September is Attendance Awareness Month

09/02/2014 - The Sonoma Board of Supervisors, Sonoma County Board of Education, Santa Rosa City Council, and many local school district boards have approved resolutions recognizing September as Attendance Awareness Month. This is a national effort to reduce chronic absenteeism rates, beginning as early as kindergarten. Chronic absenteeism hits low-income students particularly hard and can exacerbate the achievement gap. Absenteeism can be significantly reduced when schools, parents, and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and to address the hurdles that keep children from getting to school.

SCOE encourages all districts to recognize Attendance Awareness Month and take action to ensure consistent school attendance. For more information about passing a board resolution, contact Kathy Carlsen at kcarlsen@scoe.org or (707) 522-3332. It’s not too late to approve a proclamation, even during the month of September.

Attendance Awareness Month is supported by Attendance Works, United Way, and the Points of Light Foundation. Resources and information on promoting positive attendance are available at the Attendance Works website.