New Year, New Attendance Goals

By Gino Zavala, corps member serving on the Deloitte team

Photo by Elliot Haney | 2013

Before the holidays, all of my students were excited about the upcoming break from school. It was exciting hearing all the things they planned to do over vacation. They even asked me about my own plans and I told them.  But I also let my students know how much I would miss them over winter break.

We all know it’s difficult going back to school after a long vacation. City Year wants to take the initiative of helping students maintain their good attendance. Before we left for vacation, I helped my students, especially those who are struggling with attendance, set attendance goals for January. I want to keep them motivated to come to school after vacation.

For the group of students who struggle with attendance I challenged them to come to school for two weeks with perfect attendance immediately following winter break. If they reach this goal they can come to lunch with me for one week.

The biggest goal I set is for my students who are really struggling with their attendance.  Their goal is to come to school with perfect attendance for the week after the vacation. If they can achieve this goal, they can draw on my hands (silly, but they loved the idea) and I will also treat them with their favorite candy.

My students were excited about candy. Many of them told me, “Get ready to get me my favorite candy, Mr. Z.”

As our students return to school today after an extended winter break (thanks to the snow storm last week), I’m ready to see who will achieve this goal–and I hope all of my students do.  I get really excited when I see my student achieve their goals because I know how much it means to them. It pushes me to come to school every day no matter how I might be feeling. I lead by example to prove to my students that they’re important to me and that I’ll always be there for them.

How do you celebrate students who are improving their attendance? Comment below and share your ideas with us.

About the author:
Gino Zavala is a 2013-2014 corps member serving on the Deloitte team at Irving Middle School in Roslindale. 

Friday Five: Ways to Spice up Morning Greeting

By Rebecca Leclerc

Photo by Elliot Haney | 2013

We know it is important to bring high-energy to service every day and to make sure our students know we’re excited to see them on time for school, but what about when our voices are hoarse and we’ve already cycled through all our cheers for the day? Don’t worry! You and your team can make morning greeting as fun and unique as each member on your team.

Theme Days
Keep your students guessing. Theme days can be as simple or complex as you want to make them. Wear your favorite jerseys and have some footballs to toss to students in the morning for a sports day theme. Or, embrace your inner jokester and have silly hat day. Anything from cowboy hats to stuffed-animal hats or something you’ve made out of construction paper will have your students laughing.

To get even more elaborate, roll out a red carpet (made of construction paper or plastic table cloth), make gold stars with students’ names on them and treat them as celebrities when they walk into the building. Who doesn’t love getting asked for their autograph first thing in the morning?

Alliteration
Pick one day each week where you always do something a little different that your students can join in on. Whacky Wednesdays or Mustache Mondays are a personal favorite. At Trotter Elementary School we’ve started Mustache Mondays and there is no end to the funny looks and laughter we get from students, parents, and teachers. If you make one day a week the same day for the whole year students and potentially teachers and parents can join in. Be sure to make a few extra mustache cutouts on popsicle sticks just in case students want to join in.

Involve Students
Invite students who are early to school, to pick a cheer or two. Or, even better, ask them to lead a cheer! Whether it’s their favorite City Year cheer or something they learned at camp, it’s a great way to build relationships with your students and it gives them a reason to get to school on time. A 3^rd grade student asked my team during morning greeting if we knew the Jellyfish Song; we didn’t, so we asked him to teach it to us. Now we know a new cheer and our student loves arriving early for school to sing it with us.

Make it about YOUR School
Take a song or cheer that you already know and rewrite it about your school. Use pieces of the school culture to show you’re really paying attention to what’s important to your school’s community.

Dance Party
Our students love 30-second dance parties as “brain breaks.” What better way to get students ready for the day than a morning greeting dance party?  Our team uses Pandora, which has kids-only playlists; it plays everything from Disney classics to Kidz Bop. Songs like the “Electric Slide,” “Cotton Eyed Joe,” and the “ChaCha Slide” are ones that many of our students know and are easy to dance to. I know when I was younger I would’ve loved to watch a bunch of adults in silly hats dance around to the “Electric Slide” and I’m sure your students would love it too.

About the author:
Rebecca Leclerc is a 2013-2014 corps member serving on the Wellington Management team at Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester. 

