Illustration by Tanya Bearson
Berkeley High School (BHS) hosted an attendance celebration on October 2. Student Welfare and Attendance Specialist Aiesha Lockett and the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) Office of Family Engagement and Equity (OFEE) organized events across the district for Attendance Awareness Month, which was officially recognized in September.
The recent BHS event featured a musical performance and attendance trivia to encourage continued attendance. At BUSD middle schools, lunchtime events included music and water bottle giveaways for perfect attendance. At elementary schools, students made attendance-themed banners and parents passed out stickers and gave high-fives.
Lockett performed an attendance-themed rap to the tune of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” with lyrics that she co-wrote with district McKinney-Vento counselor Sophina Jones.
Leticia Amezcua works in the BHS Parent Resource Center and helped plan and organize the attendance event at BHS. She said, “[The event] came from BUSD to promote attendance awareness district wide. We … had a fun, successful event.”
“The key to improving attendance is to build relationships between schools and families,” Lockett said. “We are in hope that Berkeley High students will enjoy the festivities and gain knowledge of the importance of attending school everyday at the same time.”
According to a BUSD parent resource, better attendance correlates to higher academic performance, higher high school graduation rates, and better employment outcomes.
Amezcua said that one important aspect of improving student attendance informing parents of their children’s presence at school. “Some feedback we got from families is that there was not enough information given to families and students [about attendance],” she said.
District OFEE staff and BHS Parent Liaisons perform outreach to families to remove barriers to attendance and academic achievement. They facilitate services for health care, housing, transportation, and nutrition.
Lockett said, “We want to continue to create a positive culture with families and students, continue to provide intervention and support, [and] monitor and follow up attendance.”
OFEE coordinators help arrange transportation and support for students who struggle to get to school on time or who are often ill.