reallyinvolving that student in the
plan. Because the adults, we cancome up with the greatest plan
in the world, but the student'snot going to see it that way if
they don't have any say in it.
So getting them on your side andapplying what school is
preparing them for to whatthey're interested in outside,
because I see a lot of kids whostruggle coming to school but
(06:12):
thrive in their job community,and they have a passion for
graphic design, and they work onit at their job placement, but
just physically walking into thebuilding is challenging for
them, so making them a part ofthat plan, maybe getting them in
for one to three classes oneday, and then three or four the
next, and then fully that are ina full schedule. And really
(06:35):
that's what I've seen have a lotof success with kids, because
we're celebrating those smallvictories. And they may be great
academically, but their biggestaccomplishment is walking into
that building that day. We havegreat teachers, we have great
support staff, we have greatcounselors that can really work
with students, but we just gotto get them in that building and
(06:57):
a part of that conversation.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (06:59):
I think that is a great message. We have
great people in every single oneof our buildings. Every single
one of our buildings has amental health support team of a
counselor, a social worker, aschool psychologist, caring
administrators, and if we canjust get the student in school,
we can connect them.
Stacey Sperry (07:16):
I don't jump in real quick. Absolutely, we have
had students that have, like, ashortened schedule because of
the school avoidance, and ninetimes out of 10, once we get
them there, they don't leaveearly. So, you know, their tummy
hurts, the belly hurts. I'mlike, okay, they can take a
little snooze in the nurse'soffice, but typically, once
(07:36):
they're in the building, it'slike a three minute check and
then they're back to class. It,but you're 100% right. It's just
getting them in the door, butjust working with us, just
having those conversations andbeing open to talk about it.
Dr. Cory Cox (07:48):
You know, we have a program Sources of Strength,
where the students who havestruggled with school have lack
of a better term become leadersin that group, because they have
a story of resiliency andovercoming, something that they
can help guide students and say,Don't make the same mistakes I
did. I'm here to support you,and it's really cool to see
(08:09):
peers helping other peers. Andthat's I think that's why we got
into education, to see kidshelping each other and just
being better people.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (08:16):
That is a great example. Great example.
Leah, you know, it's not juststudents who are affected if
they're if they're absent.
There's a component of this thatreally affects our teachers and
other educators in the building.
So when students are absent, howdoes that affect a teacher?
Leah Vomhof (08:33):
So I actually do bring that up in those
conversations about attendance.
Number one, our teachers andstudents in those classrooms
notice when their classmates andstudents are gone. And so number
one, I do, I know there's alevel of worry and concern when
a student misses multiple daysin a row, and if there's not any
communication, then you know,sometimes, like, we send an
(08:54):
email to just check in. But thenif it continues to snowball and
there's multiple days missed,that's a lot of work that on the
teacher to help that student getcaught up when they come back.
And it's not that our teachersdon't want to put that work in,
but if you have four or fivestudents with some long term
absences, there's only so muchacademic support time built into
(09:17):
the day or after school days,and our teachers already work so
hard in their normal kind ofworkflow and systems. And it's,
again, it's not that they don'twant to help students, but it it
compounds when you have four orfive days missed in a row
because you just a teacher can'treplicate what happens in the
(09:37):
class, like they can't sit thereand do a full like 20 minute
lecture or replicate a classroomdiscussion, so they try to
explain a lot verbally, givethem like missing worksheets or
or course classwork that theydid. But I think then they also
worry about that the skills andthe knowledge that the student
(09:57):
has missed while they've been.
Gone, because, again, there'sonly so much that can be had in
those AST conversations or afterschool conversations, and I
always want to make sure peopleunderstand that it really does
impact a teacher in a classroomwhen, when that student is gone
(10:17):
for multiple reasons, there'sthat worry, but there's also a
lot of kind of work required ofthe teacher to catch up
students, and it's not, youknow, there's usually multiple
students involved in differentdays missed, and the paperwork
that that requires. And again,our staff are not unwilling to
do that, but I don't thinkpeople think about the work on
the other end that thatrequires.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (10:40):
Right.What about at the elementary level,
Stacey?
Stacey Sperry (10:41):
It's a lot of work to help them get caught up,
because the times that the staffduring the school day would have
to work with them is duringpreferred activities, recess,
specials, lunch and so thenwe're trying to figure out,
like, how we make sure that theyhave the knowledge that they
understand, but when they weregone during the limited time
(11:03):
that we have. So it isn't aseasy as like log on to Canvas or
look at the seesaw activity.
