Cultivate a Schoolwide Culture of Attendance
All schools should have a welcoming and engaging school environment that emphasizes building relationships with families and stresses the importance of going to class every day. Principals can model this approach and engage staff in consistently sending the message that attendance matters.
Principals and school staff are well positioned to help families understand what their children are learning in school and what the children will miss if they are absent. Parents and students may not realize that even excused absences, if they accumulate, can be a problem and lead to falling behind in the classroom. Few families realize that absenteeism is a problem as early as kindergarten and preschool.
-
Start outreach to families before the school year begins
-
Leverage existing activities to communicate the importance of good attendance and offer support
-
Nurture a schoolwide system of attendance incentives
-
Get involved in the Attendance Awareness Campaign
Start Outreach Before School Begins
Use back-to-school letters, social media, phone calls from teachers and robocalls (ideally personalized by classroom or at least school) to communicate when school starts, what attendance policies are in place and how important attendance is for student achievement. If you have connections to summer programs, ask providers to help deliver the message about the importance of good school attendance. While parents are the primary target for elementary outreach, students should be included in the messaging campaigns by middle and high school.
