The Texas Education Agency has notified all districts that students must meet a 90% attendance requirement to receive credit for a class. This standard has not been reached by many students, and to address this, Bowie has begun to reinforce its attendance recovery policy. 

“This policy has always been in place but has not been enforced since Fall 2019,” academic director Kaylin Brett said. “One component of school funding is based on student attendance. Therefore, the district began enforcing the attendance policy to support our district funding.”

The need for attendance recovery is also determined by having four or more unexcused absences in a single course, which is based on each semester, not the school year as a whole. Bowie has seen an increase in absences after a student loses eligibility for an Attendance Incentive for a final exam. This shift in policy aims to ensure students recognize the importance of attendance as a graduation requirement along with their academics. 

“Without the enforcement of the attendance policy, we saw a spike in our chronic absenteeism numbers,” Brett said. “Right now, our chronic absenteeism is at 13%. We are hoping to get this number down to the single digits by next year.”

There are two different ways a student can attend attendance recovery. A student can attend tutoring before or after school with any of their teachers. Additionally, students can attend silent work sessions on Tuesday or Thursday after school, held by Chloe Carr, Regan Dowdy, Jacqueline Gonzalez, or Corey Hooks.

“It can be difficult to stay after school depending on what extracurriculars you do,” junior Ava Flores said. “But overall attendance recovery is pretty easy, and it’s a good tool for students who have a hard time coming to school.”

The primary goal for attendance recovery is to help students recover the credit needed to meet graduation requirements. According to Brett, this year 97 senior students are currently not eligible for graduation or to attend prom due to their attendance. 

“I find the opportunity for attendance recovery super helpful,” Flores said. “Without attendance recovery, I might have had to go to summer school for credit, which I’m so glad I didn’t have to do.”

The state of Texas along with AISD saw a major increase in absent students without the enforcement of attendance, this policy is designed to assist students in meeting their attendance requirements to receive credit for a class and assure students don’t fall behind in curriculum.

“I have not seen students care so much about their attendance in a long time,” Brett said. “I am really happy to see students talking to their APs about their attendance and ensuring that they are on track to receive all their credits.”