Towne Acres takes home inaugural Attendance Cup for Johnson City Schools

Everyone’s attention was on attendance last week as Johnson City Schools held its inaugural Attendance Matters Spirit Week competition. Towne Acres was the eventual champion with 97.24 percent attendance for the week, barely beating out Lake Ridge Elementary School (96.71 percent), followed by Indian Trail Middle School (96.10 percent). Topper Academy improved their attendance by 11 percent during the week, which earned them a certificate for most improved.

This special week-long competition was developed by the Johnson City Schools’ Attendance Department to bring awareness to attendance and see who could have the best attendance percentage during a week.

“This was a fun way to bring a little bit of competition and awareness to the importance of attendance,” Johnson City Schools Supervisor of Student Services Tammy Pearce said. “Everyone had a lot of fun with the dress-up days, and it was great to see the excitement from the students, teachers and administrators as they tried to win the Attendance Cup.”

Besides keeping tabs on attendance, students and faculty were also encouraged to participate in different dress-up days, which were designed to be easy and help students have fun. On Monday, students were allowed to wear sunglasses to show that attendance was so bright. Tuesday was a crazy sock day to sock it to tardies. Wednesday was reserved as a hat day, while on Thursday everyone was encouraged to wear bright colors. The final day, Friday, was a maroon and gold day to support Science Hill in showing up to beat their rivals on the football field.

Towne Acres principal Dr. Josh Simmons said he was proud of his students for showing up and helping the school bring home the inaugural trophy.

“There was an extra layer of accountability where the students didn’t want to let the school down by not showing up,” Simmons said. “We are really thankful for everyone’s effort, and everyone had a great time bringing awareness to the importance of attendance."

The Attendance Cup will reside at Towne Acres until an additional Attendance Awareness Spirit Week in the spring. While the dress-up days provided students with added incentives, what was really impressive was the heightened awareness of attendance across the district.

“Regular attendance is the ultimate compass that leads students towards success,” Pearce said. “Helping students and their families understand the importance of attendance will help our students reach their full potential.”