Star Scholars Interview their Corps Members

By Sara Freed Sussman

A year of service and City Year are sometimes difficult to explain to our students. We’re not teachers, but students see us in their classrooms, hallways and school all day long. Corps members from the MFS Investment management team serving at Dever-McCormack Lower School sat down with 3^rd grade students Angel*, Nathaniel*, and Malachi* to answer their questions about City Year.

Angel: Here’s what I know about City Year. They might help me in math. They might help me in reading. They might help me get to a level Q in reading this year. Will you help me get to a level Q in reading this year?

City Year Boston (CYB): Yes, we will!

Nathaniel: What does a City Year do when they’re not in class? Give lunch to the little kids? Play kickball?

CYB: When corps members are not in class, we do many things to help the school. We deliver the student breakfasts and lunches, help teachers to improve their classroom and hallway spaces, welcome students at arrival time each morning and assist the school at dismissal time too. Some corps members serve in specialty classrooms for fun, like strings [orchestra] class. Our team also makes movies for assemblies, makes awesome bulletin boards, [organizes] attendance challenges, plans events for the school in math, reading, and lunch buddies, and attends meetings with the school so we can serve the school better. We also play kickball with the classes that won the attendance challenge.

Angel: Why does City Year wear that coat all the time?

CYB: City Year wears the red jacket to show how much our service means to us. Whenever you see a City Year jacket, it has been dedicated by that City Year to somebody special in their lives. Every City Year [corps member] earns his or her jacket by going through lots of training. We are very proud to represent City Year by wearing our jacket. It’s like a team jersey.

Nathaniel: Are there City Years all around the world?

CYB: Yes! Right now, there are City Year in 25 cities across the nation, and there are also City Year teams serving in England and South Africa.

Malachi: Where can I buy the City Year clothes? How does City Year get the uniform to match, because I want one?

CYB: You can buy City Year clothes on the City Year website, but you can only earn a uniform if you are in City Year. That means, in ten years, you could serve with City Year and earn your own uniform to wear with all of us!

Angel: Why does City Year love kickball so much?

CYB: Our team loves kickball because it motivates you guys to come to school each day. So many classrooms had perfect attendance this past month because they all wanted to win our prize: a kickball game with the City Year team. We love it when you have perfect attendance and are in school every day to learn; that is why we love kickball so much.

Before ending the interview, we swapped roles and asked our star scholars one very important question:

CYB: Do you have any messages to share with City Year?

Nathaniel: To all those City Years out there, I hope that you guys will always be there for me.

Angel: I would give you a hug, but this is an interview.

Malachi: Don’t leave the school! And can you eat lunch with me tomorrow?

*Names changed to protect students’ privacy.

About the author:
Sara Freed Sussman is a 2013-2014 corps member serving on the MFS Investment Management team at Dever-McCormack Lower School in Dorchester.

A Day in the Life of a Corps Member

By Golshan Jalali

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About the photographer:
Golshan Jalali is a 2013-2014 corps member serving on the Westfield Capital Management team in Boston.

5 Tips for Designing Bulletin Boards

By Anja Filan

“What’s an attenda-sauras-rex?” a fifth grade student at Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot K-8 School asked as he passed a new City Year bulletin board. Hearing students’ conversations about bulletin boards is a reminder of just how engaging these carefully designed displays can be.

Designing an effective bulletin board that keeps students interested can be quite the challenge, however. Here are five ways you can design a bulletin board that will keep your students engaged:

Location, Location, Location
Where you hang your bulletin board is just as important as what you put on it.  Location can make or break a bulletin board’s effectiveness. An engaging bulletin board must be located somewhere with high  foot traffic. Always make sure that students can easily see and access the bulletin board if necessary. 

Colors
Visual interest is the key to keeping children engaged. An engaging bulletin board should be colorful and captivating. A colorful bulletin board will be sure to turn the heads of students passing by. If your aim is to catch eyes and grab students’ attention then use bright colors, which will be just as captivating as your text. If your board is informative, keep colors simple to draw eyes directly to the text. If your board is carefully themed make sure that your colors correspond to your theme.

Theme
Themed bulletin boards are fun to read and can sometimes help carry academic lessons into hallway displays. But be sure to think outside of the box and look for themes beyond seasons, holidays and lesson plans. At Young Achievers, for example, our “Attenda-saurus-rex” themed board encourages students to save knowledge from extinction by attending school.

Display Student Work
An engaging bulletin board should contain some student word. Students can be motivated by public recognition. Knowing that their hard work is on display for the whole school to see makes bulletin boards more exciting and interactive within the school community.

