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ADM important for schools
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Volney Rogers Academy students, from left, Hannah Coleman, a sixth-grader; Markyra Ortello, seventh-grader; Shannon Dubose, sixth-grader; and Elijah Anderson and Rontelli Reed, both seventh-graders; sported their clothing inside-out Wednesday. The inside-out day was part of the school’s efforts to maximize student attendance during Average Daily Membership week, which runs through Friday.
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Students at Volney Rogers Academy were allowed to come to school Wednesday with their uniforms on inside out. It’s one of the incentives to get students to come to school during Average Daily Membership week, a week used by the state to help determine funding for schools.
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Goofy hats, inside-out clothing, crazy socks — they’re among the efforts at the city schools to maximize attendance during Average Daily Membership week.
ADM is the number of students enrolled in a school district who either attend or have an excused absence that week. The week runs through Friday.
The number is significant because it’s part of the formula used by the state to determine funding.
The city school district will lose $5,900 for each unexcused student absence this week because those students won’t be included in the formula.
On Wednesday, students at Volney Rogers Sixth and Seventh Grade Academy turned their school uniforms inside out.
“It’s part of ADM Week,” said seventh-grader Elijah Anderson, 13.
He wore a red shirt turned inside out.
“I think it looks cool,” Elijah said.
Diane E. Hunsbarger, Volney principal, said the students could dress differently each day. Monday was hat day, Tuesday, team-jersey day, today will be tie day and Friday is nerd day.
All students with perfect attendance for the week will be eligible to win two tickets to Saturday’s Youngstown State University football game.
Hunsbarger said attendance has been about 96 percent.
“Of course, we’d like it to be more,” she said.
Rontelli Reed, 14, a seventh-grader, wore his polo shirt, but he turned a long-sleeve shirt underneath it and his pants inside out, pockets flapping at his legs.
Zipping the pants proved challenging, but Rontelli managed.
“I wanted to try something new,” he said.
He wore a jersey Tuesday and a snap-cap hat Monday.
Sixth-grader Shannon Dubose, 11, turned his blue polo shirt inside out Wednesday and wore his Volney Rogers Kings football jersey to school Tuesday.
“I just wanted to do it,” Shannon said.
Hannah Coleman, 11, and in sixth grade, turned her whole outfit inside out, even going so far as to flip the tops of her boots down.
“I wanted to participate in the school program,” she said.
Though the reversed clothes feel kind of funny, Hannah wouldn’t mind doing it again.
“It’s funny,” she said.
Markyra Ortello, 12, a seventh-grader, donned an inside-out polo shirt and pants. She acknowledged that her outfit drew some strange looks.
“I just wanted to do it for the school,” she said.
At Paul C. Bunn Elementary School, every child who attends school on time this week will be allowed to dress down the following day, said Principal Bill Baun.
“We’ve had close to 100 percent participation,” he said.
At the end of the week, every class that saw perfect attendance for the week will get a pizza party.
“Students enjoy the fact that they can earn a dress-down day,” Baun said. “We give them an incentive to come to school. “They get tired of wearing the uniform all the time, and they’re working hard toward a 100-percent-participation rate so they get a pizza party at the end of the week.”
Monday was hat day at Rayen Early College Middle School, followed by jersey day, tie/scarf day and crazy-sock day. Friday is a dress-down day for students who have attended school and been on time the previous four days.
Students at William Holmes McGuffey Elementary School participated in dress-down day, movie- and popcorn day, career day with prize drawings at week’s end for students who attended school all week.