Innovative approach combines data and proactive, positive school-home communication to help thousands of schools across the U.S. measurably improve attendance
RIDGELAND, Miss. – September 13, 2023 – As K-12 districts settle into a new academic year, chronic absenteeism remains a critical issue impacting millions of students. According to recent research, about 25% of U.S. students missed at least 10% of the 2022-23 school year, up from 15% before the pandemic. This trend has far-reaching consequences for these students, including increased dropout rates, lower academic achievement, and fewer post-graduation opportunities.
School districts across the country are seeking innovative solutions to address absenteeism. SchoolStatus, a leader in K-12 communication and attendance solutions, is partnering with districts to significantly improve student attendance through a proven, evidence-based approach that focuses on proactive, positive family communication. Attention2Attendance® (A2A) was developed by School Innovations & Achievement (SI&A), a division of SchoolStatus, to facilitate positive, data-informed, two-way communication that increases attendance rates and learning time.
SI&A has worked with hundreds of school districts over the past 20 years to successfully address top issues facing education today such as declining enrollment, chronic absenteeism, and the academic side effects of missing school. A2A is currently used in more than 180 school districts representing over 1.6 million students. Nearly half of the districts using A2A have a chronic absenteeism improvement rate over 10%, with a third seeing an improvement rate over 20%. Started in California, A2A has expanded into 13 states, most recently New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Additionally, A2A and SchoolStatus earned Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Level IV certification, demonstrating that the solutions are evidence-based.
Sanger Unified School District, in Fresno County, California, recently used A2A to improve attendance for the 13,000 students in its district. Using a multi-tiered program that included early identification and outreach, and positive school-home communication, Sanger achieved a major improvement in attendance rates, decreasing the rate of chronic absenteeism from 31% to 17% from 2022 to 2023.
“Consistent attendance is paramount to a student's overall success,” said Dr. Dennis Wiechmann, Superintendent of Sanger Unified School District. “As Superintendent, I personally value the nearly two-decade partnership as it remains a critical part of helping our District achieve its ambitious goals.”
“At SchoolStatus, all of our solutions are focused on student success,” said Russ Davis, Founder and CEO. “Our communication and attendance solutions use two-way communication to help districts understand why students are missing school so that they can address the root causes. Districts that use a collaborative, positive approach focused on partnering with families are seeing measurable results.”
“Districts we work with are taking a comprehensive and non-punitive approach to addressing chronic absenteeism,” said Erica Peterson, Director of Education and Engagement at SchoolStatus. “We’re finding that when schools engage students’ families through positive outreach and education the results are remarkable.”
About SchoolStatus
SchoolStatus provides a comprehensive suite of communication and attendance solutions that enhance educator-to-family connectedness and support student success. Instant insight into student information and district attendance trends gives educators and administrators full visibility into all levels of the education ecosystem. Data-informed, multi-touch communications include calling, texting, video, and print materials centered around proactive intervention that improves student outcomes and family engagement. With millions of successful school-home interactions, SchoolStatus is improving student outcomes by facilitating meaningful engagement between educators, districts, and families across the US. For more information, visit schoolstatus.com.
About School Innovations & Achievement (SI&A)
For the last two decades, SI&A, a division of SchoolStatus, has been recognized for providing best-in-class, innovative, award-winning software and service solutions for some of the toughest issues in K-12 education. SI&A empowers and supports school districts with programs that generate and protect revenue, achieve attendance and performance goals, streamline processes, and fulfill regulatory obligations. SI&A was acquired by SchoolStatus in 2022.
Media Contact:
Annmarie Ely
Zer0 to 5ive for SchoolStatus
267.454.4686
