The Greater Johnstown School District is getting national recognition for its ability to keep kids in school.

Members of the school district will visit the White House on Tuesday.

Johnstown is one of only four schools across the country picked for the White House event, and the only New York state school.

The school will be presenting at an event focused on chronic absenteeism. That’s defined as missing at least 10% of the days out of the school year.

Johnstown has been tackling this issue for five years, with some good results, so far.

The school district has been working with a group called Attendance Works. They are school improvement specialists.

The numbers show good progress. For the 2021-2022 school year, the junior-senior high school had a chronic absenteeism rate of more than 35%. That rate had improved to 26% a year later.

The Warren Street Elementary School, which was at the time fourth through sixth grade, saw a similar drop in the same period, from 29% down to 17%.

Four Johnstown administrators will go to Washington, with Johnstown High School Principal Scott Hale doing the presentation.

Hear him talk about how being chronically absent can negatively affect a student by watching the video of Kumi Tucker’s story.