Administrators celebrated the 100th day of school yesterday by randomly selecting individuals and awarding them a prize.
Fifty students and 50 teachers were selected and notified through email and Parent Square.
Patricia Rashid, assistant principal, said the teachers and students were chosen the day before, and selection was not dependent upon attendance. “We didn’t check the attendance at all. We just randomly picked students. There could possibly be some students on our list that were randomly picked and they weren’t here today,” she said.
However, Rashid said only those who were in attendance for today are eligible to claim their prize. “If you were in school, you are entitled to your prize. If you are not in school, then you’re not able to get your prize,” she said. “For medical absences, we’ll deal with that on a case-by- case basis. People who went on field trips can still claim their prize as well.”
At the end of the week, Rashid said that if there are any unclaimed prizes, new student winners will be randomly selected.
Senior Adelaide Millar, who was chosen to win a prize, thinks more students should have been selected. “There’s way more students than teachers. It could’ve been a 25 to 75 teacher-to-student ratio instead. I do think it’s really nice of them to include the teachers, though,” she said.
Prizes were organized into three tiers. The first tier prize, awarded at the beginning of the school day, constituted four pretzels, two donut holes, a mint and a chocolate treat.
Rashid said that the administration tried to match the surprise with the time of day. “In the morning we thought that we would offer students something that was breakfast themed. If you were a coffee drinker, you would have a doughnut or a sweet treat to go with it,” she said.
Those who won a second tier prize got a swag drawstring bag. “It’s something that everyone can use, student or adult,” Rashid said.
The third tier presented a choice for the winners. “Students and staff got different prizes for the last tier. Students could pick from either custom-made hoodies, or beanies,” Rashid said. “Teachers got a gift card with a nice amount on it. They could also get a hoodie or beanie if they wanted, but all of them, so far, have picked the giftcard.”
Millar said students should’ve had a choice to pick which prize they won. “I think definitely letting students pick their prizes would’ve been good. I would have liked to pick my prize,” she said. “I do love the tier one prize I got, though. It’s something I can eat and something I can share with friends.”
Rashid said she wanted to bring a new tradition to the high school. “In the elementary school buildings, we always acknowledge the 100th day of school, and I just thought it would be something that our high school students would appreciate as well,” she said.
Millar said that lack of school spirit throughout the building can contribute to small participation in school celebrations like the one today. “There weren’t that many students down there when I went to pick up my gift. There weren’t too many people at school in general today,” she said. “There’s a lack of school spirit, people don’t want to be celebrating these things.”
Low attendance has been an issue at the high school for over five years. Shaker Heights High School had a chronic absenteeism rate of 39.4 percent during the 2024-2025 school year. “Right now, our attendance is taking a dive,” Rashid said. “We have to look at the data and examine it and determine how we encourage students to come to school. How do we get them excited about coming to school? It’s all about the data.”
Good attendance is determined through a system adopted by the district called eduCLIMBER. Rashid said the administration has also been keeping track of students with good attendance through other celebratory means. “Throughout the year we’ve already been identifying students through our other campaigns like Sweet Treat Friday or Pop-up Wednesday. These are students who have been identified through the data in eduCLIMBER, the system that keeps track of all that student data,” she said.
Rashid said the next thing the administration is working on to boost student attendance is a collaboration with the Raider Roast program. “Students who arrive within a certain time period on random days will get coupons to purchase a drink from our Raider Roast Inc,” she said. “Raider Roast provides coffee for students. We are planning on expanding that to include hot cider and hot chocolate,” she said.
Rashid said the school is trying to reduce absenteeism by offering free bus passes to those struggling getting to school. “We talked to families about what barriers might be in place in making sure their student attends school and how we can support them,” she said. “We offer free bus passes to students who don’t have the supports to get to school.”
Encouraging students with exciting and engaging activities is another one of the ways Rashid said administration is trying to combat chronic absenteeism. “We advertise Pop-up Wednesday and Sweet Treat Friday throughout the school year. This Thursday we have a scheduled attend-dance, designed to provide a celebration for students with good attendance as well as improved attendance through the first grading and second grading period,” she said. The attend-dance will occur tomorrow during ninth and 10th periods.
