Did you know that missing just 10 percent of the school year in the early grades can leave many students struggling throughout elementary school? Or that by sixth grade, missing only that much school is strongly linked to course failure and even eventually dropping out of high school? That’s just 18 days of the school year—or two to three days per month. Every school day counts, and everyone can make a difference: educators, after school programs, mayors, businesses, parents… really, everyone!

Join us this September for Attendance Awareness Month. Rally your community around the importance of attendance and its role in academic achievement. Click here to learn more about getting involved in Attendance Awareness Month and to download the Count Us In! toolkit so that you can explore how YOU can catalyze change by getting involved in this important effort.

Celebrating its 13th year, the Attendance Awareness Campaign broadcasts the message that every day a student is in school is an opportunity to learn, build relationships and access support. Led by Attendance Works and 11 national partners, the campaign urges schools, localities, and states to promote the value of good attendance and to take concrete steps toward reducing chronic absence. It includes the designation of September (or the start of school) as Attendance Awareness Month and the launch of year-long attendance campaigns.

Today, 126 national and state-level organizations and state education agencies are working in partnership to support the campaign and spread the word.

• Read our Key Messages

• Review our List of Partners

• See highlights from past years in Community News

Information provided by: Attendance Works

The links below provide insight into how much attendance affects student performance.

The Importance of Being In School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools

A must see video “Middle School Moment”
The make-or-break moment for high school dropouts may actually occur in middle school.