YUHSD works to solve student tardiness trend

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Schools statewide have been struggling with chronic absences. The Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) says it's not struggling with chronic student absences, but some students are having a hard time getting to school on time.

YUHSD says over the past couple of years after the pandemic, some students have been missing the first few periods of their class schedule.

"We're about average about 89-90% students present at our schools, and we take a lot of pride in that. We do struggle at times with having students arrive on time, so first period absence and sometimes even second period absence are a lot higher than a full day absences across the district," said YUHSD Chief Communications Officer Eric Patten.

The district says it does have several structures in place to help solve this issue. That includes increasing parent engagement and digital alerts through the "Parent Square" messaging platform.

"Something that we're piloting at Vista High School, because it's a smaller campus than some of our others, is alerting families that their child was absent from first or second period via the 'Parent Square App,' or through an email or text, and in some cases, even phone calls," said Patten.

The YUHSD associate superintendent says they also offer over 60 parent academy sessions throughout the year and have added a director of student support on every campus to work with truancy and attendance.

"When they start to see patterns of kids coming to school two or three times late per week, they'll pull them out of class and have a conversation with them and really start creating that report with them to create essentially a trusting adult on campus, somebody that they know cares that they get to school on time," said YUHSD associate superintendent Robert Jankowski.

The district says it's also important to have a good structure at home like students going to sleep early and limiting digital devices before bed, so they can wake up on time.

"So when we're seeing these trends, it's not really solutions that the school can do, but you know what can we ask for the parents for help from the home," said Jankowski