Principal Scott Wisniewski adopted a new evening routine last year. After dinner and helping his kids tackle homework, he does what most of his students probably do every evening: scroll through Instagram.
He collects all the pictures he鈥檚 taken of students and teachers鈥攊n classrooms, at football practice, or award ceremonies鈥攁nd posts them. As a first-time principal of Pompton Lakes High School in Passaic County, N.J., Wisniewski has been running his Instagram handle since August last year, tallying up an impressive running number of posts.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 taking the pictures, students come up to me and ask, 鈥楬ey! Is this Day 77 or 78?鈥� They鈥檙e invested in this effort,鈥� said Wisniewski. 鈥淧eople feel good when they are appreciated. So, I have to make time in my schedule to post on social media.鈥�
It鈥檚 all part of a coordinated effort to remind students about all the great things at school, and why they need to be there to join in. The pictures highlight student participation, from on the football field to raising their hands in math class.
An extra hour of sleep. Unfinished math homework. Or an ongoing tiff with a fellow student. There are multiple reasons that complicate students鈥� return following a break like winter holidays or even the 3-day weekends that populate calendars in January and February.
Principals like Wisniewski know that even these tiny breaks in routine can snowball into nagging attendance issues.
Data on student absenteeism collected in 2021 indicated that student absenteeism had tripled since the start of the pandemic, and it has remained high ever since. While the strong headwinds around absenteeism may have settled down, principals are still grappling with the tail-end of the problem鈥攁 persistent sense of apathy toward school, which returns after a break in routines.
鈥淭he apathy sets in over Christmas break. It鈥檚 a time for students to decompress. But they are also disconnected from learning,鈥� said Mike Randolph, the principal of Leesburg High School in Lake County, Fla. Randolph said his team has put in extra effort in the first week back from winter break by reinforcing what the school鈥檚 goals are.
鈥淲e were a school where no one wanted to come when I took over. Now our graduation rate has gone up from 67 percent to 85 percent. That鈥檚 the purpose we make clear to students when they come back,鈥� he said.
The core question behind the attendance issue, the leaders said, is one of choice.
鈥淗ow do I make this school a place where teachers and students choose to come? That鈥檚 my purpose,鈥� said Randolph.
Keep cellphones in check
One key element some leaders are targeting: cellphones. Without their constant distractions, leaders like Randolph believe students will engage more with lessons.
He鈥檚 made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that cellphone use must be curbed, especially in the first week back. Leesburg High strengthened its cellphone policy over break: Students aren鈥檛 allowed to have a cell phone visible during class. The idea is to give teachers as much instructional time as possible in the first few weeks after a long break. Without the distraction of cellphones, Randolph is hopeful that students will engage more in class.
Randolph鈥檚 been strict about collecting cellphones when he sees them out in class, taking away almost 80 on the first Monday back from the break. He鈥檚 also planning to measure the impact of this policy in the first instructional review of the year, by comparing student engagement in this semester with the previous one.
To put this policy into action in a school with over 1,700 students, Randolph and his team had to be on their feet鈥攓uite literally. 鈥淲e have walked to every class on the first day within the first 90 minutes. We go back later in the day, too, and students know we鈥檙e out to take their phones,鈥� he said. To give teachers as much instructional time as possible, Randolph said his whole team had to communicate the cellphone policy well, and then follow through.
Back-to-school week can鈥檛 be all punitive though. Teachers were instructed to spend a few minutes in every period to pose a 鈥渞estorative鈥� question to their students.
鈥淲e asked questions like, 鈥榃hat are you passionate about, and what have you done over the last 48 hours to support that passion?鈥� Another one was framed around 鈥榃hat is your purpose for attending school?鈥� Not the school鈥檚 purpose; the focus was on what they wanted,鈥� Randolph said.
If a student spoke about wanting to change their family trajectory of not attending college, the teacher could prompt a discussion about the path to college.
Schools need a full staff roster, though, to support this engagement. Randolph has a dedicated discipline team, a dean of students, an athletic director, and others, who help him in identifying students who face challenges in school.
Fights between students are one of those one-time attendance lapses that could grow into an absenteeism problem. Randolph recently took the help of a mental health liaison to settle an argument between two students, one of whom had avoided school for two consecutive days. The problem, added Randolph, was nipped in the bud.
Insta-appreciation and the art of 鈥渟eeing鈥� students
Wisniewski鈥檚 school is also battling student apathy.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to fail a class, or their attendance is bad. We鈥檙e doing a food drive and it鈥檚 hard to get them to participate. We鈥檙e hosting a ceremony to highlight the achievements of one student, and no one else shows up,鈥� Wisniewski said, noting the range of examples. 鈥淣one of this impacts students. They just don鈥檛 want to do it. It鈥檚 just really difficult to motivate them.鈥�
To break through, Wisniewski is drawing on his master鈥檚 degree dissertation, on how school leaders use social media to promote their own schools when there are competing school choice options. He posts every day on a dedicated Instagram account, and ensures the posts aren鈥檛 all about one club or one activity, with the objective of using the account to show that all students belong in Pompton Lakes community.
鈥淚 want to be intentional about highlighting kids who are doing things, and who may not get a lot of recognition,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a blast, honestly.鈥�
The appreciation doesn鈥檛 stop with students. He highlights teachers, too. Recently, he posted about all the teachers who rushed to help a student who suddenly felt dizzy.
Revving teachers up is just as important
Students need to feel connected to the school campus, and a large part hinges on teachers who are willing to go the extra step to engage them.
But who keeps teachers engaged after a break? Principals step up the small gestures to welcome them back. Randolph鈥檚 school revamped the teachers lounge during the break and stocked it with coffee and cookies on the first day back. The school has also instituted a weekly appreciation award for educators who 鈥済o above and beyond their role.鈥�
Beyond small gestures, Randolph said, principals have to have teachers鈥� backs. In implementing the cellphone policy, for instance, teachers can see Randolph and his team outside their classrooms, ready to follow through if they see a student using a cellphone.
Wisniewski said he made it a point to meet each of his 50 teachers in the first month after joining the school.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want our first interaction to be a negative one, during an incident,鈥� he said.
Every two months, he also does a walk-through with each staff member鈥攆rom English teachers to football coaches. The walk-throughs highlight every staff member鈥檚 importance, and they also serve as the source for most of Wisniewski鈥檚 Instagram posts.
What it all comes down to, the two principals said, is that measures to engage students take planning, time, and need to be consistent throughout the year. All that hard work pays dividends when it鈥檚 crunch time鈥攁fter breaks when everyone鈥檚 struggling to get back.
