With a new school year comes a push for better attendance.

Foothills School Division administrators have been working since last year to create a tool kit to support attendance in the division, which is being rolled out for the 2017-18 year.

The tool kit provides a continuum of support, starting proactively by educating staff, parents and students on the importance of attendance.

Loriann Salmon, Director of Inclusive Learning, says they've also developed a system to closely track the amount of days students miss.

"When they miss 10% of their year we're encouraging teachers to phone home, and make contact with the parents. When that gets above the 10% then administrators become involved and have contact with parents through letters and such. If we see continued issues after that, then we'll have the students and their parents in to develop an attendance improvement plan so we can ensure we have the proper supports in place for the student to get to school, and to continue coming to school on a regular basis."

Salmon shares when students miss 10% or more of their year it will be considered chronic absences, which has a direct impact on student achievement.

"If they're not in school they can't learn, we know it definitely has an impact on student achievement. Research has shown that particularly in the younger grades there is a lot of foundational learning that takes place, and when students are missing one or two days a month that's actually quite significant. In the higher grades the research has shown that good attendance can predict graduation rates better than an eighth grade final test score."

She adds while the new supports should result in attendance improvement throughout the year, if they don't there can be much bigger consequences for the student.

"One of the pieces that does occur if it does get to the point when all of our supports and strategies aren't seeming to have an impact, it does go to our attendance board and can be referred on as well to the Court of Queen's Bench with regards to their attendance."

Salmon recommends contacting the school if you suspect your child is skipping classes, as FSD counselors are also trained in school refusal tools and can help provide targeted intervention.