When school begins, building and sustaining relationships is more essential than ever for ensuring students show up for class, especially as Covid-19 continues to spread.

When families and students trust school staff, they are more likely to believe that the school environment is safe and will return to in-person instruction. Students who have a sense of belonging and connection to the school community are more motivated to attend every day. And when families are treated as partners in their child’s education, it is easier to resolve attendance barriers and ensure students continue learning even if they must miss school due to illness.

Our work with schools, districts and states is helping educators and their partners think strategically about how they can effectively support students and families as we reemerge from Covid-19, and what they should have in place over time to improve student attendance and achievement. Donate today!

Principal Brian Johnson and his team at John Bartram High School in Philadelphia are building trusting relationships with teens during the pandemic through Critical Conversations that encourage students to ask questions and speak honestly. The team uses data to inform their work, such as a Front Door intervention that connects students with attendance challenges to needed supports. Read our Bright Spot.

Conducting relational home visits early in the school year can help establish strong partnerships. The Parent Teacher Home Visiting Project’s new resource, Trusting Relations First: A Toolkit for Healing and Recovery, emphasizes doubling down on our efforts to collaborate as equal partners to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, and to address the mistrust felt by many families of color. Find the toolkit.

Don’t overlook our Pathways to Engagement: A Toolkit for Covid-19 Recovery Through Attendance toolkit. Take a tailored approach to reengaging student groups, especially those who lost significant instructional opportunities during the pandemic.

Be sure to view the Count Us In! toolkit, updated for Covid-19, with ideas and new resources for your attendance awareness campaign.

A new tool can help you determine if every student in your school is supported by a meaningful relationship with a staff person. Consider using the Harvard School of Education’s, How-to Guide to Relationship Mapping, offered as a virtual and in-person resource.

Learning Policy Institute is updating its Resources for Reopening Schools with research and information on testing, tracing, vaccinations and a new section highlighting resources for California districts and schools. Find the resources.

Spots are still available in two groups of the Attendance Works Professional E-Learning series. Interact with Attendance Works team members and learn how to create solutions to chronic absence. Sign up for Group 4 (Sept. 23–Oct. 1) or our Michigan-focused group (Sept. 22–Oct. 2). Learn more and register.

Too often, we think of reducing absences as the job of parents or school clerks in the front office. But communities across the country have started helping schools address chronic absence by building public awareness and leveraging resources. http://bit.ly/1oqfID7 #SchoolEveryDay

Register for AAC Webinar #4, Fully Present: Leveraging Attendance Data to Ensure Ongoing Success, on Wed., Sept. 29. Hear inspiring success stories & strategies for maintaining your Attendance Awareness Campaign throughout the school year: https://www.attendanceworks.org/resources/webinars/ #SchoolEveryDay @IELconnects

A big thank you to this year's Attendance Awareness Corporate Sponsors: EveryDay Labs and Kaiser Permanente.

Sun Prairie Community Schools boost efforts during pandemic year, Sun Prairie Star, August 21, 2021

Charlene M. Russell-Tucker nominated as commissioner of education in Connecticut, Hartford Courant, August 19, 2021

Which Students Missed Class During Covid-19? We Asked. And, Schools Don't Know, USA Today, August 19, 2021

Op-Ed, What Will It Take to Get High School Students Back on Track? 3 strategies to boost graduation and postsecondary success, by Robert Balfanz, director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, Education Week, August 18, 2021

Face Masks and Kids: Separating Fact From Fiction, EdWeek, August 18, 2021

See the full list of Attendance Awareness Partners here.

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

For more information contact: [email protected]

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