Attendance Awareness Campaign Update for August 16, 2023

Attendance Awareness Campaign Update

A project led by Attendance Works

August 16, 2023

Young Learners:

Nurture the Attendance Habit!

Establishing a routine of every day attendance in the very early grades is vital as we recover from the pandemic. Read our blog post explaining why reducing chronic absence among kindergartners is critical for student success.

Start off the school year by offering families our handouts for preschool and kindergarten. Our Get Ready for School can be shared before the first day of school!

Did you miss the kindergarten chronic absence discussion held during the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading’s July 20th session Bright Spots and Groundwork: What’s Working in Communities? Listen to a recording of the breakout room discussion of absenteeism in kindergarten, and review the list of strategies and PowerPoint.

Highlight that showing up for school matters for R.E.A.L. School offers opportunities to build Routines, increase Engagement, provide Access to resources and support Learning. Download our framework and talking points for families with young children.

Our next free AAC Webinar (#4) is: Sustaining Success: Investing in Showing Up. Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023, 12pm-1:30pm PT / 3pm–4:30pm ET. Register here, and check out the recordings of those you missed!

Donate now

Reducing high levels of chronic absence requires a continual focus on engagement, support and the rebuilding of routines. Donate today and help propel the push for a full educational recovery for all kids and youth.

Attendance Tools

Reducing unnecessary health-related absences is critical to improving attendance. We collaborated with Kaiser Permanente’s Thriving Schools and the National Association of School Nurses on a new handout for families that clearly communicates that students can attend with minor illnesses, and offers guidance on when kids should stay home and seek advice from a health provider.

Supporting attendance begins in preschool. Download our early education program self-assessment to gain a deeper understanding of what could be happening to improve attendance. It’s also good tool for gathering a team of stakeholders.

We’ve published new social media memes for the 2023 campaign! Download and share.

Find new posters with the 2023 slogan, Showing Up Together! And don’t forget to add a badge to your email signature line or post to your website.

New Research

An analysis of 2021-22 school year state data by Thomas S. Dee of Stanford University suggests chronic absence has grown by 13.5 percentage points or an additional 6.5 million students since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This dramatic increase makes it even more important for states to monitor and report on chronic absence by grade level, starting in kindergarten.

Events

Join FutureEd on August 16 at 2 pm ET for a webinar featuring a conversation with lawmakers and advocates about how state leaders can get students back to school. We will be presenting! Register here.

We’ll be talking about chronic absenteeism in California and what schools and families can do to stem the tide. Register for the EdSource webinar on August 24, 2023 at 7 pm ET. Chronic absenteeism: How can schools get students back to class post-Covid?

Join PowerSchool and Attendance Works on August 24, 2023 at 2pm ET to learn actionable strategies and interventions to address chronic absenteeism and provide student support. Register for Strategies and Interventions to Improve K-12 Attendance and Reduce Chronic Absenteeism.

The Western Educational Equity Assistance Center (WEEAC) at WestEd invites you to the next three installments of Equity-Driven Strategies for Addressing Chronic Absence webinar series. On September 12, participate in session 4: Increasing Attendance and Engagement for American Indian and Alaska Native Students. Register for all 3.

Sign up for our three-part, online PD for educators. Attendance Works team members will show you how to implement strategies, support students and mobilize community partners to engage students (and their families) that are missing school. Register as part of a team.

Partner Spotlight

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading seeks to disrupt generational poverty and ensure more hopeful futures for children of low-income families. We support community-driven initiatives to improve the likelihood that these children will grasp the first rung of the success sequence ladder — graduation from high school.

Attendance in the News

Attendance records at school have dropped since the pandemic, KCBS News, August 12, 2023

Millions of kids are missing weeks of school as attendance tanks across the US, AP, August 11, 2023

California’s dramatic jump in chronically absent students is part of a nationwide surge, EdSource, August 10, 2023

Absenteeism Mires Recovery from Pandemic Learning Losses, Education Next, August 3, 2023

Social Media

We are now on Instagram! Find updates on our free resources, strategies, reports and events. Follow us @attendanceworks

Social media sample

Health-related absences are often preventable! @attendanceworks collaborated with @kpthrive @schoolnurses & other health professionals to release a new resource to help families address concerns about when to send a child to school after an illness. Take a look: https://www.attendanceworks.org/resources/health-handouts-for-families/ #SchoolEveryDay

Campaign Convening Partners

See the full list of Attendance Awareness Partners here.

Attendance Works is a non-profit, national and state initiative. Our mission is to promote equal opportunities to learn and advance student success by reducing chronic absence. Find free downloadable resources, research, consulting services and more on our website: www.attendanceworks.org

For more information contact: info@attendanceworks.org