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Emma, DPHS Student: You have no idea what you're missing, 

Carlos, DPHS Student: What are you waiting for?

Emma, DPHS Student: It's all here in OCPS. Welcome to Mondays with Maria. 

Carlos, DPHS Student: Here's our superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Announcer: Presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Hi everyone. Thank you, Emma and Carlos. They are in the Visual and Performing Arts magnet at Dr. Phillips High School, one of the amazing programs in our district, and they're talking about attendance. If you're not showing up for school, you're missing out on a lot. You may think it's okay and you'll just make up the work, but it's not as easy as you think. Joining me today at the table are Michelle Thomas and David Webster from our School Choice Office. Welcome. Thank you. You both are over absenteeism. We wanted to have a conversation today, so our viewers are aware of the vital importance of children attending school. So let's start with Michelle. You were a principal. Right? And so why is attendance so important?

Michelle Thomas, School Choice Services Director: Every day a student walks on campus, it is filled with so many opportunities and growth. Students gain confidence. They gain memories. If a student is absent one day, they can potentially miss out on so many moments that matter. They might miss out on a time to eat lunch with a friend or be in a performance at an orchestra concert. Moments like this are very crucial at this age,

Dr. Vazquez: Right? So it's really not just about the academics. Right. And so, David, tell us what some of the biggest misconceptions about attendance are? 

David Webster-Gardiner, School Choice Services Senior Administrator: Right. Some of the biggest misconceptions are that only unexcused absences matter, or that really just missing two days a month adds up to 10% of the school year. So, whether excused or unexcused, that all adds up into the chronic absenteeism calculation. Even if the absence is justified, you're missing learning time. You're missing that continuity of the things you gain in class, which is so much more than just that assignment you're working on. 

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. And so, we want to be clear. If you're not feeling well, we don't want you to come to school. But so many times, the students will make a choice, “Ah, I know what the assignment is. I can do it from home.” And so, they stay home, and parents may think, well, they have the device, they have the assignment. We're going to let them stay home. So, so much more to school than just that academic side. Yes. The opportunities for them to engage with friends, the adults, opportunities for them to be part of clubs and extracurricular activities, all of that is not possible if they're not in school. So, Michelle, what ideas do we have to turn attendance challenges into? Chances for growth and connection.

Michelle Thomas: So we know that our schools are working together as a team with the families and the community members to make engaging fun, to making learning fun. So, schools will really, so students will really own their school and be proud of their school. So, we know that schools use their social workers or counselors, or safe coordinators, to meet with families early. That early intervention is so important. So we can tackle that that those barriers ahead of time. And provides resources. We have home visits. We have schools that are doing incentives such as family engagement nights. We have opportunities for our families that are non-English speakers, and they have opportunities for adult classes at night, so they can learn to communicate in English effectively and also comfortably with our schools. Correct. So, there are many opportunities. It's definitely a joint effort.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. And I think that's critical that if parents are engaged, attendance tends to be higher than for parents who are not. So, David, what are we doing from the Office of School Choice? Are there supports in place if a family is struggling with an issue with their child?

David Webster-Gardiner: Yes. So, through our show Up to School Campaign, the Office of School Choice is partnering with schools and families and parent engagement liaisons, and multilingual departments to see how we can connect with each family. We want to reach out and make sure that there are no barriers and that every student is receiving the educational options that really fit their family best. So, through School Choice, whether that's a magnet program, a Scholastic Academy, alternative education, or even Orange County Virtual School, we are working together with schools and families to find the best fit for students.

Dr. Vazquez: Right? And I think that's critical for our families to understand that we can help you if you reach out. And many choices. I love that you mentioned the Orange County Virtual School because for some students, virtual learning is a great option, but even within our own Orange County Virtual School, they have those opportunities for children to come on campus to be engaged at the actual school site. And so it's, it's a wonderful opportunity for our families to explore. This has been such an extremely important topic in our conversation, so thank you both for joining us and sharing valuable resources and support for our families. Thank you all for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. We have more on our podcast. Just go to wherever you get your podcast and search for Mondays with Maria. Have a great week. 

Emma, DPHS Student: But wait, attending school has so many rewards.

Carlos, DPHS Student: Take a look.

Kait Davis, Robinswood MS Reading Specialist: All right. Today we have our “All Complete Retreat,” or the ACR, that we call it. It is a chance for students who complete all of their work for the second semester to come out and have a day of fun.

Kait Davis: We have bounce houses, we have hot chocolate bars, we have karaoke, we have a video game room, and we have football and basketball. If they’ve finished all of their assignments for first period, then they get a red wristband and they come out for first period. And if they do the second period, they get an orange one, and so on and so forth. So, some kids get to come out for the entire day. 

Victoria, Robinswood MS Student: Being rewarded for having our work done serves as a good motivator in order to get our work done.

Kait Davis: I think it's a great way for schools to encourage students to come to school, to behave right, to make good choices, and to be responsible students.

Junior, Robinswood MS Student: I'm going to complete all of my assignments, like all of them. So, I can go to this again.

Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic. Listen to the Mondays with Maria podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at AdditionFi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.OCPS.net. I'm your announcer. Emily Hannon, a student at Audubon Park School. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.