Priscilla Eta got to school on time today. So did her little brother Ellis. But this wasn’t always the case.

Last year, their father Jonathan was working nights and as a single dad -- had a lot on his plate. As a result the kids were late for school 92 times. That’s roughly half the school year.

“I thought you know, they’re little. They’ll catch up,” he says, “I didn’t think it was that important until Miss Jones pointed it out.”

Miss Pendence Jones is an attendance counselor with Los Angeles Unified School District. She works at five schools, warmly reminding the students to come to class every day and on time.

“School starts at 8:00,” she prompts. The class sings back “Don’t be late!”

If students don’t show up, she’ll show up at their door, looking to speak to the kids and more importantly, their parents.

“So right now I have him absent for six days this school year,” she explained to one father in early October. That kind of chronic absenteeism in elementary school, she says, can spell big problems later on.

“By the time they reach Middle School and High School they may be too far behind and then they give up and that’s how we end up with a high rate of dropouts.”

Of course that’s not the only motivation for getting kids in their seats. State education funding is tied to attendance so when a kid is absent, the district loses money.

Jones has her routine down: comfortable shoes, a friendly approach and an observant eye. She’s also got patience, empathy and a list of resources. She doesn’t want to punish these families – although the law will if necessary. Instead, she’d prefer to set them up for success.

“Attendance is a symptom of something else,” she explains. “Sometimes it’s a matter of figuring out what that something else is and helping the family remove those barriers.”

For Jonathan Eta that meant parenting classes and helping him find family support. 

“The kids go to sleep on time now,” he says. “We organize our stuff and also I got help from mom. My mom helps me wake them up.”

And remember how his kids were late 92 times last year? This year they have perfect attendance – no absences, no tardies. In fact district-wide the year is off a to a great start. LAUSD says chronic absenteeism was down this September over last and excellent attendance is up.

Of course there are still students who aren’t showing up which means Miss Jones and her colleagues will keep showing up at their doors.