Omaha — An Omaha high school is using a different tactic to improve student attendance this fall.

Earlier this month, Omaha Burke High School announced a new policy prohibiting students with three or more truant absences from attending the October 8th Homecoming Dance.

“The most important factor that contributes to student achievement is school attendance,” Burke Principal Darren Rasmussen said in an email to families. “Burke High School strongly believes that daily attendance is critical not only to academic success, but to social and emotional well-being.”

According to school board policy, students may be excused from class if they miss class for a variety of reasons, including illness, court attendance, bereavement, and transportation problems. Unexcused absenteeism includes truant absences, absences from class for inexcusable reasons, or “unconfirmed” students. According to Omaha Public School District data, in recent years, the majority of absences have been unfounded.

OPS spokeswoman Bridget Blevins said Burke High School is the only OPS school with a return policy in place. Each school has its own initiatives to improve absenteeism and more, she said.

The district reported that nearly 60% of students were chronically absent or at risk of chronic absenteeism in the 2020-21 school year.

With 62% of Burke students chronically absent or at risk from 2020-2021, Burke High School had the highest attendance rate of the district’s seven high schools. .

Nicole Seymour, executive director of the Center for Greater Omaha Attendance and Learning Services, said she had not heard of schools in the area using extracurricular activities such as homecoming as a strategy to boost attendance.

Seymour said this type of motivation to attend classes may work for some, but the GOALS center is focused on research-based initiatives.

“The strategies recommended for use are supportive and rehabilitative rather than punitive,” Seymour said. I’m just looking at research.”

Seymour said chronic absenteeism is “worse than it’s ever been.”

And the problem is not limited to Omaha. Statewide, nearly one in five of her students met the criteria for chronic absenteeism in the 2020-21 school year, according to a recent report by Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s non-profit news agency. rice field. Reported chronic absenteeism surged across the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the national level, the percentage of students considered chronically absent increased from 19.7% to nearly 29% during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, according to the National School Boards Association.

OPS introduced “Striving for 95” in the 2018-19 school year to combat absenteeism, Blevins said. This initiative focuses on ensuring that the student attends at least 95% of the school year or is absent less than nine days.

The number of students attending 95% of the grade increased 2% from 2018-19 to 2019-20, according to school district data. It then declined by about 8% in 2020-21.

To reduce absenteeism, Seymour said communities need to focus on addressing obstacles students face at home, including parental concerns, poverty and basic needs issues. rice field.

“We know there are underlying causes for keeping chronically absent students out of school and they are outside the school’s control,” Seymour said. “We must work with children and families to address, support and overcome the barriers that keep them from attending school.”