Chelan Digital Academy
CMS Emphasizes the Importance of Attendance
A message from CMS Principal Brian Wood
The start of the school year has been fun and exciting at Chelan Middle School. One of our goals this year is to have 95% average daily attendance. So far this year, we are at 92.4% daily attendance.
As a parent of 4 children, I know that things come up and students will occasionally miss school, but I also wanted to point out how important attendance is to learning and future success for students. Research has shown that students who miss 2-4 days in September are 5 times more likely to be chronically absent (miss at least 18 days of school). Students who are chronically absent have a 16% lower graduation rate and perform lower on standardized tests than their peers who are not chronically absent.
At CMS, we want to partner with parents and help support students who are struggling to make it to school. Please reach out if you need help in getting your student to school.
In addition to our focus on attendance this year, we also are working to find new ways to
engage students and parents. We will add two student-produced communication tools this month. Leadership students will start producing a short video announcement everyday that will be accessible through a YouTube Channel, and a bi-weekly newsletter that will be available via email subscription. We will continue to post announcements to our website as well!
We will also be getting a link up for parents and students to purchase Pirate gear. Please be looking for more information on our website and social media to links for all three of those opportunities!