We know that students who miss too much school suffer academically at every age and every grade. Equally important, we know absenteeism is a problem we can solve if districts and schools identify the students most at risk and then work with parents and community partners to turn around attendance and achievement.

Our new toolkit, The Power of Positive Connections, calls for using absenteeism records from past years and from the first month of school to connect the most at-risk students to personal relationships and positive supports that motivate them to show up to class every day.

The toolkit provides a step-by-step guide and resources to a data-driven strategy known as PEOPLE—Priority Early Outreach through Positive Linkages and Engagement:
•Priority: Focuses on at-risk students in grades, schools and neighborhoods with high levels of chronic absence
•Early: Begins with the start of school.
•Outreach: Connects to students and families
•Positive: Promotes preventive, supportive approaches rather than punitive responses
•Linkages Taps the full community for support
•Engagement: Motivates students to show up to class and offers students & families a role in improving attendance.