Attendance & Truancy Prevention

Attendance Matters

When you miss school, you miss out - not only on academic enrichment, but on fine arts and extracurricular opportunities and camaraderie with fellow students.

Daily attendance in school is a strong indicator of future success. Absences from class may result in serious disruption of a student's mastery of instructional materials.

Across the country, at least 14.7 million students are missing so many days of school that they are academically at risk. Chronic absenteeism is classified as missing 10% of the school year, as few as two days a month! Missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason—excused, unexcused absences and suspensions—can translate into third-graders unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing subjects, and ninth-graders dropping out of high school. (Source: Attendance Works website).

Let's work together this school year to prioritize attendance and create more opportunities and a brighter future for Southwest ISD students!

Truancy & Dropout Prevention Coordinator

Laura Garza

Laura Garza's journey started from humble beginnings as a migrant. Recognizing the importance of education, she began her career as a paraprofessional at Harlandale ISD, becoming a teacher at Leal MS in 2002. She then taught and coached at Harlandale, SAISD, and Northside before moving into administration as an Assistant Athletic Director at Edgewood ISD. With 21 years of experience, she joined Southwest ISD in 2023 as the Truancy and Dropout Prevention Coordinator. Laura holds a bachelor's degree from the University of St. Mary's and a master's degree from Texas A&M San Antonio.

Forms

Physician Certification of Serious Or Life-Threatening Illness