Monday morning, beginning of what seems to be just another week at Miami High. You walk into first building and see those colorful banners with Drake, Pokémon, and rock bands telling you to come to school.

Those posters are part of #iAttend, which is a new initiative from Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) to lower school absenteeism and improve attendance.

“We cannot teach a student who doesn’t show up!” says MDCPS Superintendent Mr. Alberto Carvalho on his Twitter account.

The program’s focus is to enforce the idea that students can’t learn unless they’re in school, said Miami High’s principal Mr. Valdes.

According to MDCPS’s website (http//www.dadeschools.net) on any given day, 5.7% of Miami-Dade County Public Schools students are absent from school. For MDCPS, the second largest minority-majority public school system in the country, that represents more than 20,000 children.

So what happens if I’m absent?

Missing class means missing work, which has an effect on absentees. “When I get back to class, I don’t know what’s happening and the make-up work is usually a lot, so then I have the actual work with deadlines plus the make-up work overwhelming me, and the pain in the butt that it takes to excuse an absence,” said sophomore Valentina Molina

“I miss classwork, and some teachers don’t even care if the absence is excused or not and still give me F’s for the work,” said freshman Daivys Quintero.

Sophomore Andy Rodriguez said, “I usually just end up asking my friends for the answers, which is easier than doing it, but it also has its cons because I end up not understanding what the heck I just did.”

“Being absent only affects me”

Absenteeism even affects teachers. “They have to go back to review lectures because they had students who were absent during class, and then not everybody is in the same place,” said Mr. Valdes.

Is Absenteeism even an issue at Miami High?

Compared to other schools in the MDCPS district, Miami High is a bit above average with a 94-95% of daily attendance, reports Mr. Valdes. “Not what is wished for,” he said, “but it is still pretty good.”

However, 94-95% means that somewhere between 5-6% of the student population is absent. Here at Miami High, that would signify approximately 171 students per day. With such large numbers, we could fill about 6 classrooms with an average of 29 students in each.

The #iAttend initiative, according to the district’s website, includes closer monitoring and reporting of student absences, calls to parents, and more direct measures including home visits, counseling, and referrals to outside agencies. But, schools are also allowed to take their own measures as well.

Here at Miami High, being frequently absent could disqualify you from being eligible to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, and field trips. For sports, there is a 10-absence and 20 tardy limit per school year, meaning that a student could be the next NBA star, but if they don’t meet the attendance requirements, they can’t play.

Mr. Valdes says students who are frequently absent, besides dealing with teacher-parent or counselor conferences, run the risk of being withdrawn from school if the behavior is chronic. “That means students are not putting in as much effort as we are,” said Mr. Valdes.

Why are so many classmates missing in my class?

Many students at Miami High report medical appointments or illness as the number one reason to miss school. “I have recurrent medical issues going on, so I have to continuously be going to the doctor for checkups and examinations,” said junior John Gonzalez.

“I constantly miss school because I get anxiety attacks, so I either end up leaving early or just don’t come at all,” says sophomore Ana Fernandez.

A junior girl who wishes to remain anonymous says her depression and anxiety attacks are the main reasons she’s constantly absent. “It’s so bad sometimes that I can’t get myself out of bed because I feel like something bad is going to happen,” she said.

Other students, like senior LeeAndrew Morales, have their own reasons to miss school. “I’m constantly late to school,” he says, “so if I wake up late, I just don’t come at all. I can’t afford having any more tardies because I won’t be eligible to play sports or participate in other activities.”

Junior Randy Gregorio says it’s overwhelming having to turn in work by certain deadlines, and this affects whether he will be present in school or not. “Sometimes I don’t finish my homework on time, and rather than taking the F, I just don’t come, and that gives me extra time if I excuse the absence,” he said.

Here at Miami High we have all types of students, just like we have those that are constantly absent, there’s also students like senior Esly Perret who dislikes missing school. “because the next day makes me feel like I’m behind,” she said.

Junior Olvin Villatoro feels that “it takes even more work to catch up with a class once you’ve fallen behind,” and that’s why he tends to not miss school.