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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

  • Click here to read the Call to Action.
  • Click here to read our letter to superintendents across the country.

Accept the Challenge!

Tips for Getting Started

Media Tools

If you’ve signed the Call to Action, consider using or adapting these media tools to help spread the word about your district’s involvement in Make Every Day Count, build awareness about reducing chronic absence and invite key stakeholders to join local efforts to improve school attendance, starting in the early grades.