January 16, 2024
Dear Taunton Public School Families and Students,
As we near the halfway point of the school year, I want to highlight the importance of attendance in students’ learning and overall academic success.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in absences, both here in Taunton and across the state. We know there are often valid reasons for students to miss school, but recently, too many of our students have been chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism means missing 10 percent or more of the school year.
Missing that much school, as many as 18 days, can cause a child to fall behind in learning and miss opportunities to build relationships with other students and school staff. These losses can result in increased anxiety and interruptions to social and emotional development as well as students not fulfilling their academic potential.
Many research studies have shown that regardless of family income or background, students whose parents are involved in their schooling are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school. We want all our students to have the opportunity to achieve all of these things.
Taunton Public Schools is committed to helping you remove any barriers preventing your student from coming to school every day. Please contact your student’s support staff if you need help or resources.
I’m asking you to be a partner in increasing attendance in Taunton. From December 2022 to December 2023, our attendance rate improved from 91.2 percent to 92.8 percent, and our chronic absenteeism rate decreased from 30.4 percent to 22.8 percent. Because of that improvement, we’ve set a goal to finish the year strong; we want 93 percent attendance and chronic absenteeism below 20 percent. Please help us achieve that goal and make going to school every morning part of your family’s daily routine.
Sincerely,
John Cabral
John J. Cabral, Superintendent
Taunton Public Schools