Perfectly Punctual Campaign

Please note: The materials on this page were created prior to March 2020. Some of the recommendations or images may refer to in-person activities and have not been adapted to conform with health guidelines regulating the number of people who can meet in person or safety measures to prevent transmission of Covid-19. We recommend that you follow your local health department, district and/or state guidance related to safety and education for the 2020-2021 school year.

For years, the Perfectly Punctual Campaign has supported positive attendance habits from the outset of schooling. It uses punctuality, the good news about attendance, as the impetus for positive reinforcement and playfulness to change hearts, minds and routines. This two-generation program uses a mascot to encourage children and families to develop positive ideas about attendance, engages children daily in monitoring their own attendance, honors parents monthly for getting their children to school on time and translates attendance data into management information for school administrators.

The Perfectly Punctual Campaign is designed by Learning and Leadership in Families (Learn/Lead) and is integrated into Attendance Works initiatives.

Get started with the PPC Leaders Guide which includes a menu of activities and a structure that reflects best practices.

Download the Guide

Keeping Score on Student Attendance

The scorecard is designed to be a family engagement tool. Children fill in their scorecard daily. At the end of the week, teachers send the scorecard home to remind parents of the importance that preschool or school places on consistent, on-time attendance.

Every morning, children circle the star for on-time arrival OR circle the running clock for late arrival. If a student is absent, they circle the sad face the next day they are back in school.

Download the scorecard

Strategies that have been successful

Hang scorecards on the wall so parents and children can fill out scorecard together as children enter
Hang scorecards by each cubby so that children and parents can fill them out together
At the start of the year ask the assistant teacher or volunteer help children fill in the card when they first come in until the ritual becomes habit.
Typically, it takes about 2 to 3 weeks of special attention to institute this ritual as a classroom staple.

What’s a campaign without a button?

Perfectly Punctual’s trademark Punctual Pete is an integral part of the campaign. He can be featured on buttons and stickers to share the motto: On Time / On Target for Success.

Download a Bilingual Pete Button

Strategies that have been successful

Provide buttons to parents at Orientation or Back to School night
Provide buttons to parents after they fill out an attendance survey.
Provide buttons to teachers and staff to emphasize message
Give children a sticker or let them wear the button every day they are on time. It creates a moving billboard and a point of pride for children.
Make Punctual Pete your school’s mascot!
Hang a star with an On-Time On Target for Success sticker in the front of classrooms that are Perfectly Punctual for the week.
Create a HUGE button (Delray Beach, Florida made an 8’ wheel to “roll-out” the campaign!) and move the button periodically to different schools.

Read how Marshalltown, Iowa, is using Perfectly Punctual to build good attendance habits starting in preschool.