Oswego 308 Student Attendance Headed in “Good Direction”

Pull your child out of school early for a doctor’s appointment? The next question is: did you bring your child back?

Dr. Paul O’Malley, associate superintendent of Oswego 308, spoke to the board on the matter of student attendance and its importance to the district.

“We’ve been very aggressive in working with our principals to make sure we’re using the best practices when taking attendance,” said O’Malley.

He explained that the district’s general state aid (GSA) is impacted by the average daily attendance.

“The district had a goal of 95 percent attendance for our best three months. We’re actually trending slightly higher than expected,” said O’Malley.

He said if the district were to trend one percent higher, based on the $41 million Oswego 308 is slated to receive from GSA, that one percent would result in an extra $410,000.

“We’re headed in a good direction” he concluded.

Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt said the best thing about those numbers is that it means “kids are in school and being educated.”

But those numbers could always be improved.

“The reality is we have to educate the parents,” said board member Brent Lightfoot. “Whey then take kids out of school for an orthodontist appointment, they need to bring them back to school.”