Attendance Awareness Campaign Partners

Convening Partners

Attendance Works is a national organization dedicated to improving the policy, practice and research around attendance. Its website offers materials, research and success stories about reducing chronic absence. Attendance Works also offers technical assistance to school districts and communities.

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading seeks to disrupt generational poverty and ensure more hopeful futures for children of low-income families. We support community-driven initiatives to improve the likelihood that these children will grasp the first rung of the success sequence ladder — graduation from high school.

Everyone Graduates Center combines analysis of the causes, location, and consequences of the nation’s dropout crisis with the development of tools and models designed to keep all students on the path to graduation. That includes tracking of early warning indicators, including chronic absence.

FutureEd is an independent, solution-oriented think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Its areas of study include chronic absenteeism in state accountability systems.

Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making schools healthier places for all students. HSC provides leadership development and tools to school stakeholders and advocates for better access to nutritious school food, physical activity, school health resources and clean air to shape children’s lifelong learning and health.

Since 1964, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) has partnered with under-resourced communities to equip leaders to build effective systems that improve outcomes for children, youth and families. Using practices that reflect the needs of those communities, the relationships that IEL develops shape engagement with community leaders and support the deeper impact needed to address systemic challenges in 200+ communities.

MENTOR aims to drive equity and close the mentoring gap through quality mentoring relationships for young people. They activate a diverse cross-sector movement that prioritizes relationships and fuels opportunity for young people everywhere they are — from schools to workplaces, and beyond.

The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. Working in partnership with the 49 state municipal leagues, NLC serves as a resource to and an advocate for the more than 19,000 cities, villages and towns it represents.  The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, a special entity within NLC, helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children, youth, and families in their communities.

United Way Worldwide  is engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide. We bring people and organizations from all sectors of society together to improve EDUCATION, INCOME AND HEALTH, the building blocks for a better life and stronger community. 

Collaborating Partners

 AARP Experience Corps is an award-winning, proven program utilizing highly trained volunteer tutors 50 years and older to help children become great readers by the time they finish third grade. Our work improves the literacy rates of children in kindergarten through third grade and enriches the lives of our volunteers.  In yearly surveys, teachers who work with the program report that our tutors have a positive impact on attendance, behavior and confidence. We look forward to raising awareness about the importance of attendance in improving education outcomes in our schools.

AASA, the School Superintendents Association, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA, founded in 1865, advocates for the highest quality public education for all students, develops and supports school system leaders, and assists school districts toward success.

Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors (AP) is the nation’s first evidence-based comprehensive training program developed by and for Latino parents with children ages 0-5. The mission of Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors is to support parents in their roles as family leader and as their child’s first and most influential teacher in a home that is their child’s first school. Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors’ two-generation approach builds parent leadership skills and knowledge to promote family well-being and positive education outcomes for children.

Action for Healthy Kids’ (AFHK) mission is to mobilize school professionals, parents, families and communities to take actions that lead to healthier schools where kids can thrive. Through grant awards to schools and districts and a grassroots network of more than 150,000 volunteers, AFHK fosters advancements in school programs, policies and practices that improve foods served, nutrition education, and physical education and activity.

Afterschool Alliance is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for more afterschool investments. The alliance wirjs more than 25,000 afterschool program partners and our publications reach more than 65,000 interested individuals every month.

America’s Promise Alliance brings the country’s most inspiring youth-supporting organizations and leaders together in authentic community with a shared commitment of radical support and collaboration. We focus on strengthening our organizations and creating powerful coalitions in pursuit of collective action. Together, we reimagine the systems impacting young people and work to create a more just America that empowers every next generation to lead our country forward.

American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance, both domestically and internationally, in the areas of education, health and the workforce. AIR’s mission is to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world.

The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC-based national policy and advocacy organization that works to improve national and federal policy so that all students can achieve at high academic levels and graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship in the twenty-first century.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation believes every child deserves a healthy future. For more than a decade, Healthier Generation has been empowering kids to develop lifelong healthy habits by ensuring the environments that surround them provide and promote good health. Our work has helped more than 28 million kids across the country.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. (www.aap.org)

American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen is helping local communities identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. Made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), American Graduate demonstrates public media’s commitment to education and its deep roots in every community it serves. Public radio and television stations are helping communities understand complexities and address critical issues, such as the dropout rate.

Association for Middle Level Education is the premier association for middle level education with more 28,000 members who are principals, teachers, central office personnel, professors, college students, parents, community leaders, and educational consultants around the globe. AMLE helps middle grades educators reach every student, grow professionally, and create great schools.

AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a school-wide college readiness system for elementary through higher education that is designed to close the gaps (achievement, expectation and opportunity) and increase student performance. AVID acts as a catalyst for systemic reform and change by providing outstanding professional development that accelerates student learning.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, provides children facing adversity, often those of single or low-income households or families where a parent is incarcerated or serving in the military, with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. With about 350 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 630,000 children, volunteers and families. Learn more at BigBrothersBigSisters.org

California Food Policy Advocates, is a statewide policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of low income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious, affordable food. Learn more at http://cfpa.net/.

Camp Fire is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit youth development organizations, serving youth, teens and families in communities across the United States. Camp Fire programs are research-based, delivered where youth and families are via out-of-school time, environmental and camp, and teen service and leadership programs. Because youth want to shape the world, Camp Fire’s focus is giving youth and teens the opportunity to find their sparks, lift their voice and discover who they are. Camp Fire programs are proven to develop young peoples’ skills now so they can reach their full potential.  www.campfire.org.

The Center for Supportive Schools helps schools become places where students want to be. We partner with schools in three areas: developing all students into leaders; empowering teachers to collaborate with each other and with students; and engaging entire school communities to improve how learning happens.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is the nation’s leading organization advancing the development of academic, social, and emotional competence for all students. CASEL’s mission is to help make evidence-based social and emotionallearning an integral part of education from preschool through high school. Through research, practice, and policy, CASEL collaborates to ensure all students become knowledgeable, responsible, caring, and contributing members of society. Visit www.casel.org for more information.

Check & Connect is an evidence-based, comprehensive student engagement intervention whereby mentors engage marginalized, disengaged students in grades K-12. According to the What Works Clearinghouse, Check & Connect is the only dropout prevention intervention found to have positive effects on staying in school.

The Children’s Aid Society’s National Center for Community Schools has facilitated the development of over 15,000 community schools nationally and internationally. We provide the consultation, advocacy and innovation that enable schools and their community partners to meet the comprehensive needs of children, strengthen families and empower neighborhoods.

City Year is a youth-powered organization with a dual mission: expanding educational equity and developing diverse leaders through national service. Research shows the more time a student spends with a City Year member serving as a student success coach, the better the student outcomes. City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps, operating in 29 U.S. cities with international affiliates.

Civic is a bipartisan ideas company specializing in innovative initiatives at the cutting edge of domestic, economic, and international policy. They work to raise high school graduation rates, expand national service, increase civic engagement, protect oceans, end malaria deaths, and prepare Americans for the future of work. Civic partners with think tanks, foundations, nonprofits, corporations, and elected officials to develop and advance new ways to solve emerging problems.

The Coalition for Community Schools, operated by the Institute for Educational Leadership, is an alliance of national, state and local organizations in education K-16, youth development, community planning and development, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy as well as community school networks. Community Schools are both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources.

Communities in Schools has been helping students achieve in school, graduate and go on to bright futures for more than 30 years. Its mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues.

The Council for a Strong America is the parent organization of four sibling organizations, all working toward the common goal of increased investments in children and families. Our members are “unexpected messengers” – law enforcement leaders, retired admirals and generals, business leaders, and pastors – who are effective at reaching key policy-makers to win major victories for kids.

EdTrust is committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system. Through our research and advocacy, Ed Trust improves equity in education from preschool through college, engages diverse communities, and increases political and public will to build an education system where students will thrive.

The Education Commission of the States serves as a partner to state policymakers, nonprofits, institutions, and education leaders to ultimately contribute to and build a learning society. By partnering with ECS, organizations can learn, elevate best practices, create policy plans and strategies and advance their goals and missions. A nonpartisan organization, ECS also seeks to be a flexible, creative collaborator.

FamilyWize Community Service Partnership helps students and families get the medicine they need to save money, stay healthy and stay in school. Through a partnership with United Way Worldwide, 1,000 local United Ways and other community organizations, 5.5 million people have already saved over $500 million on the cost of their medicine and by taking medicine as prescribed, and saved an additional $1.5 billion in healthcare costs.

First Tee is a nonprofit youth development organization with the mission to provide educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. First Tee offers programs on golf courses, in elementary schools and at other youth service locations.

The Forum for Youth Investment is a nonprofit, nonpartisan action tank dedicated tohelping communities and the nation make sure all young people are ready by 21 – ready for college, work and life. Informed by rigorous research and practical experience, the Forum forges innovative ideas, strategies and partnerships to strengthen solutions for young people and those who care about them.

Foundations, Inc. is dedicated to improving the quality of education for our nation’s most vulnerable children by strengthening the skills of educators. We believe that supporting educators is the best way to improve educational experiences for America’s children and youth – throughout the day, everywhere they learn. Through professional learning, educational support, and high-quality resources we are creating a brighter future for every child – every day.