It's making sure that theteachers understand exactly
where they are so we can guidenext steps.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (11:13):
Yeah, absolutely. So Cory, we know we
have these students who arestruggling with attendance, and
I know that every single one ofour schools have support systems
in place to really help identifythe students who have those
issues and then to actually helpthose students. Can you talk to
me a little bit about what Northdoes around that?
Dr. Cory Cox (11:30):
We have we have intervention classes, we have a
counselor assigned with everyadministrator in our building,
and we work in tandem of, youknow, communication with
teachers and what are you seeingwhen the student is here? Are we
noticing a pattern of, are theymissing the afternoon classes?
Are they missing the morningclasses? Overall, communication
(11:51):
with parents, email, phonecalls. I think our team does a
really good job of beingproactive in these approaches,
even when we're issuingconsequences for tardies, we've
come up with a it's very simple.
If you have three tardies to aclass, you get a 30 minute
detention. But in giving thatdetention, the teacher is having
a conversation with the kids ofI'm not doing that. I just, I
(12:14):
need you here, because the first10 minutes class, we are
covering this amount. So it'snot your detention. You're a bad
kid. It is. I want you in myclass. And then we work through
that. If we notice kids arecontinue, continuously missing
first hour, then we're workingas a team and bringing in other
people again, bringing thestudent in, what is, what's the
(12:36):
issue with this one classspecifically, and trying to show
them how this plan that we'reputting in place is just for
you, and it's so that you'resuccessful here and you enjoy
coming to school. I worry thatour kids, when we issue
consequences, view it as I'm abad student, and that's not the
case. It's we are preparing youfor life when you leave here and
(12:57):
you got to be somewhere at acertain time, and it's
accountability, and we're alwaysgoing to work with you. We just,
we got to see you so we can workwith you.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (13:06):
You just want them there.
Dr. Cory Cox (13:07):
Yeah, we just want them there.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (13:08):
Right. What about elementary Stacey? Are
there supports in place that youcan think of that our elementary
schools do?
Stacey Sperry (13:15):
Yes, I think me personally, I like I work with
my mental health team, whetherit's social worker or counselor.
A lot of times we have releasedto talk to like outside
therapist services as well, justhelping us make sure we
understand the whole child andhow we can best support them,
and just getting them in thedoor. If you ever come to
(13:37):
Prairie Star and you see ourdrop off line at the end, when
our parents are coming in, thekiddos that might be considered
in, quote, tardy, they'rerunning in the building because
they want to be there. So we'vewaffled the leadership team
going back and forth onconsequences, because it's
typically not a lot of times inmy students control, although
(13:57):
I've had a lot of greatconversations with parents where
it is and then, you know, Idirect that more at the child
that conversation, but justyeah, it every case is unique,
but just a lot of with my socialworker and counselor, classroom
teacher, just wrapping aroundthe child to get them there.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (14:15):
Yeah. So, Leah, you know, we've talked a
little bit about what you alldo, what parents can do. But
what can we do to help studentskind of take ownership for their
own attendance and encouragethem to be there?
Leah Vomhof (14:27):
So, I think we can start with why it's important,
like building in that relevancyfor it's not just like an
arbitrary start time, buteverything that you do in life
has a start time. And why isthis important? And how are we
building these skills for, like,the long term, but then also
holding them accountable. Ithink that that's part of our
our job is to have theconversation explain why, try to
(14:51):
build in that relevancy. Butthen, if there's multiple days
that they're late to school, ormultiple days that they're
unexcused absent that we have tohave some accountability there,
because we know that, like longterm, there are going to be like
consequences to not consistentlyshowing up for work or being
(15:12):
late for work multiple times,and you feel like we're doing
them a disservice if we don'ttry to build those pieces in.
But I also think like thatsounds like there's also this
part of like, the social,emotional side of the student
that we need to know about ifthere's an individual situation
going on that's preventing themfrom getting to school on time.
(15:32):
So if they could communicatewith a trusted adult at school
for what the struggle is, itcould be their counselor, it
could be our social worker.
