Indian Trail welcomes ETSU, SH football and cheer to celebrate student attendance

It may have been the last week before fall break, but students showed up to celebrate attendance at Indian Trail Middle School; and they had a little help from their friends. Just days before fall break, football players and cheerleaders from ETSU and Science Hill joined Indian Trail students to celebrate student attendance.

Ironically, the lead-up to the event mirrored a sports script, as Bear Hall (6th grade) overtook an 8th-grade hall that had been leading the previous three weeks on the final day.

“Attendance is very important for student success, so every day in school counts,” Indian Trail Principal Dr. James Jacobs said. “With the help of our community partners, we are trying to emphasize the importance of being present. It's great to see the impact this collaborative effort had on our students. Our attendance staff and everyone who put this event together really worked hard, and it meant a lot to our entire school.”

During September, Indian Trail Middle School held a contest based on the attendance percentage amongst all of the halls in the school. The winning hall received free admission into the Indian Trail vs. Liberty Bell football game, as well as enjoying a tailgate party with ETSU's Football, Cheer and Dance team members as well as members of the Science Hill football team. The Indian Trail Parent and Teacher Association provided pizza, chips and cookies for the winning students, teachers and guests.

Indian Trail Attendance Support Assistant Steven Templin led the event.

“We wanted to come up with an incentive that was fun and motivated the students to come to school,” Templin said. “The event was even better than we expected. The students and teachers loved it, and it was great to see all of the various athletes from our community show up and help celebrate these students. I believe this event gave these students an experience and memories that they'll cherish forever.”

Johnson City Schools will recognize the importance of student attendance with its Attendance Matters Spirit Week from October 23 to October 27. District-wide dress-up days have been created and can be viewed at www.jcschools.org/AttendanceMattersWeek. Additionally, each school’s attendance percentage will be calculated for the week. The school with the best percentage will get to house the Johnson City Schools Attendance Cup until the next campaign.