COLUMBUS, Ohio — These days, school feels different for Olivia Hesler.
"You can actually do more learning if you can do it in person,” said Hesler.
She's enjoying learning again, but it's no coincidence.
South-Western City Schools has started an initiative to keep kids in school, including at Prairie Lincoln Elementary.
What You Need To Know
- South-Western City Schools hired 17 Attendance Success Mentors to help attendance rates
- According to the Ohio Department of Education, chronic absences in the state remain high at around 26%
- With the Attendance Success Mentors, the school district said they reduced the chronic absenteeism by 10% from November to the end of May last year
According to the Ohio Department of Education, chronic absences in the state remain high at around 26%. While that's down 3% from the year before, Mental Health Consultant for the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio Neeley Keys says that is still concerning.
"I think a lot of it kids are being bullied,” said Keys, “and we have significant mental health issues that are happening. We're just seeing a lot of socio-economic barriers that impede our attendance rates."
Keys said the answer lies in the Attendance Success Mentors they hired, which is part of a program she helped initiate to keep kids in schools.
"The Educational Service Center was able to hire 17 Attendance Success Mentors. Our Attendance Success Mentors are on morning duties and release duties at the schools where they're fist pumping and they're greeting them with a smile. We really focus on relationship-based."
So far, Keys said the initiative is working.
"The attendance success mentors started mid-November last school year, and they're in 17 buildings in South-Western City Schools. We were able to reduce the chronic absenteeism by 10% from November to the end of May."
It looks like the Attendance Success Mentors have left an impact on Hesler.
"Once I go see them, they're always helpful, and I go back to class feeling better," Hesler said.
The Attendance Success Mentors initiative is being funded by the district's Title One dollars.
South-Western City Schools is the only district doing all three tiers of services with fidelity.