96% by 2026: Every Day Matters
Every school day matters — showing up is the first step to success. Our district goal is to reach school attendance rates of 96% by 2026.
Daily Attendance Matters.
Chronic absenteeism—missing just 2 days a month—can lead to serious academic setbacks.
- Students who are chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read on grade level by third grade.
- By 6th grade, chronic absences become one of the leading indicators that a student will drop out of high school.
- Students who miss more than 10 days a year are 36% less likely to graduate from high school.
- Research shows that attendance matters even more than test scores in predicting academic success.
What You Can Do to Help
Parents/Guardians
Academic trouble can start earlier than you might expect. Missing days in kindergarten predicts truancy in later grades, and by sixth grade, chronic absences become a warning sign that a student will drop out of high school.
For Pre-K - 12th grade students, missing more than six days of school for any reason lowers academic performance and reduces graduation rates.
To help students succeed academically and later in life, parents should:
- Make getting children to school on time every day a top priority.
- Alert schools and community agencies to barriers that keep students from attending class.
- Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
- Consider minimizing screentime in the evenings and before school.
- Try to schedule non-urgent related medical appointments and extended trips when school isn’t in session.
- If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors and administrators for advice on how to make your child feel comfortable and excited about learning.
- Save days you must miss school for when your child is truly sick. Evaluate their symptoms to determine if they are severe enough to miss school. Learn more about our student health guidelines
Students
The best choice a student can make for their future is to show up to school every day. Showing up for school is linked to success in life. For every one day of school missed, it takes three days to make up what was taught.
Students can make school attendance a priority by:
- Adhering to a consistent bed time in order to get an adequate amount of sleep each night.
- Minimize use of personal electronic devices in the evenings and before school.
- Avoid drinking caffeine in the evenings, as it can make it harder to wake up in the mornings.
- Being aware of the time that they need to leave home in order to arrive at school on time.
- Orienting other interests and responsibilities around attending school.
- Expressing barriers to attendance with teachers and school administrators.
- Evaluate the times when you are truly too sick to go to school, and avoid missing school if you do not need to.
Treat school like your job...because it is.
Deer Creek Attendance Policy
High School
High school students, grades 9 through 12, must attend classes at least 89% of the time by Oklahoma law to receive credit in any course in which they are enrolled. Therefore, even if a student has an academic average of 60% or better in a class, he/she will not receive credit for that class if his/her attendance is less than 89% by Oklahoma law for the semester.
Elementary and Middle School
Elementary and middle school students, grades K through 8, must be in attendance at least 89% by Oklahoma law of the total school year to be eligible for promotion to the next grade level.
Pre-K
Students enrolling in our Pre-K program will comply with the same attendance regulations as students in grades K-12 with the additional caveat of excessive absences (9 days in a semester) resulting in being dropped from the Pre-K roll.
Tardies
Students are tardy if they are not in their classroom when the bell rings. Three tardies or early check out will be equal to (1) unexcused absence in individual classes each semester.
Chronic Absenteeism (State Law)
Chronic absenteeism is defined by the Oklahoma State Department of Education as absences totaling 10% or more of the required days of attendance within a school year, exclusive of a significant medical condition, equaling 18 days. Chronic absenteeism is in violation of the compulsory attendance law.
The Attendance Committee will meet regularly to review individual student attendance, student activities, chronic absenteeism and medical exemptions. Parents and students will be notified of trends and/or absences that are excessive or chronic. If a high number of absences and/or a historical pattern of high absences exist, the committee may determine that a student will be on attendance probation and may also require the parent and student to participate in an attendance hearing. All absences deemed excused or unexcused apply to chronic absenteeism and also count against the district for funding purposes. A significant medical condition means a severe, chronic, or life-threatening physical or mental illness, infection, injury, disease, or emotional trauma.
