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As a new school year approaches, let’s commit as a community to keeping as many of our students in class for as many school days as possible – which is key to educational success.

That means limiting truancy, and possibly rethinking our attitudes about in-school and out-of-school suspensions. It also means keeping our children healthy so they experience a minimal number of absences due to illness.

Perhaps most fundamentally, it means reminding the children in our lives – whether a scared kindergartner or a confident senior – that school matters. Tell them so frequently.

In Northeastern Pennsylvania, where many public school districts will resume classes Monday, parents, grandparents and other adults can play a critical role by setting expectations for students. If you talk about school as if it’s a nuisance, your child likely will adopt a similar poor attitude. And if you’re lax about his or her attendance, you could be setting up your child to fail not only in the classroom, but also in life.

“In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communities,” according to an article on the Great Schools website titled “Why attendance matters.”

Here’s what each of us can do to tip the scales in our children’s favor.

Parents and other caretakers. Be involved in your child’s schooling. “Many studies show that parents’ involvement in school is more important to their children’s academic success than the parents’ level of education or income,” according to information distributed by the U.S. Department of Education.

Dedicate a quiet area of the house for doing homework, and ensure your child completes assignments. Get to know his or her teachers. Attend school events. Become active in a parent-teacher group.

Teachers. Create a welcoming classroom environment, and find little ways – including learning how to properly pronounce a student’s name – to show him or her respect.

“Both college- and middle-school-age students reported losing respect for teachers who disciplined students in a dismissive or punitive way, and said that they would be more likely to misbehave in such a teacher’s class,” according to a July article in Education Week about reducing school suspensions.

Administrators and policy makers. Consider whether suspensions are applied only when needed and don’t disproportionately target minority students. The U.S. Department of Education, among other groups, has compiled disturbing data that show black students get suspended and expelled at much higher rates than white students.

Students. Go to school consistently.

One day, not so long from now, you’ll be glad you earned that high school diploma.

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