Increasing Student Engagement and Belonging to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism

In the heart of Texas, two schools are proving that the key to student success lies in one simple concept: listening to students. Through innovative programs, fostering strong relationships, and addressing the root causes of absence, Dupre and Alderete demonstrate the transformative power of student-centered learning and improve student experiences.

In fact, recent data from more than 100,000 students nationwide who completed the Leaps Student Voice Survey, a validated tool designed to help communities understand the experiences of learners, found that students who report positive experiences in school are 25% less likely to be chronically absent than students who dislike their school experiences.

Learn more from these two schools who used the Leaps Student Voice Survey to reimagine their approach to student belonging and engagement—and decrease chronic absenteeism.

Dupre Academy High School

Dupre Academy High School in Texas’s Lubbock ISD is proving what’s possible when we incorporate student perspectives into school design. “Some kids don’t go to school because they don’t feel as if they belong,” says Principal Carolyn Thompson. She and the Dupre staff welcome students, who often stopped attending their previous school, as a “last stop” before the alternative high school.

Where others had failed, Dupre was determined to create an environment where students could thrive. “We did surveys,” says Thompson. “But they were basically surveys that didn’t address the problem…because we didn’t incorporate all stakeholders.” By implementing the LEAPS Student Voice Survey, Dupre identified students’ need for better Social Emotional Learning and strengthened relationships with the school’s adults. The school implemented a Lead & Learn course, but further polling found Dupre’s female students to be more invested in the course than their male peers.

A productive cycle of listening and innovating was born. “We went back to the drawing board and created focus groups just for our boys to learn what topics they wanted to discuss during Lead & Learn,” Thompson says. The school brought in realtors, farmers, construction workers, and even the chief of police to speak in the Lead & Learn sessions. In response, the course became can’t-miss for the school’s male students, skyrocketing attendance and engagement.

Word spread about the focus groups, prompting female students to ask for their own. “It’s an opportunity for our students to provide us with feedback so that we know what decisions to make regarding them, feeling as if they’re a part of the school,” says Thompson.

Guided by its students, Dupre’s focus on student well-being and mentorship paid off. Students achieved a 100% graduation rate, and Lubbock ISD is studying Dupre to inform its district-wide approach to student retention.

Jose J. Alderete Middle School

Located in Texas’s Canutillo Independent School District, Jose J. Alderete Middle School recognized it had a problem with student belonging and attendance. It also recognized that its current efforts were missing an essential stakeholder: students.

“A lot of the times, we make decisions without including them,” says Alderete Principal Nidia Avila. “We look at numbers and data. But data is also about having conversations and being able to ask them, ‘What is it that you need?’”

To gain insight into what could be done to improve students’ experience, Avila and Alderete instructional coach Janet Amador led the implementation of the LEAPS Student Voice Survey. They also conducted focus groups to identify and address root causes.

“We, as adults, tend to think that we know everything, and we don’t,” says Avila. “Students have a voice. By allowing them to be able to explain what they’re feeling, what they think they need, it’s also a way for them to advocate for themselves.”

The survey and focus groups revealed some entrenched challenges. “[About] 80% of our students were feeling like they did not belong,” says Amador. “Those numbers went higher if they were also emergent bilingual students. It made us say, ‘Okay, we need to step back…We’re not reaching the whole child.’ We know that they need to build connections just to get them on campus.”

Amador’s approach? Start with the little things, which can be just as innovative as larger initiatives. “We don’t have to try 10 different things to try to improve our student experience,” she says. “If we do one or two little things, but in a very meaningful way, it’s going to do more in regards to how students perceive their belonging in school. Which will affect all other aspects of their education.”

A simple cookout set the tone for belonging and relationship-building among the Alderete community. “We invited people from the community, so we even had Fort Bliss soldiers come and serve the food,” says Amador. “After the cookout we did have a survey to see how they felt…and we had a lot of very positive responses from students feeling that they felt safe in the environment that we were in.”

Other small changes implemented with intentionality:

• Playing music during drop-off has been a mood booster
• Staff saying hello to all students, and modeling saying hello to each other
• Home visits—279, to be exact

Using insights from the LEAPS Student Voice Survey and focus groups, Alderete was able to flip the script on student engagement. Students now know that their presence is wanted and needed, which makes them more likely to attend school.