WAITSBURG – Twenty-eight Preston Hall students received a $5 concession stand coupon, gobbled cupcakes, received a perfect attendance bracelet and had their name entered in an end-of-semester big prize giveaway during Preston Hall's first Perfect Attendance Party on Tuesday. The event was part of the district's new middle and high school Attendance Matters program, aimed at decreasing the chronic tardies and absences that have plagued the district.

Waitsburg is far from alone in its struggle with school attendance. In August the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) joined a na...