Thought Provoking
Bulletin boards that leave students thinking by asking questions or offer open-ended responses are engaging and interactive. Students will make their way back to the board to reread questions, consider possible answers, and will continue thinking about the board even after they walk away. On one of our English language arts boards, we challenged students to use their detective skills to solve a mystery. After reading through information on the board, students may gather clues and submit written predictions to a small bag attached to the board.

For Bulletin Board inspiration, check out:

• The Sea of Thankfulness
• Bulletin Board Inspiration on Pinterest
• Bulletin Board Ideas: Everything You Need (Scholastic)
• Library Bulletin Boards & Displays on Pinterest
• Back to School Bulletin Board & Classroom Ideas

About the author:
Anja Filan is a 2013-2014 corps member serving on the Bank of America team at Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot K-8 School in Mattapan. 

5:30 A.M.

Creative Story By Zach Weishar

My alarm goes off and my mother calls for me to get up. Ugh, just yesterday it was summer vacation, and now I have to go to school again. Seventh grade–I’m already dreading it. I don’t even know if my friends from last year will be with me again! And lunch? I am going to have to find a new group to sit with. This day is going to stink.

I hop on the bus, and begin the long drive to school. Here goes nothing.

As I saunter off the bus, my senses are assaulted by…singing? Who is doing this? If this is a joke, it isn’t funny at all.

I round the corner, and I see something that confuses me: a line of adults in white shirts and khaki’s. Who are these weirdoes, and why are they singing, “Hey, it’s you, you’re here, that’s great?” It isn’t that great. I don’t know if any one told them, but it’s the first day of school, which means it’s a whole year until summer vacation starts again.

There is nothing great about that.

As I get closer and the song grows louder, one of the adults reaches out and gives me a high-five. He says, “I’m glad you’re here today,” and gives me a big smile. Reluctantly, the corners of my mouth start to twitch up into a smile – unwillingly though.

Although I’m not happy to be back here, I feel a little better.

________

A note from the author:
We may not connect with every child. But what’s important is that we show up each and every day with enthusiasm and compassion. It’s the small things that really make the difference in this fight against the high school dropout rate. Slowly but surely, I believe that we will whittle it down.

That is why I serve.

Zach Weishar is a 2013-2014 corps member serving at Rogers Middle School.

The 4 C’s to Improving Attendance

By Cynthia Brunelle, Attendance and Behavior Initiatives Coordinator

Last year, I had the opportunity to visit one of Boston Public Schools middle schools, to participate in a report card conferencing event organized by the City Year team serving at the school. This program provides every student in the school with a five-minute, one-on-one conference with an adult to review progress reports, reflect on mid-semester grades and plan for end-of-semester goals. I had the chance to meet Jim*, a broad-shouldered student who flipped his hair out of his eyes while he spoke.

Me: So, looking over your attendance, I want you to look at this box. What does it say?

Jim: Hmm.

Me: So, I notice that you have missed 15 days of school so far.

Jim: Huh.

Me: When you look at that number, what do you think about?

Jim: The number is highlighted in red. I had no idea I had missed that many days.

While he started off quiet, I was struck by Jim’s honesty as we continued talking. He told me that he had recently learned that his family would be moving at the end of the year. He said that he liked his teachers and, in particular, learning about the American Revolutionary War, but after hearing the news, he didn’t see the point in engaging in school anymore.

While Jim’s story is unique, he remains in my mind as an example of a child who, regardless of his internal strengths, was overwhelmed by external struggle. Students had a number of reasons why they are tardy or absent. On an external level, some struggles with unstable housing, poor or unsafe travel options, inadequate food or clothing and individual or familial illness. On an internal level, students who were below grade level lost interest in the classwork, fighting with teachers or withdrawing into themselves. Working in tandem, these reasons hinder a student’s ability to be physically and mentally present at school, especially in the deep darkness of cold February mornings.

Absenteeism is a serious issue; students who miss even one day of school miss eight or more hours of instruction and social interaction. Upon returning to school, they struggle to catch up with classwork, to reconnect with peers, and to feel engaged in school culture. Schools across Boston, with the help of City Year and other partners, work with families to navigate internal and external challenges and get students to school on time.

