‘Attendance Playbook’ seeks to reduce chronic absenteeism

Strategies to curb absenteeism ranging from offering positive greetings at classroom doors and having on-campus laundry facilities to implementing early warning systems and addressing housing insecurity are explored in the report Attendance Playbook: Smart Solutions for Reducing Student Absenteeism Post-Pandemic, published by FutureEd and Attendance […]

Addressing disparities around unexcused absences

Data on unexcused absences can be used to craft a “more preventive, problem-solving, and equitable response to poor attendance,” according to a new Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) report, Disparities in Unexcused Absences Across California Schools. Attending school is critical to young people’s development, […]

National study finds text messages to parents can reduce chronic absence

Targeted text messages sent to parents reduces chronic absence in elementary school, particularly for students with a history of missing class, according to a first-of-its-kind study from the National Center for Education Evaluation at the Institute of Education Sciences. Researchers also found that most parents […]

Board members encouraged to keep attendance issues front and center year-round

September is Attendance Awareness Month, but experts say a year-round focus is required of district leaders and board members to make sustainable inroads and cultural shifts. “I think that school board members really play a central role in monitoring whether chronic absence is improving or […]