Attendance Awareness Month Update
A campaign from Attendance Works

August 22, 2018
National Volunteers Pitch in to Reduce Chronic Absence

With the growing focus on measuring and addressing chronic absenteeism, schools are tapping into innovative solutions and additional resources to address the problem. National service programs, such as City Year, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps are helping to improve student attendance in schools across the country. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has created an Education Toolkit to help school districts and education leaders learn more about leveraging these resources. Learn more in our blog post!

The Attendance Works webinar, Team Up for Attendance: Community Matters on August 15 highlighted the role various partners can play. The webinar featured national service volunteers who discussed how they are helping students and families overcome barriers to getting to school even when it isn't easy. Find the webinar recording, PPT slides and a discussion guide

Support
Attendance Works! 


Your gift will help fund more great resources to raise awareness of the importance of attendance for student achievement.
What to Do When

Now is a great time to plan an attendance exhibit! Promote good attendance in a display in the lobby of city hall, the school district's central office, the main library or other public spaces. Each August the California Department of Education features a chronic absence display (right) in the lobby of its building in Sacramento, to raise awareness.

Retail shops and restaurants can put posters in their windows or on bulletin boards. If you've put on a student poster contest, decorate public spaces with the posters. You can also plan an exhibit for your school lobby or hallways to set the tone for a year of strong attendance in every grade.  See our promotional materials.

Back-to-school season means there will be news coverage of local schools. Pitch a reporter about the community's or school district's renewed emphasis on attendance. See our tips for media outreach.

Share the Teaching Attendance 2.0 toolkit with teachers during professional development sessions before school starts!
Share Your Story Spotlight

Attendance matters at Lockwood Schools in Lockwood MT.  The schools are celebrating the second year of doing home visits for about 100 kids, when they also deliver backpacks, supplies and information about good attendance.  The schools have hired a community engagement specialist, track student attendance and have partnerships with United Way, and Youth Probation to promote good attendance. And the local school board has declared September Attendance Awareness Month!
Webinar Spotlight

Registration is open for the final AAM webinar,  Team Up for Attendance: Data Matters September 12th at 11-12:30 pm (PT) / 2-3:30 pm (ET).  Join us as we highlight key findings from the new brief from Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center that features a national and state analysis of how many schools face high levels of chronic absence. Learn how to use chronic absence data to take action to identify and interrupt attendance barriers before students fall behind.

Everyone who registers will receive a link to the webinar recording, PowerPoint slides and discussion guide.

Look online for the PowerPoint presentation and recordings of Leadership Matters, (3/28), Working Together Matters (5/8), and Community Matters (8/15). Find them on our website.

Tweet It!

Join @attendanceworks' final AAM webinar, Team Up for Attendance: Data Matters, on 9/12/18!  We'll share highlights of a new nat'l & state analysis of schools w/ high levels of #chronicabsence with@hamiltonproj @JHU_EGC https://adobe.ly/2MumH0v #SchoolEveryDay
Resource Spotlight

A positive recess contributes to a school environment where kids are motivated to attend. Playworks' Recess Lab provides suggestions for creating a fun, safe recess that can improve transitions and reduce bullying with broader strategies for infusing play throughout the school day.  The site includes the Recess Checkup, a 3-5 minute online survey designed to help educators identify strengths and uncover areas for improvement on the playground.

The Coalition for Healthier Schools new Back to School (BTS) Toolkit includes information, how-to guides and social media materials to equip parents, teachers, school leaders and others to advocate for cleaner, healthier schools. The Coalition's website includes updated guides for purchasing non-toxic materials and products for schools, and checklists to examine a school's indoor air quality and lead levels in drinking water. Find the materials here.
Partner Spotlight

Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making schools healthier places for all students. HSC provides leadership development and tools to school stakeholders and advocates for better access to nutritious school food, physical activity, school health resources and clean air to shape children's lifelong learning and health.

Join the Healthy Schools Campaign, Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the National Association of School Nurses for a free webinar Connecting Health and Learning through ESSA: Opportunities for School Nurses. This webinar, on August 27, 2018, 3:00 pm CT, will show how school nurses can collaborate with school staff, students, families and community partners to take action to reduce chronic absenteeism. Register here
Sponsor Spotlight

A special thanks to our Attendance Awareness Month Campaign corporate sponsor, Scholastic, for its commitment to help ensure that every child is in school every day. Scholastic's investment makes it possible for us to provide you with free strategies and materials:


Scholastic - $20,000
 
Social Media

Tweet It!

Attendance Works has developed sample tweets, (in Spanish too!) Facebook posts and images. Adapt them to your school, district or organization.  See our social media tools.

Join @attendanceworks' final AAM webinar, Team Up for Attendance: Data Matters, on 9/12/18!  We'll share highlights of a new nat'l & state analysis of schools w/ high levels of #chronicabsence with @hamiltonproj @JHU_EG https://adobe.ly/2MumH0v #SchoolEveryDay

ESSA requires all states to report on #chronicabsence. What can we do with this data to help every Ss be in #SchoolEveryDay? Find out: bit.ly/1oqfID7

A student who is chronically absent in high school is 7.4X more likely to dropout: bit.ly/1oqfID7 #SchoolEveryDay

Facebook Post or Newsletter Item

Attendance Awareness Month is September, but the campaign to end chronic absence continues all year long! It's a bigger problem than you probably think. Learn more about chronic absence and what you can do about it. Join the Attendance Awareness Campaign today! http://bit.ly/1oqfID7
Follow us on Twitter  Like us on Facebook