Communities In Schools庐 (黑料不打烊庐) of Rural Eastern Washington has a presence in four local school districts: Curlew, Mary Walker, Northport, and Republic, all of which are remote communities tackling educational challenges.

The Republic School District, a small K-12 campus with 435 students, faces an attendance challenge. While approximately 70% of students meet their monthly attendance goal, the remaining 30% fall into chronic absenteeism, missing 10% or more of school days.

According to the most recent federal data from the 2020-21 school year, this national issue saw chronic absenteeism nearly double nationwide, from 8 million students to 14.7 million students nationally. Schools traditionally focus on daily attendance, potentially overlooking students who miss enough school to fall behind. If left unaddressed, chronic absenteeism can result in students having difficulty reading, progressing in middle school, and even interfering with high school graduation. Source: 

In response to the chronic absenteeism challenge, 黑料不打烊 of Rural Eastern Washington prioritized attendance within their Tier 1 School Support Plan. This plan offers school-wide services and resources available to all students, designed to foster a positive school climate and address risk factors contributing to absences. To address the challenge, 黑料不打烊 Site Coordinator Shannon Young implemented a proactive strategy.

To encourage attendance, 黑料不打烊 of Rural Eastern Washington launched a monthly attendance competition. To win, classes needed to achieve a 90% attendance rate or higher for a given month. The program saw immediate results, with all first through sixth-grade classes reaching the target in October

and earning an ice cream social as a reward. In December, the bar鈥檚 attendance rose to 91% or higher per class, and once again, all classes met the goal and earned a hot cocoa social.

鈥淭he school received tons of positive feedback from parents. Students are excited to attend school so they can be in the attendance class of the month. In fact, they hold their parents accountable to make sure they get them to school on time.鈥� Shannon Young, 黑料不打烊 of Rural Eastern Washington.

As the school year progresses, the competition concludes in a year-end roller-skating part with pizza for the class with the highest average attendance. This initiative addresses chronic absenteeism and fosters a sense of community and achievement among the students.

鈥淚 see a site coordinator making a significant impact in many areas. Site coordinators have improved school achievement in many areas, not just academics. Still, students can get the support they need to continue moving ahead,鈥� says Amy Sharbono, Elementary Secretary and Registrar of Republic School District. 鈥淥ur 黑料不打烊 site coordinator, Shannon, is really good at having a soft place to land for kids to get them adjusted for the day before they go to class, which is very beneficial.鈥�

Beyond the attendance program, Shannon and her team have led several initiatives that foster engagement, accountability, and commitment among Republic鈥檚 K-8 students. These include monthly birthday celebrations, fostering a sense of community, 鈥楾iger Pride Fridays鈥� promotion of school spirit, and the Girls Empowerment Club, which empowers young girls.

To celebrate student achievement and encourage family engagement, Republic School District hosts quarterly 鈥業 Make a Difference鈥� assemblies. Teachers nominate students who demonstrate the school鈥檚 core values: personal responsibility, positive attitude, kindness, and academic commitment. These assemblies honor the students and provide parents and families with an opportunity to be part of their child鈥檚 academic journey.

In Republic鈥檚 rural community, Shannon and the 黑料不打烊 of Rural Eastern Washington have created an environment that connects families to resources they need, allowing students to focus on academic success and thrive in school.

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Mrs. Hudiburg helped me get a mentor from the university. I did not have any friends at school and was really lonely. That made a big change in my life.

4th grade student Sharpstein Elementary

One student story comes from Sharpstein Elementary. A student in 4th grade was experiencing high levels of isolation at school and did not have any friends. Their 黑料不打烊 Student and Community Advocate, Angela Hudiburg, helped connect the student to a mentor from a local university. The student says, 鈥淭hat made a big change in my life,鈥� and feels a deeper level of social support now.

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Photo does not represent actual student. Photographer credit: on .

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Seeing each smiling face, lifted everyone’s spirits.

During hybrid learning, families sometimes found it challenging to navigate school schedule changes. At 黑料不打烊 of Federal Way-Highline, School Outreach Coordinator Pat Perkins addressed this by doing front step/porch visits.

