Happy April! Hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and looking forward to some spring break plans or already enjoyed your spring break! Below you will find some helpful attendance information and resources.
Utah Attendance Success Stories/Celebrations
This month we want to highlight Jordan School District and all of the amazing work they are doing to increase daily attendance and decrease chronic absenteeism across their district. They have developed social media posts that schools and district leaders are regularly posting to help remind students and parents about the importance of being at school every day. They have also developed a district attendance committee which includes the director of student services, an attendance/prevention specialist, a health & wellness specialist, a counselor specialist, an assistant high school principal, an assistant middle school principal, an assistant elementary principal, and two representatives from their information systems department. They worked hard to develop an attendance flowchart that is beneficial to all schools across their district. Thanks for being such a great example to districts all over the state!
We would like to highlight Maria Montessori Academy for all of their efforts to increase daily attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism. They send weekly newsletters with updates in them about attendance goals and offer transportation support to families. They also sent a survey to parents about their beliefs around the importance of attending school and asked them to individually identify what motivates their children to come to school. They also have a school attendance team which includes the school nurse, the student success specialist, the director, and the attendance secretary. This team works hard to collaborate with families to reduce barriers for their students. Thanks for your example to schools on engaging with stakeholders and keeping everyone included when it comes to attendance!
Attendance Legislative Update
Senate Bill 279 was passed during this last legislative session. Please read this bill and update your lists of valid excuses to include the “competition in a rodeo sanctioned by an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the development of sportsmanship, horsemanship, and character in youth through the sport of rodeo;” Let us know if you have any questions regarding this piece of legislation.
Attendance Webinar
We loved seeing so many of you at our attendance webinar last month. Our next webinar is coming up on May 12th at 10:30am. We will send out more information later this month with the zoom link and topics that will be covered. We hope to see you there!
Statewide Attendance Campaign
We are so excited to announce that our slogan for our Statewide Attendance Campaign is going to be “Every Day Counts!” Thank you to everyone for your input and for helping us decide on our slogan. We will be developing resources and ideas to share with every LEA across the state to distribute this coming summer. If you want to be a part of the planning and creating of this campaign, please email Megan Menlove at megan.menlove@schools.utah.gov.
Helpful Articles/Podcasts
Spring Slide Ideas- there are a lot of challenges in the spring with absenteeism. This is a great time to run a targeted campaign and remind parents and students of the importance of being at school every day.
Spring Slide Attendance Works Resources
Part of increasing attendance in our schools is creating a positive school climate where students feel connected to others. One way schools across Utah are starting to increase the positivity in their schools is through “Kindness Walls”. See more information at https://youuplift.com/ and this KSL article.
High Levels of Chronic Absence Affect All Kids, Not Just Those Missing School
Upcoming Dates/Information
*2025-2026 Tier 1 Engagement and Attendance Cohorts- if your LEA is participating in our cohorts for the 2025-2026 school year, we are scheduling our onboarding meetings this month.
*May 12, 2025 at 10:30am- 2025 Attendance Webinar Series #3.
*July 16, 2025 at 10:30am- 2025 Attendance Webinar Series #4.
We appreciate all you do. Please let us know how we can best support you and your schools.
USBE Attendance Specialists
https://www.schools.utah.gov/prevention/absenteeismtruancyprevention
Megan Menlove
Attendance Support Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