Studies show that students remain and achieve in schools where caring adults look to support them, and we employ a toolbox of tricks to work towards success. Here are 4 “Cs” that guide our work:

• Compete: Students are naturally competitive, and every year, corps members partner with schools to manage monthly challenges for highest attendance. Students compete individually or by home rooms to win fame, glory, and trophies made out of cardboard. The monetary value of prizes is often less important to students than public recognition, which can be as simple as having a picture of their homeroom displayed in the main office.
• Communicate: Bulletin Boards can be used to display and promote attendance data, combining graphs, goals, and strategies for coming to school on time. Both school partners and families and guardians can be inspired by a display that you build.
• Connect: You can be the friendly face a student or family member associates with school. Greeting students at 7:00 a.m. was one of the privileges of serving a corps year. I did not realize my own capacity as a cheerleader until I was high-fiving students on their way into the school building every morning. Our principal and other administrators would frequently join us in morning greetings, and students could see that the whole school cared they were here and ready to learn.
• Celebrate: Utilize whole-school or one-on-one meetings to recognize students who have shown high engagement and improvement. This will help students (and teachers) feel like they can be a part of school culture and members of a community that is proud of their effort.

To continue the conversation on  attendance and chronic absenteeism, join America’s Promise Alliance for a Twitter chat (#SchoolEveryDay) tomorrow, September 10 from 1 to 2 p.m.

‘Harry Potter’ Helps Improve Attendance

By Nowmee Shehab

A red hoodie, a Hartford Whalers hat, and a neon green backpack. This is what I looked for every morning as we greeted our students. These were signs that Jonas* was arriving to school. I met Jonas on the second week of school last year and immediately noticed his quiet and caring demeanor. However, he never volunteered to participate in class and had trouble interacting with peers. On that first day, he told me about his City Year corps member last year and how much he appreciated his support. He said that his previous corps member was really special to him and helped him in class and with his homework. He asked me whether I would also help him in classes and I answered with a resounding, “yes!”

Though Jonas was an extremely respectful student, he had chronic absenteeism, often missing school twice a week and had difficulty completing his homework. Observing his poor and attendance and troubles with social interactions, Jonas was selected as one of my ‘lunch buddies’ where we could spend time together building his leadership and academic skills. Starting in October, we ate lunch together once a week.

Once we were talking about a novel we were currently reading in English language arts class. Curious about his interests I asked him, “What is your favorite book?” He reluctantly answered that he had never finished reading a book outside of school readings. I asked him what genre he was interested in. He said adventure and fantasy. I told him that my favorite book as a seventh grader was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He raised his eyebrows and tittered, amused at the idea that his corps member participated in pop culture.

In December, we began reading Harry Potter during our lunch buddies sessions. We set up weekly and monthly goals. Because his absenteeism and disengagement in the classroom were negatively impacting his academic performance, he decided his goals would be:

• volunteer to read in at least two classes per week;
• come to school every day of the week.

After several weeks of meeting these goals we set long-term goals: earn a B- in English class, finish reading three books outside of school before the school years ends, and participate regularly in class.

Jonas accomplished so much last year and his resilience inspired me. He never gave up. Most of all, he became engaged in his education and even invited friends to our lunch buddies reading sessions. His progress in reading also helped encourage him to come to school; by the end of the year, he improved his attendance by nearly 95%!

While we were unable to finish the entire seven-book Harry Potter series by the end of the school year, Jonas told me that he would continue reading the series on his own.

About the author:
Nowmee Shehab was a 2012-2013 corps member on the Summit Partners Team serving at the Harbor Pilot Middle School in Dorchester.

*Student name has been changed to protect privacy

The Warm Up League

By Mackenson Charles

I’m a true believer in the power sport and enrichment programs can have on the lives of our youth. I’m confident in this ideology because I am a product of it. Sports taught me life values that I did not acquire in my household or a classroom. I incorporated this theory into my service year and it worked successfully. My greatest accomplishment was creating, implementing and managing the Warm Up League. The Warm Up League is a before-school intramural basketball program that aims to encourage timely and consistent attendance in our students.

It all started when Lance*, a student in my history class invited me to play basketball with him before school in the gym. I gladly accepted his invite. The following morning I arrived to school 30 minutes early to join Lance again. As I entered the gym, I saw 12 students shooting hoops. They were curious to see my skill level and ready to criticize if I was not up to par.

Fortunately, my shots were going in consistently that morning. My 15 minutes of shooting around earned me the right of passage from the basketball critics and attending morning gym became an everyday routine. Soon, I would get selected to play in full-court games, as the captain of the teams would shout, “A’ight, I got City Year on my squad.”

