Summer is a great time for students to socialize with peers, engage in fun learning activities and practice the routine of showing up to school in person. We’ve released new materials for the summer in our Pathways to Engagement: A Toolkit for Covid-19 Recovery Through Attendance. Download the Building Bridges to School handout with ideas and actions your school or district can take to encourage attendance this summer and fall. 

NEW Professional Development! We are now offering a highly-rated, three-part e-training for educators. Learn from the Attendance Works team how to implement strategies that create a climate that encourages attendance and participation, provide extra support for students who need it, mobilize school staff and community partners and take stock to assess your progress. We've opened new dates in August and September for the series tailored for California. Register here! 

The National Summer Learning Association has a new search engine that empowers families to discover summer programs, both in-person and virtual, right in their community. It provides easy access to resources from leading youth organizations to keep the learning going. Take a look at Discover Summer.

The SoLD Alliance has released Design Principles for Schools: Putting the Science of Learning and Development into Action. This playbook, for K-12 educators and youth-serving professionals, offers a focus on whole child education. Find the playbook.

The U.S. Department of Education’s New FAQ offers helpful guidance on using Covid-19 relief funds for implementing data-driven strategies that address chronic absence, and for developing new data quality systems. Download, Frequently Asked Questions: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Programs and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Programs.

View FutureEd’s June 8 webinar, during which national experts, including Attendance Works, discuss the chronic absence challenge, its consequences, and strategies for using federal Covid-19 relief aid to address it. Watch the webinar. 

We’ve reviewed the federal Covid-19 relief funds to find those that can be used to support attendance and engagement activities. Learn more in our blog post.

State departments of education are especially well-positioned to make a difference with attendance and chronic absence data because they can identify trends and convene stakeholders to develop and implement meaningful solutions. Why does chronic absence matter for states as they implement their federal funding relief plans? Read our blog post, How States Can Rebound with Attendance during Covid Recovery.

FutureEd and EveryDay Labs analyzed attendance data from five school districts enrolling a total of nearly 450,000 students. The analysis finds spiraling rates of absenteeism that could have devastating consequences for student learning. Find the report, Present Danger: Solving the Deepening Student Absenteeism Crisis.

A survey from the Tennessee Education Research Alliance at Vanderbilt University (TERA) finds that more students were chronically absent this fall than in previous years, and absenteeism increased the most among English learners, students of color and students who are economically disadvantaged. Download the brief, Schooling During COVID-19: Fall Semester Trends from Six Tennessee Districts. 

Join us for the June 16 webinar, Addressing Chronic Absenteeism: How Data Interoperability Enables Districts to Capture Student Attendance. Learn how integrating data across systems can help educators identify students who should be prioritized for additional supports. Register here!  

Over 4,100 registered for AAC Webinar #2, Engaged: Using Summer to Connect with Students and Families, on May 26. Download the presentation slides, a discussion guide and view the webinar recording! All found on our website.  

Find the same materials for AAC Webinar #1, Committed: Supporting Attendance and Participation to the Very Last Day of School, held on April 14.