Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Commonwealth University

Increasing student attendance through school connectedness

Chronic absenteeism is impacting schools and classrooms across the nation. Although student attendance may be impacted by multiple factors that are outside of the school’s control, focusing on what schools can do to increase attendance is still important. For example, a positive school climate has numerous impacts on student outcomes, including reducing student absenteeism. “When schools focus on improving their climate in a positive way, this may reinforce satisfaction with school and, in turn, reduce absenteeism” (Daily, 2020, p.686). 

One way to create a positive school environment is to build student connectedness; “students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to school” (Balfanz et al., 2024, p.3). According to the American Psychological Association (2014), school connectedness is defined as the belief held by students that adults and peers in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals.

Teacher support and student-teacher relationships are factors that influence students’ feelings of school belonging. Examples of simple practices that can be done within the school that create stronger feelings of connectedness for students include:

• Relationship mapping to help teachers evaluate their connections with students to determine who needs more support.
• Greeting students at the door to create a welcoming environment from the moment they arrive.
• Creating community circles to foster a positive community between students.
• Gathering information through family/student questionnaires.
• Providing behavior specific praise throughout the day.

For more strategies, resources, and explanations, the Office of State Superintendent of Education created a downloadable toolkit: Relationship-Building Strategies for the Classroom.

Additional resource

Croninger, R. G., & Lee, V. E. (2001). Social Capital and dropping out of high school: Benefits to at-risk students of teachers’ support and guidance. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 103(4), 548–581.

References

American Psychological Association. (2014). School connectedness. American Psychological Association.

Balfanz , R., Jerabek, A., Payne, K., & Scala, J. (2024, May). EdResearch for action: Strengthening school connectedness to increase student success. EdResearch for Action.

Daily, S. M., Smith, M. L., Lilly, C. L., Davidov, D. M., Mann, M. J., & Kristjansson, A. L. (2020). Using school climate to improve attendance and grades: Understanding the importance of school satisfaction among middle and high school students. Journal of School Health, 90(9),683–693.

For more information, contact Kelley Neubert ([email protected]), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.

Categories Autism Spectrum Disorder, Behavior, Inclusive Practices, Intellectual Disabilities