Could be our school nurse. Itcould be a teacher, an
administrator. Like, what is thebarrier? Is it like, you know,
we don't have a working carright now, or like, I have to
take my siblings to school. Whatis it then that barriers that
(15:53):
our staff can then help themremove, to try to get them to
school on time, or to school ingeneral. I think a lot of a lot
of what we need from studentsand parents is just that
communication so we know how tohelp. And sometimes I think
students are worried aboutcommunicating, because they're
(16:14):
worried there's just going to bea consequence, but like, I just
want them to know, like, yeah,we have to have some knowledge
of what's going on, and we'renot just going to assign a
detention without askingquestions and engaging in that
conversation. And socommunication is really critical
in helping us support some ofthose individual situations that
Dr. Cory Cox (16:35):
That fear of the unknown and like, them building
it up in their head is always 20times worse than what an actual
conversation is going to be, andit's usually an easy fix, and
they're so relieved after thatconversation.
Stacey Sperry (16:53):
Yeah, I think back to the middle school days,
like how much strategicscheduling we did for students
that we knew had a history ofmaybe not wanting to come to
school of whether it was afavorite subject, teacher,
special, I'm sorry, electives inthe middle school, not specials,
helping them. So there's a lotthat we even do behind the
scenes to help once they havecommunicated with us that we
(17:14):
know there's ways to supportthem
Leah Vomhof (17:17):
For sure, I think like scheduling, if math is like
very anxiety inducing. We won'tput math first hour or if they
know that they need just abreak, if that anxiety starts to
come up, we have fast passes toour counselors like but we just
need to know what they need tohelp them create that best
schedule or that best strategyif they can just come to school.
(17:38):
It's so much easier to help themthere than not knowing and them
not being at school.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (17:42):
So we've been talking a lot about how
important it is for students tobe at school, and how much we
want our parents to help getthem to school. Does this mean
that we want kids to come toschool when they're sick? No,
Dr. Cory Cox (17:54):
No, never.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (17:56):
I just had to ask that question, because I
want to make sure that thatwe're sending the right message
to parents listening to this, orstudents listening to this. This
doesn't mean that when you'rehome with a fever that you need
to come to school. We want youto continue to take care of
yourself and not come whenyou're sick. So to wind this up,
Stacy, what any final thoughtson what students or families can
(18:18):
do to really improve studentattendance and support their
students.
Stacey Sperry (18:24):
I think just long term planning and thinking like
it might not seem like a bigdeal to like, take a couple days
here and a couple days there,but knowing that it does affect
over time and that we are hereto help them, and we want them
at school, learning and growing,because we do really notice when
they're gone and we miss them,and we want to help them just be
(18:46):
their best selves, and the onlyway we can do that is that they
come to school.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (18:49):
Awesome.
What about you? Dr Cox?
Dr. Cory Cox (18:51):
Just we have a lot of great educators. We have a
lot of great students, and Ithink that's what makes Blue
Valleysuch a great place, iseveryone is in it for the right
reasons, and the way that ourstudents benefit from that is
bycoming to school and workingwith our professionals that we
have so we will do whatever wecan, and we look forward to
seeing them in our buildings.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (19:12):
What about you, Mrs. Vomhof?
Leah Vomhof (19:13):
I think if a parent starts to notice that their
student is starting to have likea stomach ache or not wanting to
get out of bed, what is there anunderlying cause in addressing
it with our school sooner ratherthan later, where it's
snowballed and come like, whereit feels like a much bigger
issue, if we don't know, wecan't help. And so if a parent
is noticing some of those signsearly on, please let us know,
(19:37):
and let us engage in the processwith that family.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (19:41):
Well, I want to end this by just saying that
we have 40 school buildings orprograms in the Blue Valley
School District, and I know thatevery single one of them have
caring adults who want to workwith students and families. So I
would just want to encourage anyparent or student listening to
this who wants some help withattendance or has concerns or
questions to reach out to thoseadministrators or mental health
(20:03):
professionals within theirbuildings, because we want you
in school. It is important thatyou are in school every single
chance that you can get. So BlueValley community, thank you for
listening to us today. Weappreciate your time, and we
hope everybody has a great day.
