Every Day Counts: Building School-Based Attendance Teams

Student attendance is one of the most powerful predictors of academic achievement, emotional well-being, and future success. When students attend school regularly, they gain access to instruction while building relationships, developing social-emotional skills, and preparing for life beyond the classroom.

Yet, chronic absenteeism—defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year for any reason—has reached alarming levels. In 2023, more than 13 million students were chronically absent, and while 2024 data show slight improvement, the numbers remain elevated.

A recent Attendance Work webinar, “Teams Make All the Difference for Improving Attendance,” looked at strategies to address the crisis, and it came down to this: Schools must take a proactive, team-based approach that identifies and addresses the root causes of absenteeism. This means moving beyond punitive measures and embracing strategies that promote connection, engagement, and support that help students be “Here Today, Ready for Tomorrow”—the Attendance Awareness Campaign slogan for the 2025-2026 school year.

Why Attendance Matters

Attendance is more than a statistic—it’s a reflection of a student’s connection to their school community. Regular attendance is linked to:

• Academic Success: Students who attend consistently are more likely to read proficiently by third grade, pass key courses, and graduate on time.
• Social-Emotional Development: Being present allows students to build relationships with peers and adults, fostering a sense of belonging and safety.
• Future Opportunities: Attendance habits translate into workplace readiness. Employers value reliability, punctuality, and commitment—traits nurtured through consistent school attendance.

Moreover, schools play a vital role in promoting student well-being. They provide access to meals, mental health services, mentorship, and enrichment activities. When students miss school, they miss out on these essential supports.

Barriers to Attendance

Students miss school for a variety of reasons, which can be grouped into four categories:

1. Barriers: These include chronic illness, transportation challenges, housing instability, food insecurity, and lack of access to health care services or technology.
2. Aversion: Students might avoid school due to anxiety, bullying, academic struggles, or an unwelcoming school culture. Disciplinary practices and undiagnosed disabilities can also contribute.
3. Disengagement: Some students feel disconnected due to uninspiring instruction, lack of enrichment opportunities, or absence of meaningful relationships with adults.
4. Misconceptions: Families may believe that only unexcused absences matter, or that missing a few days per month won’t affect learning. These misunderstandings can lead to underestimating the total impact of missed days.

The Power of School Teams

Improving attendance requires a multi-tiered system of support that begins with prevention and scales up to intensive intervention:

• Tier 1 (Universal Prevention): Focuses on creating a positive school climate, building relationships, and engaging all families. This includes welcoming environments, culturally responsive teaching, and clear communication about the importance of attendance.
• Tier 2 (Early Intervention): Targets students missing 10–19 percent of school days. Strategies might include mentoring, check-ins, and personalized outreach to families.
• Tier 3 (Intensive Intervention): Supports students missing 20 percent or more of school days. This might involve case management, wraparound services, and collaboration with community agencies.

School-based attendance teams are essential because they bring together the right people, in the right place, at the right time, to address the complex reasons students miss school. Ideally led by the principal, these teams can be newly formed or built from existing staff and should include:

• Nurses, counselors, and social workers who understand health and mental health barriers.
• Teachers and special education staff who can identify academic and behavioral challenges.
• Administrative and early education staff who track attendance and engage families early.
• Sports coaches and expanded learning staff who build relationships and offer enrichment.
• Community school coordinators and family resource center staff who connect families to services.
• Attendance advocates who focus on outreach and engagement.

Their role is to identify patterns of absenteeism, understand the underlying causes, and implement targeted interventions. They meet regularly, often weekly or biweekly, to review attendance data, share insights, and coordinate support for students and families.

The reason these teams are so beneficial is that they combine diverse expertise and perspectives, allowing for holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive solutions. By working collaboratively and proactively, school teams can transform attendance from a compliance issue into a shared commitment to student well-being, academic success, and future opportunity.

Importantly, the team should reflect the demographics of the student population and incorporate input from families and students. This ensures that strategies are culturally responsive and tailored to community needs.

Building Relationships and Solving Problems

The key to reducing chronic absence is building strong relationships and addressing the underlying causes of missed school days. This means shifting from blame to support, from punishment to problem-solving.

Schools must use data to identify patterns and root causes, engage families as partners in attendance improvement, provide trauma-informed and culturally sensitive interventions, and ensure students feel safe, valued, and connected.

Attendance is not just about being physically present; it’s about being engaged, supported, and connected. When schools invest in team-based strategies to improve attendance, they are investing in the hopes and dreams of their students.

To learn more tips and strategies, visit Attendance Works, a longtime partner organization of NAESP.

Krysia Gabenski is editorial director at NAESP.