Friends of the Children is a national nonprofit based in Portland, OR that provides children – from age 4-6 through high school graduation – who are in foster care and in high-poverty schools with a salaried, professional mentor, who we call a Friend, for 12+ years, no matter what.

FUTURES has been providing groundbreaking programs, policies and campaign for over 30 years that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children with particular cross-sector efforts to promote residency for children and youth exposed to violence. Its work has been to provide training, develop materials and resources on the promising practices in health care, education, law enforcement and social services, and advancing policy that help young people heal and thrice.

The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) is an independent, nonpartisan policy and research center founded in 2005 with a mission to expand and improve high-quality, affordable health coverage for America’s children and families.

The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) is a national nonprofit dedicated to breaking the link between unhealthy housing and unhealthy families. GHHI replaced stand-alone intervention programs with an integrated, whole-house approach that produces sustainable, green, healthy and safe homes.

Healthy and Ready to Learn is an initiative at the Children’s Health Fund that aims to improve management of health barriers to learning, attendance, school connectedness, and school climate by addressing health issues and other challenges that impede student learning. It provides varying levels of school-based health support, resources, and training (including an online resource and training center) for parents and educators of NYC elementary school students.

Healthy Schools Network is the nation’s leading voice for children’s environmental health at school. Since 1995, it has pioneered and championed multiple federal and state policy reforms and new funds to help states and schools with siting, design, and construction, and with greening up building maintenance. The Network also operates an award winning Clearinghouse of fact sheets and guides.

HEARD Alliance is a community alliance of health care professionals, including primary care and mental health providers. Our mission is to increase collaboration among primary care, mental health and educational professionals, to enhance the community’s ability to promote wellbeing, to treat depression and related conditions and to prevent suicide in adolescents and young adults.

Junior Achievement USA^®(JA) Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.

Kids In Need Foundation provides the support and tools needed for teachers to teach and learners to learn. A quality education is the best gateway to opportunity and students cannot achieve their full potential without it. With a focus on supporting teachers and students in schools most in need nationwide, Kids In Need Foundation believes that every child in America should have equal opportunity and access to a quality education.

Knowledge to Power (KP) Catalysts is a small, nimble consulting firm that increases the rate at which leaders transform Knowledge into Power to change the odds that all children and youth will thrive. We are a team of action-focused thought leaders offering a wide range of services to accelerate change through amplifying ideas, advising initiatives and aligning partners.

Learning Heroes‘ vision is for families and educators to work in unity to unlock student potential, school success, and thriving communities. We champion relationships between families and educators as they team up to advance student learning and well-being.

Learning Policy Institute The Learning Policy Institute seeks to advance evidence-based policies that support empowering and equitable learning for each and every child. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the Institute connects policymakers and stakeholders at the local, state and federal levels with the evidence, ideas, and actions needed to strengthen the education system from preschool through college and career readiness.

Literacy Funders Network The Literacy Funders Network is a peer learning network with a mission to increase the philanthropic community’s knowledge and understanding of literacy as a systemic issue and a tool for community change. The Network is also a venue for collaboration and collective impact. Created in 2009, the Network is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) is a professional organization serving elementary and middle-level principals and other education leaders throughout the U.S., in Canada, and overseas. NAESP advocates for the support principals need to be successful in achieving the highest results for children, families, and communities.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals was founded in 1916 and is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. The mission of NASSP is to promote excellence in school leadership.

The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement
The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) is the first membership association focused solely on advancing family, school, and community engagement. Our mission is to advance high-impact policies and practices for family, school, and community engagement to promote child development and improve student achievement.

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) optimizes student health and learning by advancing the practice of school nursing. NASN focuses on student-centered nursing care within the context of the student’s family and school community.

The National Association of State Boards of Education is the only national organization giving voice and adding value to the nation’s state boards of education. A nonprofit organization founded in 1958, NASBE works to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate equality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in educating all students; and assure responsible lay governance of education. Learn more at http://www.nasbe.org.

The National Association of School Superintendents (NASS) is the only national association focused solely on serving the needs of school superintendents. NASS offers resources, tools, and advocacy opportunities for thousands of superintendents across the country. The mission of the association is steadfast – to enable superintendents to facilitate positive learning outcomes for all students and to effectively advocate for public education.

National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) has since 1970 been a trusted partner in developing effective, culturally relevant resources that respond to the unique strengths and needs of Black children around issues including early learning, health and wellness, literacy, child welfare and family engagement. With the support of over 20 affiliate communities across the country, NBCDI is committed to its mission “to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and their families through education and advocacy.”

The National Center for Families Learning, founded in 1989 and based in Louisville, Ky., is the worldwide leader in family literacy. More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL’s work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers. Visit www.famlit.org for more information.