I think the beauty about our community in
(00:06):
the Blue Valley School Districtis that we can all work
together. You're really alwaysjust looking forward to just go
back to school, just to see thepride that people have in Blue
Valley School District yearafter year. Is so much fun to
watch. You can't find thisanywhere else. I am so thankful
We live where we live and canhave our children in the Blue
Valley school systems.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (00:29):
Hello, Blue Valley community. My name is
Tonya Merrigan, and I am theproud superintendent of the Blue
Valley School District, and Iwant to welcome you to another
edition of The Blue Valleypodcast. Unmuted today we are
going to tackle a conversationthat has really resonated in our
schools in the last couple ofyears, and that is one around
student attendance and thesocial and academic success that
(00:52):
that brings for students. Andjoining me in this conversation
are three of our amazingbuilding administrators. I have
Stacy Sperry, who is theprincipal at Prairie Star
Elementary, Dr. Cory Cox, who isthe assistant principal at Blue
Valley North, and LeahVomhofoff, who is the principal
at Blue Valley Northwest. So Iwant to welcome all three of my
guests to this podcast. Thankyou for having me. Thank you so
(01:16):
Stacy. I'm going to start withyou. What trends do you or have
you noticed regarding attendanceat the elementary level?
Stacey Sperry (01:23):
I think we've seen a higher increase of little
ones missing school. I thinkthey're like, oh, it's gonna
hurt or, Oh, it's first grade.
It's okay to miss. But theimpact that that has so we've
really just having some crucialconversations with families, and
we notice a trend of them beinggone, why it's so important to
be at school, and if there arethings that we can do to help
(01:45):
them, because a lot of times,there's a underlying cause that
I want to help so they're hereevery day to learn and grow.
Corey, what are you seeing atthe high school level?
Dr. Cory Cox (01:55):
Really, I think since the pandemic, it's been
school is is optional, and Ineed to I can access everything
online, so if I get my workdone, then that should be good
enough. But we all know thatthere's more to school than just
the completion of work. It'sbuilding resiliency, it's time
(02:17):
management, it's collaborationwith peers, and so we've really
tried to stress that with ourstudents of building on the
process of school and not justthe final grade that you get on
a project, because that processis what's going to prepare you
for life when you leave here.
And we try and be diligent whenwe're talking to parents about
this is not punitive. We We wantwhat's best for your students
(02:39):
when they leave our buildings,and this is part of it, and
those personal conversations, Ithink, have gone a long way with
our parents and our students.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (02:49):
Yeah, absolutely. So. Leah, what are
you seeing at your school?
Leah Vomhof (02:52):
I think, like Dr Cox, we see similar concerns,
where sometimes students thinkthat they can just do their work
on Canvas, or there's somethingbigger going on that we don't
know about, and sometimes thenit's just like students are
skipping. And so we have to kindof think about those in three
buckets, and how do we supportstudents? And have those
conversations in different waysto figure out what supports are
(03:15):
needed. One of Blue ValleyNorthwest goals is student
belonging and connectedness. AndI think what I always tell
parents is we can't help yourstudent if they're not here, and
that being at school helps them,number one, just feel connected
to our school community, butthen going into the classroom
and having that relationshipwith their teacher and with
their classmates cannot bereplicated online. And if
(03:39):
they're not there and they'rejust turning in work online.
They're missing whole element ofthe classroom with little
questions that people ask, thatthe teacher clarifies, or really
interesting discussion thatcomes up because of some of the
learning that was planned.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (03:55):
Right.
Leah Vomhof (03:55):
And that just can't be replicated online. And we're
we're a brick and mortar school,and we take a lot of pride in
the work that we do in ourclassrooms once and with
students there.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (04:05):
Yeah, so Stacey, think about the
elementary level and when, whenkiddos miss school for various
reasons. What impact does thathave on their academic
performance and just kind oftheir overall feeling about
school?
Stacey Sperry (04:20):
Yeah, I think it's a deep level. Worksheet
doesn't equate learning. And sothat is that community of
learners together. And I oftensay what I'm working with on
these situations like attendtoday so you can achieve
tomorrow. The research is clearthat if you miss 10% of
kindergarten and first grade,the reading ability by third
(04:42):
grade, we have to work twice ashard to be proficient, and that
just continues to scaffold up.
So we really work hard increating a culture that the kids
want to be here like we do wishyou wells and so their name is
on the board when they comeback, we have teachers reach out
if it's an extended. Period, butjust understanding that we can
send work home, but that doesnot equate to learning, and that
(05:05):
we miss them, that
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (05:09):
You miss them. I love that because you
really do.
Stacey Sperry (05:11):
We really do.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (05:12):
So Dr. Cox, talk to us about your former
counselor, just like mybackground, and we've always had
students who have had someschool avoidance concerns, and
how does that play into this?
