Kelloggsville — There was clapping and a little squeal of excitement when Captain Spots made his entrance into Erin Sokol’s Young 5’s classroom.
The large stuffed giraffe was going to have a week-long stay as a reward for Sokol’s class having the best attendance for the week.
“It is a new thing we are doing this year,” said Student Services Coordinator Bailey Nelson, who with Principal Casey Wearing, determined which class would have the honor of hosting Captain Spots for the week. “They certainly get excited when I introduce him.”
Captain Spots was the brainchild of Wearing, who took over as the school’s principal this fall. The goal, Wearing said, is to boost attendance by offering a classroom incentive.
Since the pandemic, schools across the state have struggled with attendance. The Michigan Department of Education released a report recently that shows over the last three years, attendance rates have increased each year, from 88.8% in 2021-22 to 91.3% in 2024-25.
The report also shows that in that same time, chronic absenteeism rates have declined each year, from 38.5% in 2021-22 to 27.9% in 2024-25. Michigan follows the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more days of school.
Kelloggsville has seen its attendance percentages staying in the high 80s over the three-year period, according to MI School Data, Michigan’s official education data portal.
Nelson said the district has a dedicated team focused on improving attendance, and has organized programs to help encourage students and families to make it a priority, including prize drawings for students with consistent attendance. Those initiatives have made a difference, as Nelson noted a decrease in the number of late sign-ins.
“It’s about how to engage the students so that they are excited about school and want to be here,” she said.
Read more from Kelloggsville:
• Second-graders take on leadership roles as reading ambassadors
• She can’t wait to hear what her students are excited about today
