Using email reminders to increase virtual attendance for middle school students

As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, professionals in the field of behavior analysis and education have continually asked how to help students access quality education while still keeping them safe and healthy. There have been multiple options presented that allow students to access their education, such as being fully in-person, fully virtual, and a hybrid option that includes both in-person and virtual learning. Due to different factors, families may choose a full virtual option for their children. But then the question becomes, “how do we make sure they log into their classes on time?” School attendance continues to be an issue across the country and adding in a virtual element to education is something that hasn’t been dealt with in a large-scale effort before. The current study attempted to increase attendance for middle school students that were learning in a full virtual format by means of sending email reminders to the student and their parents, setting daily goals with the student, and providing positive reinforcement by delivering items to the student’s home. Results indicated that this specific intervention package, as outlined, was not an effective method to help middle school students increase their virtual class attendance. Future studies should focus on other intervention packages that can help students learning in a full virtual format to attend their Zoom sessions and access the quality education they deserve