As communities nationwide continue to recover from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts in Garfield County are no exception. Garfield Re-2 and Roaring Fork school districts have been on the forefront, addressing fluctuating student attendance rates with a variety of strategies and initiatives aimed at bringing students back to the classroom.

In the Garfield Re-2 district, attendance rates plummeted during the pandemic, falling from an average of 95% to 86% during the 2020-2021 school year, as the district implemented a mix of in-person and remote learning. However, through increased interventions, these rates have gradually improved to 90% in 2021-2022 and 92% in 2022-2023. Currently, the district reports a rate of 94%, according to Garfield Re-2 Assistant Superintendent Lisa Pierce. The average attendance rate in the state is 90.8%, according to data from the Colorado Department of Education.

Garfield Re-2’s approach to improving attendance includes vigilant monitoring and engaging with families at multiple stages of absenteeism.

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“Families receive letters after eight absences, and at 12 absences, parents and the student are invited to meet with school administration to create an attendance support plan,” Pierce said. “Most of the time, we see attendance improve and don’t have to go any further.”

For cases where absenteeism persists, the district introduced the Student Attendance Review Board this year, incorporating a broader community response to address underlying issues.

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“If interventions don’t work, we bring our community partners because at that point, we need more ways to remove barriers for families,” Pierce added. “This has been really successful.”

Roaring Fork, meanwhile, maintains a steadier attendance rate, bolstered by its distinct set of strategies which emphasize early intervention and continual support.

Roaring Fork has maintained a more stable attendance rate. The current attendance rate is approximately 93.5%, an improvement from the previous year’s 90.9%. Since 2018, attendance has hovered between 90.8% and 93.5%, according to RFSD Chief Academic Officer Stacey Park. The district avoids punitive measures and instead focuses on early intervention and support to prevent absences.

“We believe in taking a proactive, wraparound approach to support kids and families if they’re missing school,” Park noted. “We try to intervene early, not waiting until a student has a concerning amount of absences.”

Both districts highlight the critical role of regular attendance in not just academic success but also in preventing future educational setbacks.

“If a student misses two days a month, by the time they graduate they will have missed one full year,” Pierce highlighted. “That really affects our parents. When they see that number, they realize they’ve got to get their kids to school.”

This realization is further echoed in RFSD’s strategy, which involves constant communication to address the specific needs of students and their families.

“We don’t just wait for problems to escalate. We reach out early if a student starts missing school,” Park emphasized. “We try to understand the root cause of absences, whether they’re medical, emotional or otherwise, and address them directly.”

Both districts have also recognized the importance of community involvement in ensuring student attendance. Garfield Re-2 has seen positive outcomes from involving community partners in their interventions, while Roaring Fork relies on the efforts of school-based staff and liaisons to maintain communication with families.

“It’s important for us to tackle any attendance issues that we see within our district,” Pierce said. “Showing up and being attentive is how you learn and grow, and that’s what we want for all of our students.”

As attendance rates continue to be a priority for both RFSD and the Garfield Re-2 school districts, Park and Pierce both said that their respective districts will continue to implement plans to increase attendance throughout their schools.

“One of the things that we want to see is how our efforts in addressing attendance this year has paid off,” Park said. “We are going to monitor what has worked and what hasn’t and continue to build awareness.”