A Note from our President and CEO

In the aftermath of the pandemic, research shows that improving attendance remains essential for student achievement. It also reveals that progress is possible when we invest in a school climate where students feel safe and supported and we meaningfully convey the value of showing up every day through quality educational activities and personalized timely communications. 

New research from the University of Chicago examining data three years before the pandemic and three years after found that attendance still matters a great deal for student achievement. Equally important, attendance was higher in schools when students said they felt safe, felt connected to the school and their peers, had rigorous work in their classrooms and when teachers reported more collaboration with parents. Read our guest blog post.  

Another research paper, Creating Welcoming Schools: The Role of Positive Climates in Reducing Absenteeism, examining data for the state of Georgia, reveals similar findings about the crucial role of school climate, especially for Black and White Students. However, this working paper analysis of current practice in both Michigan and Georgia, What are schools doing to improve attendance? found that strategies to improve student experience are being underutilized.

Districts in Oregon are emphasizing positive school climates and strategic use of data to guide action to successfully reduce chronic absence. Participants in Oregon’s 13-district attendance collaborative moved from compliance to invitation-based practices which were key to the gains achieved. This interim report shares lessons and strategies.  

In the Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, the superintendent is improving attendance using a comprehensive data-driven approach that emphasizes positive engagement with families and tailoring responses to the specific needs of students. Read Solving Chronic Absenteeism Isn’t ‘One-Size-Fits-All,’ This Leader Says (Education Week, Feb. 12, 2026).

Thank you for your commitment to provide all students opportunities to learn and thrive. I look forward to our continued partnership!

Warmly, 

Hedy Chang

“Your Presence Matters!” will be the slogan for the 2026 Attendance Awareness Campaign. 

This year we will focus on the power of student and family engagement all year long. We’ll discuss how districts and schools can nurture a culture of belonging, engagement and attendance. This starts by helping everyone in the community recognize they have a stake and a role because schools certainly can’t do it all alone. Stay tuned for the release of a new badge image, posters and key messages with this year’s theme in mind. 

Registration for all four AAC 2026 webinars will be available next week! Each webinar will feature practitioners who will share practical resources and examples of what schools and districts are doing to improve attendance and engagement. 

Webinars are on Wednesdays, at 12pm-1:30pm PT / 3pm-4:30 pm ET.

• April 1 - Nurture Belonging in the Spring. Focus on connection and re-engagement as the year winds down.
• May 13 - Engage and Build Bridges in the Summer. Keep students and families engaged during summer months. 
• August 5 - Create Community in the Fall. Start the year strong with welcoming and warm school communities.
• September 23 - Ensure Support All Year Long. Build sustainable systems that support attendance every day,

Spring Break is just around the corner. Communicate the importance of showing up to school by sending a letter home or planning an activity to counter that trend. Find resources to address the Spring Slide.

Looking for a step-by-step approach to improving attendance and engagement at your school? We recommend four basic steps on our website page, Recommended Strategies for Schools. This brief guide includes links to resources for each step.

The Attendance Playbook, developed by Attendance Works and FutureEd, offers insights gained from immigration enforcement experiences in the past and links to research showing the impact on attendance. 

Download our Guide to Using the Attendance Playbook. The playbook divides strategies into the three tiers of intervention and highlights schools or districts that have used the strategy successfully.

Chronic absence and disruptive behavior have been identified as top issues that must be addressed in order to raise student achievement and improve their well-being. Attendance Works’ Cecelia Leong spoke at a recent PBIS Center Leadership Forum. View Cecelia’s keynote showing how districts and schools can combine efforts on attendance and behavior to support student success.

Analyzing data from the California Department of Education, three research briefs released this week offer new insights into chronic absence trends and the types of investments needed to improve attendance. Since California’s public school students make up over 12% of all students nationwide, these trends offer a window into what is needed to improve student outcomes across the nation. 

• Unpacking California’s Chronic Absence Crisis Through 2024-25: Eight Key Facts from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) examines statewide trends in chronic absence during the 2024-25 school year.

• The Persistence of Chronic Absence Between Kindergarten and 1st Grade in California: Insights to Break the Cycle of Absenteeism shows that chronically absent kindergartners were 7.2 times more likely to be chronically absent in 1st grade vs. nonchronically absent kindergartners, underscoring the need to tackle chronic absence early before negative impacts on learning and development accumulate.

• An Overlooked Early Warning Signal: Chronic Absence and District Mobility in Grades K-3 in California found that chronically absent K-3 students are more likely to change districts between school years, and to remain chronically absent in their new districts compared to those who stayed.

In addition to driving a resurgence in measles, declining childhood vaccinations caused school absences to increase 41% in West Texas, according to a preliminary study. Read the working paper.

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading recently released The Nation’s Report Card: A Call to Action for Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps. The report unpacks the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. 

Chronic absences in early grades linked to higher risk of district transfers, study shows, EdSource, February 24, 2026

Here's how some central Virginia schools tackled chronic absenteeism in the wake of COVID-19, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 3, 2026

Alaska lawmakers consider strategies to boost attendance as chronic absenteeism persists, Alaska Public Media, February 2, 2026

When measles hit West Texas, school absences soared and it wasn’t just sick kids who were out, AP, December 17, 2025

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