As time went on, I noticed that the freshman students rarely were picked to play in the full-court game, mainly because the other students thought they weren’t “skilled” enough. They would be subjected to play on the side hoops and were often yelled at if they got in the way of the full-court game. I would substitute myself out the game most times so a neglected freshman could play. This wasn’t much help though, as the players would not pass the ball to my replacement. The full-court games lacked team work, competitive spirit, and sportsmanship.

This fueled the idea to start the Warm Up League. I envisioned a basketball league that values inclusivity, leadership, and sportsmanship, while simultaneously combating tardiness.

Running a basketball league effectively requires a lot of time and effort. Thankfully, my team leader Nicholas Fernandes helped organize the Warm Up League initiative. A total of 65 students signed up to participate in the League after two days of sign-ups. The participants were divided into seven teams and each team was assigned a team captain. The students were apprehensive at first because they did not know what to expect and how well the league would be managed. Game schedules were posted all around the school. There were two 20-minute games played, Monday through Thursday. Teams would play up to three games a week.

The first official game of the Warm Up League showed promise. Players wanted to make sure their teammates were aware of upcoming games so they would remind each other throughout the day.

Morning gym started with 12 students shooting around, and grew into a basketball league that averaged 35 students daily and 55 participants total. Students who had a chronic history of being late for school where now showing up early to play in their games.

About the author:
Mackenson Charles was a 2012-2013 corps member serving on the PTC team at The English High School in Jamaica Plain. 

A-B-C Student Success

Edited by Christian Kmiecik
Christian Kmiecik is a 2012-2013 corps member serving on the Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester.

With the school year approaching the home stretch of spring, the team serving at Trotter Elementary would like to take this opportunity to share some of our students’ successes. The third through fifth graders came a long way this year by improving their attendance, developing new friendships, and gaining the confidence to excel on their upcoming math tests. The following stories highlight the accomplishments of a handful of these students, as shared by the corps members who directly served them.

Brett Torres: Julian* was often absent from school. Frequently, I would have to pull him out of math class in order to go over material he missed. Eventually, I began to notice that he was absent on the same day almost every week, and after a string of weeks like this I decided to have a serious conversation with Julian about his absences. He was very candid when we spoke and he confessed that he was at fault for being absent. I explained to him the importance of coming to school every day, and he seemed to take it to heart when he expressed a desire to get an alarm clock.

I contacted his mom to make sure the clock was acquired, and thanked her for her efforts to help ensure Julian was getting to school on time. After these discussions, Julian and I reached a better place in our relationship, a place where we could talk more openly about what was going on in his life. From then on, I knew his attendance would improve and it did. His attendance improved so much that he has not missed more than two days since. He had perfect attendance for the month of March, earning him an invite to the monthly school attendance party. I am so proud of Julian and all of the progress he has made.

Christian Kmiecik: Working with James* this year has been a challenging but rewarding experience for each of us. At the beginning of the year he would have trouble staying focused in class and holding interest in his school work. By joining my bunch buddies group (where I meet with students one-on-one or in a small group each week during lunch to either talk about things or do activities related to improving behavior), he has really taken to sharing, and writing down, his “acts of greatness” (good deeds done in and out of school).

I was able to witness one of the more standout “acts of greatness” James accomplished: One day before heading out to recess, James and another student earned some Nerds candy for good behavior in class. The other student accidentally dropped his Nerds all over the floor after just opening them. As James and I helped the other student clean them up, James, without hesitation, offered his Nerds to the other student. It was a striking moment that truly demonstrated the progress he is making this year.

Kaitlyn Roman: Violet* started out the first day of school standing at the back crying because her seat was in the front row.  She never raised her hand and spoke only when spoken to.  She was shy. She said, “Ms. Roman, I can’t answer any of the questions.”  I told her that participation wasn’t about knowing all of the answers, it’s about paying attention and being the first one to get the “easy ones.”

“We can start there, and work our way up,” I assured her.

For weeks I sat behind her in class and tapped her on the shoulder when I knew that she knew the answers.  My teacher would ask for someone to read the directions.  I tapped.  Ten minus two?  I tapped.  Read the object on the board. I tapped.  What is a noun?  I tapped.

We celebrated her participation, and kept a running record of how many times she confidently raised her hand.  Now at the end of the year she is one of the most vocal students in our class.

