Wright City R-II School District officials are continuing to search for creative ways to help students meet attendance goals.Despite slight improvements, R-II still finds itself well behind area schools when it comes to consistently getting students into the classroom.“Our numbers have gotten a lot better over the past five years, but by comparison, Warren County continues to have lower attendance than those counties surrounding us,” said Superintendent David Buck.“I think it’s a culture where we are quick to keep kids home — and at a higher rate than other counties around us,” he said.Based upon figures from the 2015-16 school year, Wright City finished lowest in attendance percentage among a comparison group of 18 school districts. Those schools included five bordered by R-II, 11 in the Eastern Missouri Conference and two that recently left.R-II yielded an overall attendance of 94.3 percent during the 2015-16 school year. At the top of the list was Silex, which reported a 96.8 percentage in attendance during that time.Buck says the district has seen a positive response to its efforts to improve the situation, but the numbers are still not where the district would like them.“We want our students to be excited about coming to school and learning,” he said. “We know that every day they are not in the classroom is a day they fall behind. It’s really hard to catch up on that lost time.”Last year’s attendance numbers were the highest in over a decade, but educators are still struggling to convince students to attend school. The problem is most prominent at the high school level, where many students are responsible for transporting themselves to school.“I think parental knowledge and belief that attendance is absolutely crucial to student academic success are the biggest barriers we face,” said High School Principal Shawn Brown.He says the students are offered incentives, with a $10 gift card being issued every month to one student with perfect attendance from each class.Students with 95 percent attendance or better also are entered into a drawing for a tablet at the end of each semester. Those with 97 percent attendance or better are eligible for an iPad drawing.In an attempt to improve the attendance struggle, R-II has increasingly become more proactive over the past decade. Programs such as Check-and-Connect identify students with less than 90 percent attendance and partner them with a staff member who meets with them each morning to make certain they are ready for the school day.If the student is absent, the teacher will attempt to make contact with them. In the event the student cannot be reached, an administrator or the school resource officer will make a home visit.Aside from falling behind in the curriculum, students may actually lose credit in their classes when they reach eight or more absences in any class per semester.The privilege to drive to school also is tied to attendance.“We have a provision in our parking pass application that students maintain 90 percent to park on our lot,” said Brown.Buck says attendance numbers also impact the district on a state level.“We’re really focused on making classes engaging and rigorous so they feel more meaningful to kids, and they will want to come to school,” said Buck.Attendance