Parents and students need to understand the importance of attendance, starting in the early grades and continuing through high school. • Attendance matters for doing well in school and life starting in kindergarten and even in pre-kindergarten. • Absences can add up before you know it. • Poor attendance is not just about unexcused absences or children willfully skipping school – excused absences can affect performance, too. • As a parent you are responsible for making sure your child develops the habit of regular attendance. • If you are facing tough challenges related to access to health care, unstable housing, poor transportation or lack of food, you can and should seek out support from the school and community. • It’s important to know the school-wide chronic absence rates, since too many absences can slow down instruction for all students.
(Information provided by Attendance Works)