*Names changed to protect privacy

Wordless Wednesday: Bowling with the Celtics

By Josh Fidalgo
Josh Fidalgo is a 2012-2013 corps member serving on the CSX team at the Dearborn Middle School in Roxbury.

The Boston Celtics presented Boston Public Schools students with a unique challenge: Step Your Game Up. Students who showed significant improvement in their grades and attendance were eligible for prizes, such as attending a home game at TD Garden, or attending a special bowling party. Nine students earned the privilege to bowl with the Celtics’ Jason Terry, Jarred Sullinger, Chris Wilcox, Terrence Williams, and Shavlik Randolph.

Harbor Students Challenged By The Celtics

By Nowmee Shehab
Nowmee Shehab is a 2012-2013 corps member serving on the Summit Partners team at the Harbor Pilot Middle School in Dorchester.

Posters hanging in the school remind students about the challenge.

What do a championship winning NBA team and an education non-profit have in common? They both have a vested interest in the success of Boston Public School students; City Year Boston and the Boston Celtics are working to keep BPS students in school and on track to graduate. The Step Your Game Up initiative is designed to target two early warning indicators that a student is at risk for dropping out of school.

The initiative will focus on students who are failing one of more of their core classes and on students who have less than 90 percent attendance. Corps members and teachers of the 12 participating schools will give out tickets to students who improve their attendance and grades. Another way Harbor students will be able to earn tickets is by following the school’s three principles: respect, effort and responsibility. Corps members will thoroughly track students’ performance through cycles in which they will earn these tickets. These tickets will be raffled for Celtics games tickets, events with Celtics players and NBA gear.

The Celtics hope to engage students in their academics as well as instill positive habits that will help them succeed.

The program was a success last year with nearly 69 percent of students who were receiving a “D” or lower in math or English Language Arts improving their grades to a “C-” or better. Additionally, 74 percent of the eligible students improved their attendance. Forty-eight percent of those students even rose above the 90 percent attendance goal!

Josh Cantor, the Team Leader of Summit Partners team serving at the Harbor thinks Step Your Game Up is a great initiative; a lot of the students look up to Celtics players. Cantor said, “What better impact can these players have on students than to encourage them to stay in school and improve their academics?”

The corps members are really excited about the program as well. We think that it will encourage a lot of students to truly excel. Esteban Kim, a corps member serving in the seventh grade noted that a majority of his students have never been to the TD Garden, home court to the Celtics. It would be really meaningful if they are rewarded for their hard work and perseverance with a trip to ‘The Garden’ and see the Celtics play in person.

Theresa Oberst, a corps member serving in the eighth grade said, “My students remember the program from last year and are very excited that it is starting again!” The whole school’s enthusiasm is noteworthy since increasing positive school culture is a mission of both City Year and the Celtics.

Fighting the Holiday Jitters

By Colin Stoecker
Colin Stoecker is a 2012-2013 corps member serving on the Bank of America team at the Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot K-8 School in Mattapan.

Small group mentoring at the Young Achievers School.

With winter recess approaching, the energy in our school is one of excitement and sheer happiness. Everyone loves a positive school climate; however, sometimes it can be difficult for hard work and concentration to thrive in this environment. The children have waited an entire year for the end of December and the celebrations that follow, and no one wants to be the Grinch in the classroom. But how do you balance this excitement while keeping the students focused? This article offers a few ideas from teachers and school partners to help keep students engaged in learning.

Victoria Laboy, 4^th grade teacher at the Young Achievers School said she likes to “keep curriculum focused and engaging.” She stressed the importance of following the normal routine and keeping the work challenging. But she added that it helps to “keep things moving by doing shorter work periods, but with more of a variety of activities.”

Another challenge educators face is the holiday slump where attendance drops as families leave early for holiday vacations. The Bank of America team serving at Young Achievers has planned some holiday incentives, such as a winter dance to help prevent this annual drop in attendance. By rewarding students who have perfect attendance, this VIP dance encourages students to stay in school until the official winter recess begins. Other holiday incentives that encourage attendance include greeting students in the morning with cups of hot chocolate, or hosting holiday parties in your classroom right before vacation begins.

“Exciting incentives always help make students want to come to school,” Amy Steingart, a corps member serving at the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, said. Merit parties promote a positive school climate. Celebrating students’ good behavior and achievements, not only make the students feel proud of themselves, it gives them something to look forward to before winter recess.