The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and Attendance Works are calling upon Superintendents across the country to raise your voices and lead the effort to improving attendance starting in the early grades in your community. While schools alone can’t do all it takes to improve student attendance, every successful initiative ultimately relies on educators deciding to make the reduction of chronic absence a priority.
We urge you to:
- Own the Issue: Make clear that improved student attendance is one of your top priorities. Ask your teachers and school leaders to make it one of theirs, as well. Designate a senior member of your staff to oversee implementation.
- Mobilize the Community: Reach out to make improved student attendance a broadly owned and widely shared civic priority. Engage parents, civic and elected leaders, local businesses, clergy members and the libraries, museums and service providers.
- Drive with Data: Use data to raise public awareness, establish targets and goals, track progress and assure accountability.
Please join us. Take your first step by declaring you accept this challenge.
The Call to Action
- Read the full letter to superintendents here
- Download the Call to Action to share with your community here
- Read the U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution on chronic absence here
- Read California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson’s letter to school districts here
- Read about Attendance Awareness Month activities in September here
Tools and Tips
- Read our tips for how to fulfill the pledge here
- Review Make Every Day Count: Sending the Right Message About Attendance to Parents and Students here
- Find tools for sharing the Call to Action with the media and the public here
- Read our tips for developing a plan of action here
- Watch our November 13, 2012 webinar: All Together Now! Developing Systemic Responses to Chronic Absence here
If you have any questions or are having difficulty signing up, please email info@attendanceworks.org