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  • Erica Peterson

Don’t Get Ghosted this Halloween

Data visualizations are a powerful tool for identifying attendance patterns and trends. One surprising finding we discovered when mapping high and low student attendance days was that one of the highest student absence days across all districts is the day after Halloween (November 1). Think about it. Kids are out late; once home, they stay up even later, examining their haul and eating candy. Waking early the next day for school creates a battle that many parents "throw in the towel" and acquiesce on sending their kids to school.

Below are my recommendations to not get "ghosted" by students the day after Halloween:

  1. Start messaging this week to parents about the importance of showing up to school the day after Halloween.

  2. Message how to enjoy Halloween festivities but still be present on November 1

  3. Use the school calendar to your advantage.

  4. Similar to our recommendation of scheduling minimum days midweek to avoid Monday and Friday absences, schedule class projects, tests, and similar deadlines for November 1.

  5. Hold a class attendance competition on November 1.

  6. Award a "traveling trophy" or a classroom pizza party to the room with the highest attendance.

Robust district attendance plans should include identifying and managing these trends. If you want more on how our district partners are not getting ghosted and improving attendance, you can hit the contact us tab.

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