With the school calendar shrinking along with the amount of class time students get, attendance has become exponentially more important, school officials say. Both Gainesville City and Hall County Schools monitor attendance numbers and, if necessary, take action to ensure students are in class as much as possible. “First of all, attendance is incredibly important, but as the times change ... as we have less and less school, it becomes more and more important for kids to be here when we do have school,” said Hall County Superintendent Will Schofield.