Across the Pittsburgh region, schools, volunteers and community partners are delivering a consistent message to students about school attendance: Be There! Launched in 2013 by the United Way of Allegheny County, the Be There Campaign has reached 12,000 students across 21 school districts. More than…

In 2012, leaders of HOPE SF examined data across schools, city agencies, and the housing authority in San Francisco. The data match revealed that a whopping 53 percent of students living in public housing complexes were chronically absent. Improving student attendance quickly became a top…

Students form habits – including good school attendance – at an early age. So it was particularly disconcerting for the central Connecticut town of Vernon to discover that 16 percent of its kindergartners were chronically absent. “The real killer was kindergarten attendance,” says Dr. Mary…

Principal Brian Pluim doesn’t just talk about attendance at Westside Elementary School in Baltimore’s Druid Hill neighborhood. He takes personal responsibility and is setting an example for teachers, families and students. During the first few weeks of school, Principal Pluim and his staff made sure…