United Way Worldwide
ATTENDANCE AWARENESS MONTH
United Way Social Media Advocacy Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to provide tools, tips and templates to help your United Way and Women’s Leadership Council
members get involved in social media advocacy for attendance awareness activities during August and September 2014.
Background
Improving student attendance is an essential, cost-effective but often overlooked strategy for ensuring our students are
on-track to learn and succeed. Nationwide, as many as one out of 10 students is chronically absent, meaning they miss
10 percent or more of school days, or nearly a month. Chronic absence is a leading, early warning indicator of academic
trouble and later dropout. Therefore, schools, families and communities should work together to turn around the
absenteeism and build a culture of attendance in every school.
From August to September 2014, United Way is coordinating a social media advocacy campaign with United Way’s
National Women’s Leadership Council and caring citizens to raise awareness about the importance of attendance.
During Attendance Awareness month, Women’s Leadership Council members, local United Way staff and individuals are
encouraged to take action in at least one of three ways:
1. Join the United Way Social Media Campaign on September 18: Simply tweet or post a Facebook message.
Use hashtags #SchoolEveryDay and #Liveunited.
2. Blog for Student Success: Write a blog post on your United Way’s blog or personal blog on the policies and
practices that you think are needed to improve student attendance.
3. Write an Op-Ed: Help call attention to the issue of attendance by submitting an op-ed to your local publications.
Our message
1. Good attendance helps children do well in school and eventually in the workplace. Good attendance
matters for school success, starting as early as prekindergarten and throughout elementary school. By middle and
high school, poor attendance is a leading indicator of dropout. Developing the habit of attendance prepares
students for success on the job and in life.
2. Excused and unexcused absences easily add up to too much time lost in the classroom.
 Students are at risk academically if they miss 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days. Once too
many absences have occurred, they can affect learning, regardless of whether absences are excused or
unexcused.
 Sporadic, not just consecutive, absences matter. Before you know it – just one or two days a month can
add up to nearly 10 percent of the school year.
 Avoid unnecessary absences. Some absences are unavoidable. Occasionally, children get sick and need
to stay home. What is important is getting children to school as often as possible.
United Way Worldwide
3. Chronic absence, missing 10 percent of the school year or more, does not just affect the students who
miss school. If too many students are chronically absent, it slows down instruction for other students, who must
wait while the teacher repeats material for absentee students. This makes it harder for students to learn and
teachers to teach.
4. We need to monitor how many days each student misses school for any reason— excused, unexcused or
suspensions— so we can intervene early. Districts and schools should use data to identify how many and which
students are chronically absent so they can target extra supports that can improve attendance and interrupt a
pattern of chronic absence. Families should track how many days their children have missed so they are aware of
when they should be concerned and take action. We can’t afford to think of absenteeism as merely a lack of
compliance with school rules or a loss of funding. Absences represent lost opportunities to learn in the classroom.
5. Chronic absence is a problem we can solve when the whole community, along with to parents and
schools, get involved in improving attendance. All of us can make a difference by helping students and
families feel engaged in learning and their schools, setting the expectation that school attendance matters and
working together to identify and help families overcome barriers to getting to school. Community partners are
especially important for helping schools and families address and overcome tough barriers, such as limited
access to health care, unstable housing, poor transportation or neighborhood violence.
6. Relationship building is fundamental to any strategy for improving student attendance. Students are more
likely to go to school if they know someone cares whether they show up. Trusting relationships – whether with
teachers, mentors, coaches or other caring adults – are critical to encouraging families and students to seek out
help to overcome barriers to attendance.
7. Reducing chronic absence can help close achievement gaps. Chronic absence especially affects
achievement for low-income students who depend more on school for opportunities to learn. Because they are
more likely to face systemic barriers to getting to school, low-income children, many of whom are children of color,
have higher levels of chronic absence starting as early as prekindergarten. Chronic absence data can be used to
trigger interventions so high-risk student populations receive the supports they need, ideally before they fall
behind academically. Especially among older students of color, chronic absence could signal the need to reform
inappropriate and biased student discipline policies and practices that are pushing students out of class.
Tools included
This toolkit provides templates and social media posts for Twitter and Facebook.
Sample Tweets
Before September
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Raise Attendance Awareness in Sept w/@UnitedWay @americaspromise @attendanceworks @civicenterprise
@readingby3rd http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ
United Way Worldwide
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Sept is Attendance Awareness Month. Because every school day counts! Let’s do it! http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ
#SchoolEveryDay
Join the @UnitedWay Attendance Awareness Campaign on September 18. Help spread the word abt student
attendance #SchoolEveryDay #liveunited
Save the date for @UnitedWay’s Attendance Awareness Month Twitter Campaign on Sept 18. Let’s raise our
voices for #SchoolEveryDay!
