The details
KISD launched the Student Attendance Incentive Plan with the goal of getting 0.5% more students in the classroom to increase KISD’s average daily attendance, or ADA, and improve student outcomes, Assistant Superintendent of Finance Jamey Hynds said.
The effort resulted in KISD’s ADA, which is one way the state determines how much funding to give public school districts, rising 0.6% year over year, Hynds said. This equated to more than 570 additional students in the classroom daily.
“Overwhelmingly, almost every single campus, at least at some point during the year, received some sort of an incentive,” he said. “At the secondary level, every single campus—every junior high and every high school—did receive some sort of an incentive.”
Zooming in
Campus administrators were tasked with initiating the program in a way that worked for each campus, said Ronnie Edwards, assistant superintendent of school leadership and support.
Edwards said strategies principals and other campus staff developed included:
- Increasing student and parent communication
- Rewarding for students with improved attendance with recess and popsicles, prize drawings from business partners, home room celebrations and pep rallies
Incentives, which were funded through each campus’ budget, were awarded per campus per semester if the ADA increased compared to the same semester of the previous school year, Edwards said.
“The work that takes place is on that ground level on the campus,” Edwards said. “It takes a tremendous amount of work to make this work on a campus, from our attendance clerks to our [assistant principals] to our teachers, students and parents involved.”
Why it matters
Texas public school finances are based on attendance rates, which is calculated by taking the total attendance counts throughout the school year and dividing that amount by the number of days that schools are required to be open, Community Impact reported.
Schools then earn $6,160 per student who meets the average daily attendance threshold.
While it cost KISD $2.2 million to provide incentives for the program last year, the 0.6% ADA increase brought in more than $4.7 million in state revenue, Hynds said. The revenue was then funneled back into the campuses, he said.
What they’re saying
KISD’s incentive program has gained attention from the Texas Association of School Boards, Texas Association of School Business Officials as well as other school districts, district officials said. KISD has also shared the program to neighboring districts looking to improve their ADA.
“Thank you for being innovative, and thank you for organizing it in a way that it worked and for sharing that and leading. That’s awesome. You make Katy so proud,” trustee Amy Thieme said.
What’s next
Hynds said KISD's Student Attendance Incentive Plan will continue in the upcoming 2024-25 school year, which begins Aug. 14.
