A Note from the Executive Director |
As we enter the last quarter of the most difficult school year imaginable, I applaud each of you who are continuing to be champions for students and families. Ongoing challenges with Covid and heightened levels of chronic absence mean more students than ever before are placed at-risk socially, emotionally and academically.
Yet I remain hopeful and inspired because I see many examples of educators and community leaders who refuse to give up. Thank you for taking a long-term approach and recognizing that relationship building with compassion is more important than ever.
We will launch the 2022 Attendance Awareness Campaign during our April 6 webinar. This year’s slogan Stay Connected, Keep Learning! will raise awareness of the enormous power of using chronic absence to achieve our hopes of rebounding from the pandemic.
You may notice a shorter look to this month’s newsletter. We will be sending shorter and more frequent communications this year, to better meet the needs of educators, practitioners and policy makers who are working overtime to address new challenges. We’d love to hear what you think! info@attendanceworks.org
Sincerely,
Hedy N. Chang
Founder and Executive Director
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Your participation makes a difference! Our ability to provide free resources and tools, webinars, technical assistance and guidance depends on our contributions from people like you. Donate to Attendance Works here! |
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In the weeks before and after a school’s spring break, drops in attendance are common. We’ve updated a letter for families and a downloadable handout with ideas and activities that can motivate students to attend in the spring. Find the resources.
Positive conditions for learning can be used to identify the role all educators and school employees can play in affecting whether or not a student shows up or engages in learning. David Osher, Vice President and Institute Fellow at AIR, shares why this framework matters even more today, and why we’ve added adult well-being. Read more on our blog. |
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Every day a student is in school is an opportunity to learn, build relationships and access support. In a new blog post we explain why it’s imperative to continue monitoring all absences, especially while we are addressing student instructional and social-emotional loss.
Poor health is one of the top reasons why students don’t participate in school. The federal Covid-relief aid packages offer schools, districts and states funds to support student health and equity concerns and efforts to reengage students and families. Learn more in a new report from Healthy Schools Campaign, FutureEd, the Superintendents Association and Kaiser Permanente. |
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The 2022 Attendance Awareness Campaign webinar series will highlight the need to repair and rebuild trust, better engage youth and families and strengthen family-school community partnerships. Each of the free webinars will feature a panel of speakers from varying communities and organizations who will showcase innovative ideas to motivate and engage students and families. Register for all four webinars now!
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In a discussion moderated by Hedy Chang, three innovative district leaders reviewed plans they created for reopening schools last fall, and adjustments they made in light of the Delta and Omicron variants. Read a summary of the Campaign for Grade Level Reading webinar, Best Laid Plans: Lessons From the Fall For Reengaging Students in Learning. To access the webinar recording, sign up for CGLR’s CLIP. |
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Attendance Works also offers fee-based consulting services tailored to individual state agencies, school districts and schools, in addition to free resources and strategies. Find out more.
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Attendance Works would like to express its deep appreciation to the foundations that are currently funding our work nationally and in communities across the country: Abell Foundation, The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Heising-Simons Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Open Society Institute–Baltimore, The Patterson Foundation, Rogers Family Foundation, Stuart Foundation, United Way of Greater Kansas City, United Way of Treasure Valley. |
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