On September 10 (Early Learning Back to School Twitter Campaign)
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Today is the #EarlyEd Back to School Campaign! School attendance is critical for early learning success
#InvestinKids #SchoolEveryDay
INFOGRAPHIC: Why attendance matters for the youngest students http://ow.ly/AulaJ #SchoolEveryDay
#InvestinKids
DYK that chronically absent students in their early years are less likely to read at grade level by 3rd grade?
#InvestinKids #SchoolEveryDay
DYK that chronically absent students in their early years are 18x more likely to chronically absent in 6 th grade?
#InvestinKids #SchoolEveryDay
DYK that chronically absent students in their early years are at higher risk of dropping out of high school?
#InvestinKids #SchoolEveryDay
One in 10 #kindergarten & 1st grade students nationwide miss nearly a month of school each year
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
Kinder ready children who miss school regularly are less likely to be reading on level by 3rd Grade
#SchoolEveryDay #InvestinKids
Attending school every day impacts learning at all grade levels from Pre-K through College #SchoolEveryDay
#InvestinKids
On September 18
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Join @UnitedWay’s Attendance Awareness Campaign today! RT if you believe that good attendance leads to
student success #SchoolEveryDay
Women leaders across the country are joining @UnitedWay today in raising awareness abt student attendance.
Join us! #SchoolEveryDay
Nationally, as many as 7.5 million students miss 10% of school year. That’s 135 million days.
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
Missed school days add up fast! @getschooled calculates effect of too many days out with this tool.
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
Even a school with 95% avg #attendance rate could have as many as 20% chronically absent. Real deal:
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
Make sure your superintendent has signed on to the Make Every Day Count Call to Action: http://bit.ly/RtzUgJ
#SchoolEveryDay
Missing 10% of school days, or just 2 days each month, can put children at risk of #academic failure.
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
United Way Worldwide
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Reducing #chronicabsence is community affair! See how everyone from police to churches can help.
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
Drive w/data! Demand schools calculate #chronicabsence rates, share w/parents, teachers, and principals.
http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ #SchoolEveryDay
Health providers, #school nurses can play critical role in reducing #chronicabsence. http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ
#SchoolEveryDay
Like bacteria in hospital, #chronicabsence can wreak havoc long before discovered http://bit.ly/15n1WSZ
#SchoolEveryDay
Sample Facebook Posts
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Chronic absenteeism is missing 10 percent of school days for any reason – excused and unexcused, including inschool suspensions. Based upon research, it marks the point when students start to fall behind academically
because they have missed too many school days.
We hope you’ll join us for Attendance Awareness Month in September, a nationwide campaign to reduce chronic
absenteeism. To learn more and sign up for our listserv, visit http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/ .
Thinking about getting involved in Attendance Awareness Month this September? Check out the Count Us In!
toolkit for tips on how to get started planning. http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/ .
FACT: Nationally, as many as 7.5 million students nationwide miss 10 percent of the school year in excused and
unexcused absences every year. That’s 135 million days of school. Learn more about reducing chronic absence
in your school: http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/ .
If you think one day out of school is just one day out of school, think again! The days add up quickly. Our friends
at the Get Schooled website have developed an “Attendance Count Calendar,” which you can use to see the
effect of missing school based on the number of days you are out. The results just might surprise you! Give it a try
at https://getschooled.com/attendance-counts. Then, find out what you can do here.
http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/
September is Attendance Awareness Month! Are you participating? Find out how to make a difference in your
schools and community by visiting http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/ .
Fact: Chronic absence in kindergarten is associated with lower academic performance in 1st grade, especially in
reading, for Latino students. For low-income children, unable to make up for time on task, the poor performance is
extended through 5th grade. By 6th grade, chronic absence is a clear predictor of dropout. Learn more about
reducing chronic absence and find out how you can help during Attendance Awareness Month this September at
http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/ .
Check out this infographic to learn why attendance matters for the youngest students.
http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/AW-InfographicFINAL.jpg
Op-eds, Blogs and Other Materials
Compose a commentary stressing the importance of attendance and the role a school or community is playing to reduce
absenteeism. If you can’t sell it as an op-ed piece, shorten it and offer it as a guest blog or a letter to the editor.
