THUNDER BAY -- Eight school boards across Northwestern Ontario have launched the HERE attendance program to fight the alarming and growing problem of student absenteeism.
“It’s unique to Northwestern Ontario in the sense that we have the highest rate of absenteeism in the province,” says David Tamblyn, the director of education for the Superior-Greenstone District School Board.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, students in the Thunder Bay region are missing classes persistently at a 21.6 per cent rate, which far exceeds the provincial average of 13 per cent.
A student is considered persistently absent when they miss 19 or more school days in one school year.
To combat this problem, the campaign was designed to build awareness, and provide tools to schools to help improve attendance.
“I guess you could describe it as a symbol,” said Ryan Novak, a local art director who helped develop the ideas behind HERE.
“The teachers, the school boards, the administration staff… anybody who has a connective relationship with the students and can make a difference, we want to unite them under one banner.”
The logo for HERE -- a raised hand - was unveiled Tuesday, and came equipped with the launch of heretoolkit.com. The website provides resources for staff, such as posters and videos, to help raise awareness about the issue.
“We want to support families and students in making sure they're attending school regularly,” said Colleen Kappel. “We know it’s so important for students to graduate high school - that’s our ultimate goal.”
Kappel is the superintendent of education for the Lakehead Public School Board, and she explained that some students in the region who are forced to travel for medical purposes will often take their family with them.
“It may require a family to take all of the siblings, and take them to Thunder Bay to attend medical appointments,” said Kappel. “With days for travel, with days for treatment… that could require one-to-two weeks for some students.”
Kappel also cited travel for sports, and anxiety issues, as among the most common factors that contribute to the high absenteeism rates, adding HELP is the latest of a number of different initiatives in the region that attempt to help with the issue.
A Lakehead Public Schools research project was recently launched to analyze how different schools are coding their absences.
“We’re trying to make sure all of our schools are coding absenteeism consistently,” Kappel added.
The Safe Arrival program has also been implemented as a pilot project, which requires parents to call and notify the school when their child will be absent.
“We’re communicating with students and families to let them know, we want them to be at school, and we can help.”
