Help parents make the connection between absences and academic trouble through conversations in the community and by building a welcoming environment at school, in letters sent home and in parent-teacher conferences. We've developed tip sheets in several languages for parents of children in preschool, elementary and secondary school. Download the handouts.

Building off messaging materials first created in Grand Rapids, MI, Quad Cities Iowa and Illinois School Districts, United Way and the Arconic Foundation have teamed up for the Challenge 5 initiative. The goal is to encourage families and students to "strive for less than five" absences in a school year. The initiative was kicked off during a morning pep rally where elementary students were met by high fives from school superintendents and mayors on their way back to classes. Parents play a key role in the Quad Cities Challenge 5. Schools handed out postcards to parents during registration and phone calls were made to school families. Read more via Dispatch Argus QC online.com.

Join the Success Mentor Peer Learning Convening. Cecelia Leong, Attendance Works' associate director for programs, will moderate a panel on September 19 on how district mentoring programs use data to make sure students who could benefit are assigned mentors. The panelists with Oakland Unified School District, Los Angeles Unified School District and Aurora Public Schools will also discuss how data can be used to monitor student progress. View the session at The Everyone Graduates Center's Facebook page.

Get Schooled's 10-week Fall 2017 Attendance Challenge starts October 2nd, but the deadline to sign up is September 15. Over the last six years, the Attendance Challenges have seen amazing results with schools posting attendance increases up to 10 percent. Sign up for the Attendance Challenge now!

FutureEd, at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy and new Attendance Awareness Month partner will hold a panel to discuss its new report analyzing the most effective way to use chronic absenteeism under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Hedy Chang, Attendance Works' executive director, will discuss the advantages and potential perils of making absenteeism part of an accountability system. Register and learn more.

Our final webinar on September 12, Portraits of Change, saw over 1,000 registrants. If you missed it, you might consider organizing a viewing party with colleagues. Each of our first three webinars build on the previous one. Taken together, the webinars focus on the importance of taking a comprehensive, tiered approach to improve attendance. We also emphasize the value of taking a data driven, systemic approach. Find the recording and materials for all four webinars on our website here.

Join MENTORnational and Attendance Works on Thursday, September 14, 2017 3-4 pm ET for an engaging Twitter chat on how mentoring and caring adults can help reduce chronic absence and improve student achievement. Use #MentorIRL and #SchoolEveryDay to follow and engage during the conversation! Hosts Twitter Handles to Engage: Mentor National (@MENTORnational), Attendance Works (@AttendanceWorks)

The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) is the unifying champion for expanding quality youth mentoring relationships in the United States. For more than 25 years, MENTOR has served the mentoring field by developing and delivering resources to mentoring programs nationwide; and promoting quality for mentoring through evidence-based standards, innovative research and essential tools. Throughout September, and especially during the Mentoring In Real Life Attendance Week September 11-17, MENTOR is inviting everyone to amplify this message on social media. MENTOR and Attendance Works have released a promotional toolkit with mentoring and attendance specific social media. Download the toolkit.