Template op-ed (for United Way Women’s Leadership Council Member or Board Chair):
United Way Worldwide
If a child is not in school, they’re likely headed off track. While too many of our children – as many as 7.5 million across
the country -- miss nearly a month of school every year, there’s a growing awareness here in [community] that
commonsense solutions can address the problem of chronic absence.
There’s power in working together to help all of our children in [community] to succeed in school. That’s why I became
involved with [United Way]’s Women’s Leadership Council. Like all of you, [insert city] is my home, and I am invested in
improving all aspects of our city -- from our school system, to strong businesses, to a thriving arts community. There are
many women leaders like me volunteering through United Way and focusing our attention on our community’s most
pressing challenges. Today, I am asking you to join us in solving the critical issue of chronic absence amongst our
children.
Why should you care? National research shows that one in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students are chronically
absent, meaning that they miss 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days of instruction, because of excused and
unexcused absences. We should all care because this is an issue that is solvable, and there are lots of simple and
creative ways to intervene with kids and parents to help get kids back on track and back in the classroom.
The trend of chronic absence can start as early as kindergarten and continue through middle school all the way to high
school, contributing to achievement gaps and the dropout rate. In our state, currently [X% - click here to find your state
percentage] are reading below the fourth grade reading achievement level. Children who are chronically absent in
kindergarten and first grade are less likely to read proficiently by third grade, and students who don’t read well by that
critical juncture are more likely to struggle in school.
The most crucial step to getting children on a good attendance track is letting families know about the critical role they
play in getting children to school on time every day. It’s up to parents to build a habit of good attendance, enforce
bedtimes and other routines and avoid vacations while school is in session. Teachers will reinforce these messages and,
when they can, offer fun incentives for those students who show the best attendance or most improvement. Businesses,
faith leaders and community volunteers can also convey this message. We can’t afford to think of absenteeism as simply
an administrative matter. Good attendance is central to student achievement and our broader efforts to improve schools.
All of our investments in curriculum and instruction won’t amount to much if students aren’t showing up to benefit from
them.
As a community we can all help and turn this issue around. I urge you to think about what you can do within your own
family and your own neighborhood to help get more kids to school. I ask that you join me and my fellow Women’s
Leadership Council members. Together, we can help ensure [community’s] kids are in school to make every day count.
Template Blog:
Make Every Day Count: Attendance Awareness Month
As school starts back in our community, we should remember that it’s about more than buying school supplies and new
clothes. It’s about helping kids – our own kids, our grandkids, and the kids in our community – come to school read to
succeed, in class, and later in work and life.
But a big barrier to success is missing school. Kids who miss 18 days of school in a given school year are more likely to
struggle in school – and are headed down a slippery slope.
This trend starts as early as kindergarten and continues through high school, contributing to achievement gaps and
ultimately to dropout rates. One in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students miss 10% of the school year. But only 17% of
those kids will read on grade level after 3rd grade, research shows. By middle school, chronic absence is one of the
leading indicators of dropping out. And by 9th grade, it’s a better predictor of dropping out than test scores.
United Way Worldwide
By understanding this issue – and helping schools and parents understand and execute strategies to tackle it – we can
help kids in our community kick off the school year in a positive way.
That’s why United Way of Anytown, in partnership with Attendance Works, is recognizing September as Attendance
Awareness Month, part of a nationwide movement to show that every school day counts.
Whoever you are, whatever your role in our community, you can be part of this. You can support Attendance Awareness
Month with dollars (to support school incentives), or volunteerism, or just by raising awareness and spreading the word.
And you can make sure your kids, and those of your extended family in your neighborhood, know how important it is to
come to school on time, every day.
Join us in our effort to make every day count. IF YOUR UNITED WAY HAS A SPECIFIC ATTENDANCE ACTIVITY,
ISSUE THAT CALL TO ACTION HERE.
We’re all in this together. When our kids succeed, our whole community succeeds.
Template Email or Newsletter Blurb:
The first days of school conjure up images of backpacks stuffed with notebooks and No. 2 pencils, bulletin boards freshly
decorated by teachers, and students showing off new clothes to old friends.
But even in these early days of the new school year, some students are already heading toward academic trouble: they’re
missing too many days of school. Across the country, as many as 7.5 million students miss nearly a month of school
every year – absences that can correlate with poor performance at every grade level.
In our community, XX% of kids are not graduating. NOTE CHRONIC ABSENCE RATES IF YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT
HAS DATA. That undercuts their future, and the future of our community.