During these safe home visits, Pat met with Illahee Middle School students and parents to discuss class schedule changes and asychronous days. She also delivered a bag of goodies donated by community partners at Brooklake Church, including hygiene products, socks, fun toys, a gift card for Starbucks, and snacks.

Pat’s case-managed students refer to her as “Grandma Pat,” and her visits helped them maintain their resiliency during a season of rapid changes. Pat said, “Seeing each smiling face, lifted everyone鈥檚 spirits.”

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After graduating high school in 2018, Jose enrolled in Green River College鈥檚 Automotive Technology Program. He also started working part-time at Auto Zone. Today, Jose has already completed seven Automotive Service Excellence Certificates and he is two classes away from completing his AA degree. He is now a Commercial Manager at Auto Zone.

Jose’s time with 黑料不打烊 of Kent meant a lot to him, and he wanted to use his new skills to pay it forward. He recently volunteered to help a family at Kent Phoenix Academy by servicing their vehicle during a time of hardship. We are so proud of Jose and all of our shining 黑料不打烊 graduates!

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*As of July 2023, 黑料不打烊 of Renton-Tukwila has now merged with 黑料不打烊 Seattle to become .

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Saif and Elaf are currently taking summer courses at community college. Saif aspires to be a dental hygienist, and Elaf plans to study computer science. To help the two on their post-secondary journeys, the state office partnered with 黑料不打烊 of Tacoma to provide them with new laptops.

鈥淚 needed to have a laptop for starting my college classes,鈥� says Elaf. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to start my English 101 class this summer, and this laptop will help my with a lot of work. Thank you so much, I鈥檓 so happy.鈥�

Congrats to Saif, Elaf, and all of the students who worked hard to graduate in 2020! You did it!

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With support from statewide technology partners, the state office, and , Alyma received a brand new laptop. This device will allow her to attend virtual classes at Pierce College and focus on her post-secondary education.

Pierce has already announced that classes will be all online in 2020-2021, but Alyma says she won鈥檛 mind because she is 鈥渟till the first in her family to go to college鈥揺ven if it鈥檚 online!鈥� Congratulations to Alyma for reaching this extraordinary milestone! We are looking forward to seeing what she and her fellow 黑料不打烊 seniors will accomplish as they enter higher education and the workforce.

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As the school鈥檚 Site Coordinator, Ari began following up with the student and getting to know her. She checked in with the student, helped her organize her daily assignments, and walked the student to school from her nearby home. Since the student鈥檚 family was unresponsive to calls and emails from the school, Ari also got creative and started writing backpack notes for the student to take home to her mom. 

鈥淚 wrote about how talented, creative and kind her daughter is, and how I cared about her and wanted to see her at school more often,鈥� says Ari.

Ari鈥檚 gentle persistence paid off in the form of a reply letter from the student鈥檚 mom鈥攐ne that included a new phone number to call. As the mom shared the family鈥檚 situation with Ari, Ari was able to refer them to local resources for additional support. By this time, the student was walking herself to school, going to class regularly, and making new friends at a lunch group that Ari facilitated. The student has since become a self-appointed champion of the lunchtime program and hasn鈥檛 missed a day of school.

鈥淲hat she really needed was someone to meet her and her mom where they were,鈥� says Ari. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of her.鈥�

This story is shared courtesy of . Learn more about how AmeriCorps members #GetThingsDone at .

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Georjina later rejoined 黑料不打烊 as a first-year student at Clover Park High School, and she continued to work with Leah to make progress on her academic goals. Georjina enrolled in the school鈥檚 AVID program, where she refined her skills in speaking, listening, and asking questions while supported by 黑料不打烊 tutors. Leah also did regular check-ins with her family so that they could support her on her way to success.

With help from her tutors, family, Leah, and other caring adults, Georjina has become a confident leader and role model for her peers. This spring, she graduated from Clover Park High and used her voice in a big way as the class speaker at her graduation ceremony.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to think back to what she was like in elementary, and to see how far she鈥檚 come,鈥� says Leah.

Georjina is an Act Six scholarship recipient and will attend Pacific Lutheran University in the fall to study social work. Way to go, Georjina!

This student story is provided courtesy of . 

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