Innovation Video Series, Episode 6—Showing Up Consistently Is Key To School Success


“Attendance matters much more than we ever realized, even starting as young as kindergarten, possibly even earlier than that,” says Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, a national and state initiative that promotes better policy and practice around school attendance.

According to national research, 1 out of 10 kindergarteners miss 10 percent of the school year. And in Georgia, 14,292 children ages 5 to 8 received out-of-school suspensions in 2014. Absences, whether they are imposed, excused, or unexcused, all end up negatively effecting student achievement and test scores. Attendance is vital for a successful academic year, but it can also help prevent summer learning loss.

“The only way we’re going to address the attendance issue is to make it a national priority,” said Hedy. “This helps align the issue of attendance with federal state and local policy changes.”

Attendance Works offers several publications, tools, and sources, as well as tips on how to promote Attendance Awareness Month in September.

Hedy introduces a video that shows how chronic absence can leave children unable to read proficiently by the end of third grade:

Watch Episode 5 — Closing the Gap in Summer Learning.