Schools across Michigan used incentives to entice students to attend school last Wednesday for Count Day but Clarkston Community Schools didn’t have to.
‘We have very good attendance rates,? said Anita Banach, director of communications and marketing for Clarkston Community Schools.
‘We didn’t have to do anything out of the usual to encourage our students and families to come to school.?
Once the preliminary numbers came in the district head count is 8,228, up four students from September 2008.
‘Our hope is to be a little bit higher at this point,? she said explaining the numbers go down by the time part-time students are counted and actual funding is figured out.
Banach did point out the head count numbers looked strong.
‘We have been preparing for a loss of students because the state of Michigan overall is losing students,? she said.
The district has seen more private school joining the public school system, probably attributable to the economy as families look to save money on tuition.
They did communicate with families Wednesday, Count Day, and asked them to follow the same procedures they would any absence – call the attendance line.
Banach explained absent students are counted if they return in 10 days. Anyone with an excused absent has 30 days to come back.
‘We average the same amount of absences every day,? she said. ‘Throughout the district, we probably had approxiamately 300 students absent.?
The complete head count will not be complete for 30 days.
The official count takes place across the state on the fourth Wednesday after Labor Day every year. A supplemental count is held in February on the second Wednesday.