Research shows that children who have good attendance do better in school.  Being late for school also hurts a child's learning.  A student who is 10 minutes late every day will miss over 30 hours of instruction during the year.

Here are some tips on how to improve your child's attendance at school:

• Talk with your child about the importance of attending school regularly.
• Avoid scheduling family trips or doctor appointments during school hours.
• Make sure your child stays healthy by eating nutritious food and getting enough sleep and exercise.
• Don't accept excuses for why your child must miss or be late for school.
• Discuss with your child what happened at school each day.
• Support school rules and consequences for skipping class and being tardy.
• Show your child why education is important.  Give specific examples of how education helps people succeed.
• Lead by example.  If children see parents taking off work for no real reason, they may expect to be able to do the same thing.