By Erica Wright
The Birmingham Times
Students at William J. (W.J.) Christian K-8 School won’t soon forget their first pep rally of the year. Students on Monday were recognized for having the highest attendance when Birmingham City Schools (BCS) opened Aug. 6.
With 99 percent present for the first day of school, students won the BCS Back to School Readiness Challenge.
For winning, the entire staff and student body were surprised with tickets to the Houston Rockets versus Memphis Grizzlies game at Legacy Arena at the Birmingham- Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) on October 2.
“I think I was just as excited as [the students] were because I’m an NBA lover and a WNBA lover, but just seeing the excitement on their faces was everything for me,” said Dr. Nichole Davis-Williams, principal of W.J. Christian. “We were so happy for them, just to have that little bit of accomplishment the first week of school I think this is going to set the tone for the rest of the year.”
The challenge was one of the initiatives implemented by Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring and offered to schools across the district. Herring said 20 to 30 percent of schools saw a significant increase in attendance this year as opposed to last year.
“When I think about the importance of attendance, I think about when they’re not in school,” said Herring. “We mentioned today that those habits of the first week of school carry on to the first year of school or throughout the school year, and it’s important that our students are present.”
She continued, “In addition, we know that when students are not in school, particularly in the beginning, they miss the routines and rituals of getting ready and they become a little bit behind from their peers when they choose to start a little bit later,” she said.
Davis-Williams said she did call-outs the night before school started to make sure students would be ready for their first day.
Students and staff at W.J. Christian were able to receive tickets to the game because of the partnership between BCS, BBVA Compass and the Rockets.
“The goal was really to have [students] here the very first day of school but then also to get them in that pattern of coming to school every day,” said Andrea Smith, Birmingham Market CEO for BBVA Compass. “This was just one way to reinforce that sometimes at the end, there’s a really good surprise for all their hard work and that’s what we’re celebrating.”
Herring said she is hopeful that attendance will remain high throughout the year.
“We will always try to be focused around attendance increase and so we’re not removed from looking at other incentives throughout the year,” she said. “This can’t take place without powerful partners . . . but we also have an attendance task force that’s looked at what we need to do to maintain the consistency of attendance across our district at large.”
