Student attendance is how public schools get paid; how they make sure they have enough money to maintain day-to-day operations. When attendance drops, schools lose money and could even shut down. To encourage children to attend school, many schools have utilized methods of deterrence, like calling home, requiring notes for absences and discipline.

Recently, Chicago public schools decided to use a new approach to combat school absences: rewarding students who have perfect attendance.

In DeKalb, the policy of rewarding perfect attendance also is gaining momentum.

The district will look at the possibility of rewarding perfect attendance through various projects, said DeKalb District 428 Superintendent Paul Beilfuss.

Some schools already practice ways of rewarding perfect attendance.

Perfect attendance is formally cited and recognized at a spirit assembly, said Tyler Elementary School Principal Robert Palmer.

Still, some administrators maintain rewarding behavior is not the only option.

The school does not offer any special benefits for perfect attendance, but administrators and teachers try to maintain an inviting environment that students actually enjoy and attendance is solid, said Huntley Middle School Principal Roger Scott.

Chicago schools reward students with material goods for perfect attendance.

“In our school, perfect attendance is rewarded by the quarter. Children are given free water bottles, free T-shirts and are entered into raffles to win free groceries […] and other free prizes,” said Assistant Principal Thomas Stibich of Chicago’s Addams Elementary School.

This policy has financially benefited the school because any cost is marginal compared to the benefit, he said.

In addition to utilizing methods of deterrence for encouraging student attendance, perfect attendance is rewarded with recognition at an assembly, along with free products, said Assistant Principal Badel Khano of Nicholas Senn High School, also in Chicago.

Because of this program, the school has an 80 to 90 percent attendance record when it used to be significantly less, Khano said.

Florence Nightingale Elementary School of Chicago also has seen improvements in student attendance.

Last month, the school had an attendance of 96 percent, which is attributed to a combination of traditional follow-ups, like calls home and rewarding good attendance and citizenship, said Assistant Principal Barbara Popish.