OCALA, FL (352today.com) – For parents, helping their child succeed in school isn’t just about checking homework or packing lunch, it’s about building habits that last a lifetime. And one of the most powerful habits a child can develop is simply showing up.

Developing good habits early plays a large role in future success. However, truancy and chronic absenteeism can lead to deeper issues—especially by the time students reach middle or high school. It becomes difficult to engage a student if they’re not there, said Yvette del Nodal, Psy. S., Ed. S., Marion County Public Schools director of mental health and wellness adding that getting the student engaged takes on greater importance, as it’s just not reading, writing and arithmetic that they’re learning in school. “They’re getting interested in different areas in different subjects.”

“Everyone asks an elementary student, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ How do you get exposed to that stuff? You get exposed to it at school because you’re learning about things, you’re grabbing books and talking to other students. You’re watching videos. All of that information makes them start to explore and think about what they want to do. If you start to limit that, you get very disengaged students.”

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Students who continue skipping school into middle and high school often fall behind on credits. That can leave them wondering if they’ll even be able to attend or finish high school, she said.

Kindergarten is the ideal time to establish strong attendance habits, because it’s when students begin making connections—with teachers, classmates, and learning itself. Surprisingly, the grades with the highest chronic absenteeism in Marion County are 8th and 12th, followed closely by kindergarten.

“We’re trying to get these kids in the building, trying to get these kids connected to their teachers, to other adults, to services, to education, to just ideas and to have them there to be present and to show up every day is exactly the way we’re able to do it,” said del Nodal.

When absentee patterns start early, students often carry them into higher grades, where they face steep academic consequences.

“There’s a lot of support that we can bring in place, but all of that could’ve been mitigated much earlier had we started to work on that habit, and had we kept that student engaged in education,” del Nodal added. “There’s always some very extenuating circumstances with families, but what we’re seeing is that chronic absenteeism is a lot higher than we expect it to be.”

And while students must learn to take responsibility, parents and schools also play key roles in preventing harmful patterns from taking root.

“I feel the most important person in the attendance process is the teacher,” said Sherry Loria, Marion County Public Schools attendance advocate/court liaison mental health awareness. “When that teacher takes an interest, calls home or emails the parents, asking if everything is okay, they know they care. When they know somebody cares, they want to be there.”

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