The start of the school year is officially underway, and it presents us with a key opportunity to communicate the importance of good attendance. To help you along, we’ve gathered some great attendance resources to launch the school year off with attendance successes!
Be intentional about sharing the messages in ways that reach each family. Some ideas include sharing in welcome packets, handing out at in-person events, linking via social media and on websites, and discussing during home visits. Consider making videos and sending text messages to families to also promote good attendance. Discuss attendance openly at school and build teacher capacity to communicate these messages too.
Remember, families benefit from clear messages that promote the “why” of good attendance, the important instructions, and the learning that happens throughout the school day! From messaging “The Why of Good Attendance” to families, to Tier One resources to build family capacity and connection with families and students, feel free to access the resources here: your all-in-one place for your go-to attendance guide.
Attendance Works Handouts
As a non-profit initiative, Attendance Works collaborates with schools, districts, states, communities and organizations to ensure that everyone recognizes that chronic absence is a serious issue that can be addressed using a positive, problem-solving approach grounded in an understanding of educational inequities. Below is a list of resources from this initiative for each grade level!
Stay in the Game Handouts
The mission of the Stay in the Game! Keep Learning, Every Day Network is to prioritize attendance by connecting its users to resources aimed at tackling chronic absenteeism. The Cleveland Browns Foundation, Ohio Department of Education, and Proving Ground are deeply committed to this mission. - K-4th: Ideas for students in Preschool, Kindergarten or Grades 1-4
- 5-8th: Ideas for students in Grades 5-8
- 9-12th: Ideas for students in Grades 9-12
Tier 1 Resources to Build Connections with Students & Families
We also offer additional training and coaching on the implementation and use of these resources. Contact me by emailing [email protected] for more information.
- Family Welcome Call or Home Visit: Conduct Welcome Calls to build connections, share expectations, establish communication plan
- Family Survey: Family Survey Sample - Gather family input and needs about community resource needs
- Relationship Mapping: Map adult-student relationships in line with early warning indicators to ensure and promote connection and belonging. Download the mapping PDF
- Welcome/Back-to-School Letters: Adapt these sample letters from Attendance Works to build connection with families while messaging the importance of good attendance.
Additional Messaging Resources for Building Parenting Capacity
Use these resources to help build capacity for your parent community!
- Building an Understanding Anxiety: This one pager explains the symptoms and impact of anxiety on kids and grows their understanding for what to do to support kids experiencing anxiety.
- Sickness Guide - When to Keep Your Child Home: This one pager helps families better understand when it’s best to keep kids home from school vs. Sending them to school when sick symptoms arise.
- Who is Who in the School: This one pager helps families navigate school more easily by highlighting key staff supports – the document can be edited to fit specific school spaces and staff names and contact information can also be listed.
If great attendance is one of your school/district’s goals this year, use the family resources here to send the message about why attendance matters. The ESC is here to support you along the way. Take part in the ESC’s Central Ohio Attendance Network (COAN) for continued resources sharing and attendance success planning with our experts and schools across central Ohio equally committed to attendance success. For additional training and coaching on implementation and use of these resources, contact me by emailing [email protected] for more information.
Andrea Summers serves as the Family & Community Partnership Liaison on the SOS Team at the ESC of Central Ohio. With more than 20 years’ experience as an educator and administrator in Out-of-School Time (OST) and co-curricular and experiential learning programs, Andrea's expertise will guide districts in implementing effective family engagement and community partnerships strategies. Andrea will work with districts and schools to promote and embed effective systems that serve all youth, but specifically our community’s most vulnerable (i.e. those experiencing homelessness, in foster care, English learners, those with disabilities, migrant, military and justice-involved). Andrea holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management, with a concentration on Education Policy, from The New School in NYC. She earned her B.A. from Antioch College in Sociology/Anthropology with a focus on Education. She is certified in Adaptive Schools & Cognitive Coaching through Thinking Collaborative.