As part of a nation-wide effort to boost graduation and our community’s future, United Way of Anytown is recognizing
September as Attendance Awareness Month. In partnership with Attendance Works, we’re asking parents, schools, city
agencies, community nonprofits, businesses and others to deliver the message that attendance matters for success in
school and in life, and that absences can easily add up to academic challenges.
Here are some ideas for action:
 Raise awareness: Send a message through your social media channels about the value of good attendance.
Use hashtags #SchoolEveryDay and #Liveunited.
 Help your schools track the right data: Schools track attendance and unexcused absences, but may not track
how many kids miss too many days for any reason. Ask your local school to track the right data to ensure student
success.
 Become a mentor: Students are more likely to go to school if they know someone cares whether they show up.
We can step up as mentors to support kids by (INCLUDE ANY RELEVANT VOLUNTEER EFFORTS YOU’RE
LEADING, WITH URL).
Template Press Release:
Name of Organization Recognizes September
as Attendance Awareness Month in Community
United Way Worldwide
[NAME] pledges to engage community, parents, students
in concerted effort to reduce chronic absenteeism
[NAME OF ORGANIZATION] has joined a nationwide effort to celebrate Attendance Awareness Month in September and
has pledged to raise awareness about the value of regular school attendance and focus on reducing chronic absenteeism
in the new school year.
[NAME OF ORGANIZATION] recognizes that good attendance is essential to academic success. But far too many
students are at risk academically because they are chronically absent. Chronic absence is described as missing 10
percent of the school year—or about 18 days – for any reason, excused or unexcused. That’s the point at which
absenteeism begins to affect student performance, research shows.
Nationally, as many as one out of 10 students miss 10 percent of the school year in excused and unexcused absences
every year.
Yet, too often chronic absence remains a hidden problem because schools track only average daily attendance and
truancy (unexcused absences.) The research shows that chronic absence predicts lower 3rd grade reading proficiency,
course failure and eventual dropout. The impact hits low-income students particularly hard, especially if they don’t have
the resources to make up for lost time in the classroom and are more likely to face barriers to getting to school, such as
unreliable transportation and chronic health issues
SAMPLE ORGANIZATION LEADER’S QUOTE “This matters to all of us, not just those with school-age children,”
[LEADER] said. “When our schools graduate more students, on time, our communities and our economy are stronger
because we have more people who are prepared for the workplace and in our community’s civic life.”
This September, schools, city agencies, community nonprofits, faith-based groups, businesses and others around the
nation are coming together to deliver the message that every school day counts. They are committing time and resources
to raise public awareness, dig deeper into attendance data and work with community partners to improve school
attendance starting as soon as children enter school. SHARE ANY LOCAL DETAILS IF AVAILABLE
[If you’d like a quote from one of our national partners, please contact Phyllis Jordan at pjordan@thehatchergroup.com]
During Attendance Awareness Month, we are asking school leaders, community advocates, parents and students to act
upon these critical first steps to help stem chronic absenteeism in their schools:
 Build a habit and a culture of regular attendance
 Use data to monitor when chronic absence is a problem, and
 Identify and solve barriers to getting children to school.
Study after study shows that chronic absence is an early warning indicator that a student will drop out of a high school. A
recent study from Utah found that a student who was chronically absent in any year between eighth and 12th grade was
7.4 times more likely to drop out than students with better attendance.
But while chronic absenteeism is generally considered a high school problem, research shows us that it poor attendance
is also a concern among our youngest students. One in 10 kindergarten and first grade students nationwide miss nearly a
month of school each year. In some cities, the rate is as high as one in four elementary students. In some schools,
chronic absence affects 50 percent of all of the students! Once large numbers of children are chronically absent, the
classroom churn results in less learning for everyone, as teachers have to spend time re-teaching material.
“We can turn the tide on chronic absenteeism by making it a priority, driving with data and using positive supports to
engage families and students in showing up to school every day.” ANOTHER LOCAL QUOTE
United Way Worldwide
Resources
Find additional resources on the issue of school attendance and chronic absence provided by Attendance Works.
The facts about chronic absence: http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The-FactsAbout-Chronic-Absence.pdf
Research summary on chronic absence: http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/Chronic-Absence-Research-Summary-1-pager-2.19.14withlinks.pdf
Research summary on early grade attendance: http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/Chronic-Absence-Research-Summary-1-pager-2.19.14withlinks.pdf
Present, engaged and accounted for: Research documenting the effects of early chronic absence:
http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_837.pdf
Questions? For more information, contact Lindsay Torrico at Lindsay.Torrico@unitedway.org or (703) 836-7112.