National Civic League (NCL) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that strengthens democracy by increasing the capacity of groups and individuals to participate in and build healthy and prosperous communities.  For more than a century, NCL has provided technical assistance on civic engagement and local government practices, conducted research on fiscal sustainability, governance, diversity, immigrant integration, healthy communities, community engagement, and published the Model City Charter (now in its 85^th year), the Civic Index, and the National Civic Review (in its 101^st year of continuous publication).  In 2012, NCL conducted its flagship program, the All-America City Awards, with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

Founded in 2011, the National Family Support Network (NFSN) is a membership-based organization comprised of statewide networks that focus on strengthening and supporting families.  Each of these networks consists of two or more Family Resource Centers or Family Strengthening organizations that work with families to enhance parenting skills, prevent child abuse, increase school readiness, develop parent/community leadership, and promote family economic success.  The mission of the NFSN is to connect statewide networks across the United States to promote quality practice, peer learning, mutual support, and effective policies and systems that support positive outcomes for children, families, and communities.

National PTA is a network of millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools.

Parent Teacher Home Visits bring educators and their students’ families together as colleagues, starting with a voluntary home visit. The nonprofit program builds communication, trust, accountability and cultural understanding between all involved, leading to improved test scores, attendance, engagement, curriculum, and school climate.

Playworks is the leading national nonprofit changing school culture by leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. Playworks partners with schools, districts, and after-school programs to provide on-site coaches, professional training for school staff who support recess, and consultative partnerships. Playworks restores valuable teaching time, reduces bullying, increases physical activity, and improves the school and learning environment in communities around the country.

Scholastic, the largest children’s book publisher, provides books and educational materials to tens of thousands of schools and tens of millions of homes worldwide. Our mission is to encourage the intellectual and personal growth of all children, beginning with literacy.

School-Based Health Alliance believes in the transformational power of health and education when they intersect on behalf of children and adolescent. Our purpose is to provide the school-based health care field with help–high-quality resources, training, information, guidance–as well as motivation and inspiration.

SchoolHouse Connection works to overcome homelessness by providing strategic advocacy and technical assistance in partnership with early childhood programs, schools, institutions of higher education, service providers, families and youth. We believe education is the only permanent solution to homelessness, for today’s children and youth and the next generation.

Share Our Strength‘s No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting kids in need with nutritious food and teaching families how to cook healthy, affordable meals. The organization helps surround kids with the nutritious food they need where they live, learn and play.

Society for Public Health Education is a 501 (c)(3) professional organization that provides global leadership to the profession of health education and health promotion and to promote the health of all people by: stimulating research on the theory and practice of health  education; supporting high quality performance standards for the practice of health education and health promotion; advocating policy and legislation affecting health education and health promotion; and developing and promoting standards for professional preparation of health  education professionals.

SHAPE America, The Society of Health and Physical Educators is the nation’s largest membership organization of health and physical education professionals. Since its founding in 1885, the organization has defined excellence in physical education. Its National Standards for K-12 Physical Education serve as the foundation for well-designed physical education programs across the country. They provide programs, resources and advocacy to support health and physical educators from preschool to university graduate programs.

Spark re-engages underserved seventh and eighth grade students, keeping them on track and ready for success in high school and beyond through workplace-based apprenticeships that uniquely combine mentoring, project-based learning, skill building and career exploration.

State Farm believes all children deserve access to a quality education to help them achieve their greatest potential, help them become good community citizens, and prepare them for the workforce. State Farm partners with the Attendance Awareness Campaign to reduce the nation’s dropout rate and to ensure the success of America’s youth through the delivery of Five Promises: Caring Adult; Safe Places; A Healthy Start; An Effective Education; Opportunities to Help Others. Through our Five Promises, we are increasing student attendance – thereby increasing the likelihood of  graduation and personal success.

Student Voice is a for-students-by-students nonprofit inspired by the lack of student voices in education. Student Voice strives to inspire and empower students to take charge of their education and enhance the effectiveness of education by bridging the gap between students and their communities around the world.

Taco Bell Foundation breaks down barriers to educate and inspire the next generation of America’s leaders. Since 1992, the Taco Bell Foundation has reached more than 4 million young people across the country and has awarded more than $110 million in Live Más Scholarships and grants to youth-serving nonprofit organizations focused on education and career readiness.

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.

USI | Urban Strategies, Inc. is a national nonprofit that plans and implements place-based housing, neighborhood and human capital development strategies in public housing communities undergoing neighborhood revitalization. USI works with families and leverage local education partnerships to improve outcomes for children related to early learning, kindergarten readiness, core academic subjects, high school graduation and college and career readiness.

YSA (Youth Service America) powers the international youth service movement with campaigns, funding and tools that activate youth, educators and organizations to improve their communities through high-impact, sustainable community action projects and service-learning programs.