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Education Matters: Elmore County School (February ’25)

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Chronic absenteeism, defined as students missing 10% or more of school for any reason, emerged as a serious challenge across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Missing school means missing valuable instructional time and has serious implications for students’ overall academic success and well-being. Research suggests that children who are chronically absent in their early years are much less likely to read at grade level by third grade, which can impact their academic success for the remainder of their educational career.

In Elmore County Schools, unexcused absences in particular have continued to increase since that time. We are committed to addressing chronic absenteeism to help students achieve their academic potential. We comply fully with the Alabama Compulsory Attendance Law in addressing attendance issues. Once a student has 5 or more unexcused absences, the parent is required to attend a meeting at juvenile court to discuss possible resources, as well as consequences regarding school attendance.

During this early warning meeting with parents, we always emphasize that our goal is not punitive but to support their child’s success and ensure compliance with attendance policies. We stress that to avoid unnecessary interventions, parents should submit written or electronic excuses within the 3-day required timeframe, read and respond to all communications regarding attendance, and attend all required meetings. To further assist parents in addressing attendance issues, we have implemented an online parent excuse form as another means of submitting excuses—this removes the need to send a note to the school by their child. We also work closely with the Helping Families Initiative and Juvenile Court to combat truancy.

When students are in school, they receive consistent instruction and opportunities for intervention, reteaching, and enrichment to help them achieve academic success.

February is Career and Technical Education month in Alabama. Elmore County Schools CTE programs give students technical skills, academic skills, and employability skills. Regardless of whether students plan to go to college or enter the workforce, CTE programs help prepare them for the future. We offer 16 programs at the Elmore County Technical Center as well as CTE programs at each of our high schools.

Career and Technical Education can benefit students in many ways, and we encourage our students to participate whenever possible. Elmore County Schools constantly strives to provide the best possible environment where every student is empowered and every student succeeds!


Richard Dennis is the Superintendent of Education for Elmore County Schools. He is a 1983 graduate of Holtville High School. He served 21 years as a high school principal at Holtville High, Wetumpka High and most recently, Prattville High. He and wife, Leslie (also an educator) have three sons and a daughter.

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