Attendance Awareness Month

Attendance Awareness Month

What Is Attendance Awareness Month?

Attendance Awareness Month is a national initiative observed each September to spotlight the importance of regular school attendance and its impact on student success. It’s an opportunity for schools and districts to promote attendance as a shared priority, raise awareness of the causes and consequences of absenteeism, and build momentum for strong attendance from the start of the year.

Led nationally by Attendance Works, this campaign encourages districts to educate, engage, and mobilize around improving attendance — especially in the early months of the school year.

Why It Matters

September is a critical time for attendance. Research shows that absences in the first month of school are highly predictive of chronic absenteeism later in the year.

Attendance Awareness Month helps districts:

• Set a positive tone around attendance from day one
• Increase visibility for attendance-related goals and metrics
• Boost Tier 1 engagement through celebration, not compliance
• Provide staff with a reason to prioritize attendance communication and outreach
• Bring families into the conversation early — before absences pile up

It’s also a powerful culture-building moment to reinforce that attendance is everyone’s responsibility.

How Schools Use This Term in Practice

During Attendance Awareness Month, districts often launch:

• School-wide attendance campaigns (e.g., “Every Day Counts”)
• Parent letters, flyers, and website updates explaining attendance expectations
• Attendance pledge drives or contests
• Daily announcements or social media posts with facts and reminders
• Spirit weeks, attendance incentives, or assemblies
• Staff training on MTSS attendance frameworks and early warning systems

District leaders may also present data to school boards, engage community partners, or coordinate local media outreach.

What’s the Difference Between Attendance Awareness Month and Truancy Prevention Week?

• Attendance Awareness Month is proactive, positive, and focused on all absences, not just unexcused ones.
• Truancy Prevention Week (where observed) is typically reactive and focused on compliance with unexcused absences.

Attendance Awareness Month is about building habits and community — not just meeting legal mandates.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Tier 1 Interventions – Awareness campaigns are a key Tier 1 attendance strategy
• Chronic Absenteeism – The long-term problem this month is designed to prevent
• Family Engagement – A central part of outreach efforts during the campaign
• Positive Attendance Messaging – The tone and content that define effective campaigns
• Early Warning Systems – Used to identify at-risk students during or after September

Example Scenario

A district in California launches a campaign called “Show Up September.” Schools hang banners, send home parent guides, and run classroom attendance competitions. A daily email from the superintendent includes attendance facts and appreciation for staff. By the end of the month, the district sees a measurable drop in absenteeism compared to the previous September.

How Attendance Awareness Month Impacts Districts

When used strategically, this month becomes more than a campaign — it becomes a jumpstart to stronger attendance for the whole year.

Benefits include:

• Early reduction in absenteeism
• Higher awareness among families and staff
• Stronger district culture around attendance
• Better alignment between messaging and MTSS goals
• Clear documentation of Tier 1 engagement efforts

Districts that prioritize September attendance often see better outcomes across the year — both in data and in relationships.

How Are Schools Across the U.S. Celebrating Attendance Awareness Month?

Districts are bringing creativity and strategy together to make this month matter:

1. Attendance Kickoff Events
Back-to-school nights and assemblies focused specifically on attendance goals and expectations.

2. Daily Communications
Social media posts, email tips, and in-class announcements to reinforce key messages.

3. Family-Focused Resources
Translated handouts, infographics, and robocalls explaining why attendance matters and how to get help.

4. Incentives That Reinforce Belonging
Rewards tied to attendance streaks or group goals — focused more on recognition than punishment.

5. Strategic Data Reviews
Some districts use the end of September to analyze trends, identify at-risk students, and launch Tier 2 interventions early.

How Nudge Helps

Nudge helps districts make the most of Attendance Awareness Month by turning campaign energy into sustained engagement and early action.

With Nudge, districts can:

• Launch personalized campaigns with real attendance data
• Send multilingual messages to families across email, text, and mail
• Flag students who are missing early and assign Tier 2 interventions
• Track family response and engagement throughout the month
• Keep momentum going by tying September campaigns into ongoing MTSS workflows

Because awareness is only useful if it leads to action — and Nudge helps close that loop.

Want to Make Attendance Awareness Month Count This Year?

See how Nudge helps districts turn messaging into measurable attendance improvement — starting day one.