Birmingham city hall and school officials gave a local parent $450 Thursday because her children attended school every day for a month.

Juanesa Johnson said she is a “firm believer” in getting her two children, Ja’Licia, 7, and Ja’Marion, 13, to school. As Birmingham launches a new anti-absenteeism initiative, it wants more parents to follow the Johnson family’s example – and is offering money to one family a month that does.

“I am a firm believer in getting my kids to school, I was raised that way. I try to instill that in them. Winning this gives me motivation, it gives other parents motivation to do the same,” Johnson said. “Education is everything. It’s important for them. It takes them a long way. Every day counts.”

Birmingham City Schools currently faces a high rate of chronic absenteeism. About 23% of local students were chronically absent in 2022-23, higher than the statewide rate of 18%. Many districts have seen increasing rates of absenteeism since the pandemic.

Kids stay home for myriad reasons — finances, housing instability, illness, transportation issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying or generally feeling unwelcome at school, experts say. Addressing absenteeism often requires addressing those root causes.

Johnson said it is not always easy getting her children to school. Before she bought a car, two years ago, she walked her children to school every day.

Absent students miss out not only on what is being taught in class but also on all the other things schools provide — such as meals, counseling, socialization. Students who are chronically absent are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out.

Local officials gathered Thursday, including Mayor Randall Woodfin, Superintendent Mark Sullivan and the Birmingham District Housing Authority Chief Meagan Holland, said the community has to figure out ways to get more kids in classrooms.

So, each month, city officials will host a drawing for students with perfect attendance records. Awards will be sponsored by community partners, according to Dontrelle Young Foster, president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District and Larry Williams, chief housing and program officer of the housing authority.

After repeatedly calling out some parents and chronic absenteeism in city schools, Woodfin said this initiative is close to his heart because his mother lived in public housing and moved often, making it hard for her to attend school every day.

Against all odds, she graduated high school.

“I know that in today’s time of 2024, that we have families who live in our public housing, dealing with every issue under the sun. From abuse to domestic violence. They deal with issues of under employment, they deal with family issues, drug issues, all these issues. That has an impact on what that family can do for their children. Some of us have lived that, including my own mom,” Woodfin said.

“The best thing we can do is educate our children. We cannot do that if they are not in school.”