WILLIAMSBURG — Dozens of students, educators and parents gathered at the Anne T. Dunphy School playground one day last week to commemorate their designation as an Attendance All-Star School by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Over the past year, the Dunphy School drastically reduced chronic absenteeism rates among students, earning them their All-Star title and a golden basketball signed by the championship-winning Boston Celtics — a prize bestowed upon only the 10 most improved schools statewide.

As of March 1, 2023, the Dunphy School suffered a chronic absenteeism rate of 33.3%. By March 1 of this year, that number was reduced by more than half to 14.6%. For Dunphy School Principal Stacey Jenkins, the key to this transformation has been prioritizing relationships among students, staff and caregivers.

“One of the most important things is to think about relationships with students, to make school a place they want to be,” Jenkins said. “Also, making sure kids all have authentic peer relationships, so they have friends they’re excited to see every day, and ensuring they have adults they can come to even if they’re having a bad day.”

This event also marked the first public appearance by Vito Perrone as the new superintendent of the Hampshire Regional School District. During interviews for the position, Perrone emphasized the importance of reducing chronic absenteeism in Hampshire Regional’s classrooms. At the celebration, he told the Gazette that he hopes to continue the “hard work” that the Dunphy School has displayed, and bring similar results to other schools in the regional district this coming school year.

Perrone echoed Jenkins on the importance of cultivating meaningful relationships in the school community to create a comfortable and exciting learning environment for students and their families.

“Relationships have to be built so that parents and caregivers know teachers and educators, and so students feel like they know who to go to,” he said. “We have to continue to build relationships with students, educators and the community.”

Jenkins welcomed Perrone to the Dunphy family with a T-shirt and a glowing introduction to the school community, saying he was an Attendance All-Star himself when he attended school and completed post-secondary education.

Also in attendance to congratulate the students and staff at the Dunphy School were state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, and Joe Wyman and Jennifer Gwatkin from DESE.

“These kinds of achievements don’t happen by accident,” said Wyman. “We at DESE recognize the importance of attendance. … Kids can’t learn if they’re not in school.”

In addition to creating strong relationships within the school ecosystem, Jenkins said that the Dunphy School has been prioritizing making classroom education more fun and engaging by using student feedback and trying new methods. The fruits of this focus were evident not only in the school’s improved attendance rates but also in student performance on standardized testing.

“Last fall, when we received our MCAS scores, we were so excited to be named a Massachusetts School of Recognition, and that means we’re doing really strong on our MCAS,” Jenkins told the crowd.

Jenkins also noted that in the testing data received last fall, Williamsburg students ranked No. 1 in fourth grade math and fifth grade science testing, with high placements in other grade levels and subjects as well.

To recognize the hard work of everyone in the Dunphy School community, Wyman and Gwatkin presented the group of ecstatic students with a golden basketball covered in signatures from Boston Celtics players while staff distributed ice cream treats. While enjoying the festivities, Perrone said that battling chronic absenteeism will remain a priority as he embarks on his first school year as superintendent in the district.

“What they’ve done here is really special,” he said.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.