And what are some things thatyou would suggest to parents if
they're listening to this andnot really sure what to do for
their student?
Dr. Cory Cox (05:29):
Yeah, I think you know, school avoidance, if
you're gone for an extendedperiod of time, it just
compounds, and itincreases thatanxiety. And one thing we've
tried to do is maybe stair stepa student back in who if they're
struggling with attendance andthey're not coming to school at
all, having a conversation withthe student using zoom, getting
(05:50):
the parents involved, but reallyinvolving that student in the
plan. Because the adults, we cancome up with the greatest plan
in the world, but the student'snot going to see it that way if
they don't have any say in it.
So getting them on your side andapplying what school is
preparing them for to whatthey're interested in outside,
because I see a lot of kids whostruggle coming to school but
(06:12):
thrive in their job community,and they have a passion for
graphic design, and they work onit at their job placement, but
just physically walking into thebuilding is challenging for
them, so making them a part ofthat plan, maybe getting them in
for one to three classes oneday, and then three or four the
next, and then fully that are ina full schedule. And really
(06:35):
that's what I've seen have a lotof success with kids, because
we're celebrating those smallvictories. And they may be great
academically, but their biggestaccomplishment is walking into
that building that day. We havegreat teachers, we have great
support staff, we have greatcounselors that can really work
with students, but we just gotto get them in that building and
(06:57):
a part of that conversation.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (06:59):
I think that is a great message. We have
great people in every single oneof our buildings. Every single
one of our buildings has amental health support team of a
counselor, a social worker, aschool psychologist, caring
administrators, and if we canjust get the student in school,
we can connect them.
Stacey Sperry (07:16):
I don't jump in real quick. Absolutely, we have
had students that have, like, ashortened schedule because of
the school avoidance, and ninetimes out of 10, once we get
them there, they don't leaveearly. So, you know, their tummy
hurts, the belly hurts. I'mlike, okay, they can take a
little snooze in the nurse'soffice, but typically, once
(07:36):
they're in the building, it'slike a three minute check and
then they're back to class. It,but you're 100% right. It's just
getting them in the door, butjust working with us, just
having those conversations andbeing open to talk about it.
Dr. Cory Cox (07:48):
You know, we have a program Sources of Strength,
where the students who havestruggled with school have lack
of a better term become leadersin that group, because they have
a story of resiliency andovercoming, something that they
can help guide students and say,Don't make the same mistakes I
did. I'm here to support you,and it's really cool to see
(08:09):
peers helping other peers. Andthat's I think that's why we got
into education, to see kidshelping each other and just
being better people.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (08:16):
That is a great example. Great example.
Leah, you know, it's not juststudents who are affected if
they're if they're absent.
There's a component of this thatreally affects our teachers and
other educators in the building.
So when students are absent, howdoes that affect a teacher?
Leah Vomhof (08:33):
So I actually do bring that up in those
conversations about attendance.
Number one, our teachers andstudents in those classrooms
notice when their classmates andstudents are gone. And so number
one, I do, I know there's alevel of worry and concern when
a student misses multiple daysin a row, and if there's not any
communication, then you know,sometimes, like, we send an
(08:54):
email to just check in. But thenif it continues to snowball and
there's multiple days missed,that's a lot of work that on the
teacher to help that student getcaught up when they come back.
And it's not that our teachersdon't want to put that work in,
but if you have four or fivestudents with some long term
absences, there's only so muchacademic support time built into
(09:17):
the day or after school days,and our teachers already work so
hard in their normal kind ofworkflow and systems. And it's,
again, it's not that they don'twant to help students, but it it
compounds when you have four orfive days missed in a row
because you just a teacher can'treplicate what happens in the
(09:37):
class, like they can't sit thereand do a full like 20 minute
lecture or replicate a classroomdiscussion, so they try to
explain a lot verbally, givethem like missing worksheets or
or course classwork that theydid. But I think then they also
worry about that the skills andthe knowledge that the student
(09:57):
has missed while they've been.
Gone, because, again, there'sonly so much that can be had in
those AST conversations or afterschool conversations, and I
always want to make sure peopleunderstand that it really does
impact a teacher in a classroomwhen, when that student is gone
(10:17):
for multiple reasons, there'sthat worry, but there's also a
lot of kind of work required ofthe teacher to catch up
students, and it's not, youknow, there's usually multiple
students involved in differentdays missed, and the paperwork
that that requires. And again,our staff are not unwilling to
do that, but I don't thinkpeople think about the work on
the other end that thatrequires.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (10:40):
Right.What about at the elementary level,
Stacey?
