Promoting On Time Everyday Attendance

In an effort to improve our attendance this year we are piloting an idea we adapted from the attendanceworks web site.  According to Attendance Works, "every year, one in 10 kindergarten and 1st grade students misses a month of school with excused and unexcused absences." They recommend sending positive thank you messages to parents who send their children to school every day on time for the month.  We got one of our kindergarten teachers to agree to do this every month. The counselors make the cards and they are from the teacher, counselors, and social worker.  These are the cards we sent the last school day in September and October. It is too early to say if the strategy is working but it is relatively easy to do, very inexpensive, and definitely promotes attendance.  We will evaluate the strategy at the end of the school year.