September is Attendance Awareness Month and there is no better time than the beginning of the school year to learn about the importance of attendance and its effects on student excellence.

Attendance Works, a nonprofit with a mission to advance student success and reduce equity gaps by reducing chronic absence, provides free, researched information and flyers to help you understand the connection between chronic absence and a student’s academic achievement. Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning. Too many absences not only can affect achievement for the absent student but also can disrupt learning for the entire class.

Teachers and school staff will be working with students and families to build awareness about how many absences are too many, encouraging students to come to school every day, even when it is hard, and engaging them once they are in the school building.

What can you do?

• Make school attendance a priority.
• Talk about the importance of going to school every day, make that the expectation.
• Help your child maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.
• Try not to schedule dental and medical appointments during the school day.
• Don’t let your child stay home unless truly sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.

Find out more using the informational flyers below or visit the Attendance Works website.

Absence Reporting

If a student is unable to attend school, please report the absence(s) to your school office. Contact information for all of our school sites can be found in the footer of each schools website. You can find all of our school websites listed on the Schools Directory webpage.