Stacey Sperry (10:41):
It's a lot of work to help them get caught up,
because the times that the staffduring the school day would have
to work with them is duringpreferred activities, recess,
specials, lunch and so thenwe're trying to figure out,
like, how we make sure that theyhave the knowledge that they
understand, but when they weregone during the limited time
(11:03):
that we have. So it isn't aseasy as like log on to Canvas or
look at the seesaw activity.
It's making sure that theteachers understand exactly
where they are so we can guidenext steps.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (11:13):
Yeah, absolutely. So Cory, we know we
have these students who arestruggling with attendance, and
I know that every single one ofour schools have support systems
in place to really help identifythe students who have those
issues and then to actually helpthose students. Can you talk to
me a little bit about what Northdoes around that?
Dr. Cory Cox (11:30):
We have we have intervention classes, we have a
counselor assigned with everyadministrator in our building,
and we work in tandem of, youknow, communication with
teachers and what are you seeingwhen the student is here? Are we
noticing a pattern of, are theymissing the afternoon classes?
Are they missing the morningclasses? Overall, communication
(11:51):
with parents, email, phonecalls. I think our team does a
really good job of beingproactive in these approaches,
even when we're issuingconsequences for tardies, we've
come up with a it's very simple.
If you have three tardies to aclass, you get a 30 minute
detention. But in giving thatdetention, the teacher is having
a conversation with the kids ofI'm not doing that. I just, I
(12:14):
need you here, because the first10 minutes class, we are
covering this amount. So it'snot your detention. You're a bad
kid. It is. I want you in myclass. And then we work through
that. If we notice kids arecontinue, continuously missing
first hour, then we're workingas a team and bringing in other
people again, bringing thestudent in, what is, what's the
(12:36):
issue with this one classspecifically, and trying to show
them how this plan that we'reputting in place is just for
you, and it's so that you'resuccessful here and you enjoy
coming to school. I worry thatour kids, when we issue
consequences, view it as I'm abad student, and that's not the
case. It's we are preparing youfor life when you leave here and
(12:57):
you got to be somewhere at acertain time, and it's
accountability, and we're alwaysgoing to work with you. We just,
we got to see you so we can workwith you.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (13:06):
You just want them there.
Dr. Cory Cox (13:07):
Yeah, we just want them there.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (13:08):
Right. What about elementary Stacey? Are
there supports in place that youcan think of that our elementary
schools do?
Stacey Sperry (13:15):
Yes, I think me personally, I like I work with
my mental health team, whetherit's social worker or counselor.
A lot of times we have releasedto talk to like outside
therapist services as well, justhelping us make sure we
understand the whole child andhow we can best support them,
and just getting them in thedoor. If you ever come to
(13:37):
Prairie Star and you see ourdrop off line at the end, when
our parents are coming in, thekiddos that might be considered
in, quote, tardy, they'rerunning in the building because
they want to be there. So we'vewaffled the leadership team
going back and forth onconsequences, because it's
typically not a lot of times inmy students control, although
(13:57):
I've had a lot of greatconversations with parents where
it is and then, you know, Idirect that more at the child
that conversation, but justyeah, it every case is unique,
but just a lot of with my socialworker and counselor, classroom
teacher, just wrapping aroundthe child to get them there.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (14:15):
Yeah. So, Leah, you know, we've talked a
little bit about what you alldo, what parents can do. But
what can we do to help studentskind of take ownership for their
own attendance and encouragethem to be there?
Leah Vomhof (14:27):
So, I think we can start with why it's important,
like building in that relevancyfor it's not just like an
arbitrary start time, buteverything that you do in life
has a start time. And why isthis important? And how are we
building these skills for, like,the long term, but then also
holding them accountable. Ithink that that's part of our
our job is to have theconversation explain why, try to
(14:51):
build in that relevancy. Butthen, if there's multiple days
that they're late to school, ormultiple days that they're
unexcused absent that we have tohave some accountability there,
because we know that, like longterm, there are going to be like
consequences to not consistentlyshowing up for work or being
(15:12):
late for work multiple times,and you feel like we're doing
them a disservice if we don'ttry to build those pieces in.
But I also think like thatsounds like there's also this
part of like, the social,emotional side of the student
that we need to know about ifthere's an individual situation
going on that's preventing themfrom getting to school on time.
