Attendance Information!

A Note from the Director

What if I told you we could predict a student's attendance patterns by the end of the first month of school? Would you look at the data a little more closely? Would you start intervening with students right away? A Baltimore study released today demonstrates that absences in September can predict chronic absence levels for the whole school year. That underscores the importance of recognizing Attendance Awareness Month in September, with positive messaging and a renewed commitment to data crunching and targeted outreach.  Schools and communities are already posting their plans on our Attendance Action Map. And we're seeing signs of progress in other ways. New Britain, Conn., is continuing to reduce chronic absence in its elementary schools. And New York City has committed to spending $52 million over the next four years to improve attendance.  These are just a few of the programs we're hearing about. Let us know what you're doing to reduce chronic absence at info@attendanceworks.org.     Hedy Chang September Attendance Can Predict Trends for the Year Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance patterns throughout the year, providing an early warning sign for parents and educators to intervene and put students back on track, according to a brief released today by the Baltimore Education Research Consortium. Why September Matters: Improving Student Attendance, by Linda S. Olson, examined attendance in the Baltimore City Public Schools for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students in September and throughout the rest of the 2012-13 school year. The study found: Students who missed fewer than 2 days in September typically had good attendance rates for the entire year. Half the students who missed 2-4 days in September went on to miss a month or more of school, which is known as chronic absence. Nearly 9 out of 10 students who missed more than 4 days in September were chronically absent that year. Read more here. Visit: http://www.attendanceworks.org/