Attending School

Champagne and Aishihik First Nations government recognizes the importance of attending school.  It is important for a child’s learning to be on time and ready for the day.  We can all work together to increase attendance at school and help in the success of each child.  The CAFN Education team is willing to assist anyone that wants to increase attendance for their child(ren) in a positive holistic manner.

Chronic Absenteeism

• Chronic Absenteeism is when a student misses 2 or more days a month of school or more than 20 days a school year. This counts excused absences as well such as; doctor’s appointments, dentist appointments, hunting and fishing trips etc…
• Many factors can affect attendance, including illness, family obligations, events, lack of transportation, work or disengagement from school. When a student misses class, they are missing the learning opportunities of that day and social time with their peers and teachers. Regular attendance is also an indicator of how engaged a student is in their learning, and helps to develop important work-life habits such as time management, work ethic and personal motivation.

Average absent days in 2014-2015 school year
Yukon Government Department of Education

Long terms effects of school absenteeism

• Children with certain risk factors—including poverty, homelessness and chronic illness—are both more likely to be chronic absent and especially hard hit because they often lack the resources to make up for the lost opportunities to learn in the classroom.
• Students who are chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are less likely to read proficiently by the time they finish third grade. Preliminary data in California found that 17 percent of those students were reading on grade level at the end of third grade, compared to 62 percent who attended regularly.

1. Ready, Douglas D., Socioeconomic Disadvantage, School Attendance, and Early Cognitive Development, The Differential Effects of School Exposure, Sociology of Education, October 2010.
2. Attendance in Early Elementary Grades: Association with Student Characteristics, School Readiness and Third Grade Outcomes, Applied Survey Research, May 2011.

What we can do together to increase attendance at school:

• Try not to book appointments during school hours.
• Set a regular time to wake up on schools days.
• Avoid electronics at least 1.5 hours before bed as they effect sleep patterns
• Prepare lunch the night before school
• Walk with your child(ren) to school or find a friend they can walk with each morning
• Let your child(ren) know the importance of attending school
• Try not to let your child(ren) stay up very late on weekends
• Allow enough time in the morning for your child(ren) to eat a healthy breakfast to get their brains working in the morning
• Phone your Education Support Worker if you need help getting your child(ren) to school on time.

From the Education Team at CAFN