(15:32):
So if they could communicatewith a trusted adult at school
for what the struggle is, itcould be their counselor, it
could be our social worker.
Could be our school nurse. Itcould be a teacher, an
administrator. Like, what is thebarrier? Is it like, you know,
we don't have a working carright now, or like, I have to
take my siblings to school. Whatis it then that barriers that
(15:53):
our staff can then help themremove, to try to get them to
school on time, or to school ingeneral. I think a lot of a lot
of what we need from studentsand parents is just that
communication so we know how tohelp. And sometimes I think
students are worried aboutcommunicating, because they're
(16:14):
worried there's just going to bea consequence, but like, I just
want them to know, like, yeah,we have to have some knowledge
of what's going on, and we'renot just going to assign a
detention without askingquestions and engaging in that
conversation. And socommunication is really critical
in helping us support some ofthose individual situations that
Dr. Cory Cox (16:35):
That fear of the unknown and like, them building
it up in their head is always 20times worse than what an actual
conversation is going to be, andit's usually an easy fix, and
they're so relieved after thatconversation.
Stacey Sperry (16:53):
Yeah, I think back to the middle school days,
like how much strategicscheduling we did for students
that we knew had a history ofmaybe not wanting to come to
school of whether it was afavorite subject, teacher,
special, I'm sorry, electives inthe middle school, not specials,
helping them. So there's a lotthat we even do behind the
scenes to help once they havecommunicated with us that we
(17:14):
know there's ways to supportthem
Leah Vomhof (17:17):
For sure, I think like scheduling, if math is like
very anxiety inducing. We won'tput math first hour or if they
know that they need just abreak, if that anxiety starts to
come up, we have fast passes toour counselors like but we just
need to know what they need tohelp them create that best
schedule or that best strategyif they can just come to school.
(17:38):
It's so much easier to help themthere than not knowing and them
not being at school.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (17:42):
So we've been talking a lot about how
important it is for students tobe at school, and how much we
want our parents to help getthem to school. Does this mean
that we want kids to come toschool when they're sick? No,
Dr. Cory Cox (17:54):
No, never.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (17:56):
I just had to ask that question, because I
want to make sure that thatwe're sending the right message
to parents listening to this, orstudents listening to this. This
doesn't mean that when you'rehome with a fever that you need
to come to school. We want youto continue to take care of
yourself and not come whenyou're sick. So to wind this up,
Stacy, what any final thoughtson what students or families can
(18:18):
do to really improve studentattendance and support their
students.
Stacey Sperry (18:24):
I think just long term planning and thinking like
it might not seem like a bigdeal to like, take a couple days
here and a couple days there,but knowing that it does affect
over time and that we are hereto help them, and we want them
at school, learning and growing,because we do really notice when
they're gone and we miss them,and we want to help them just be
(18:46):
their best selves, and the onlyway we can do that is that they
come to school.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (18:49):
Awesome.
What about you? Dr Cox?
Dr. Cory Cox (18:51):
Just we have a lot of great educators. We have a
lot of great students, and Ithink that's what makes Blue
Valleysuch a great place, iseveryone is in it for the right
reasons, and the way that ourstudents benefit from that is
bycoming to school and workingwith our professionals that we
have so we will do whatever wecan, and we look forward to
seeing them in our buildings.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (19:12):
What about you, Mrs. Vomhof?
Leah Vomhof (19:13):
I think if a parent starts to notice that their
student is starting to have likea stomach ache or not wanting to
get out of bed, what is there anunderlying cause in addressing
it with our school sooner ratherthan later, where it's
snowballed and come like, whereit feels like a much bigger
issue, if we don't know, wecan't help. And so if a parent
is noticing some of those signsearly on, please let us know,
(19:37):
and let us engage in the processwith that family.
Dr. Tonya Merrigan (19:41):
Well, I want to end this by just saying that
we have 40 school buildings orprograms in the Blue Valley
School District, and I know thatevery single one of them have
caring adults who want to workwith students and families. So I
would just want to encourage anyparent or student listening to
this who wants some help withattendance or has concerns or
questions to reach out to thoseadministrators or mental health
(20:03):
professionals within theirbuildings, because we want you
in school. It is important thatyou are in school every single
chance that you can get. So BlueValley community, thank you for
listening to us today. Weappreciate your time, and we
hope everybody has a great day.
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