Regular school attendance, starting in preschool, helps puts children on track for reading at grade-level in third grade, a critical benchmark and predictor of future academic and life success. The good news is there are actionable strategies to support regular attendance at the state, district, and school and community levels.
This report outlines results from a survey of 1,500 North Carolina parents, preschool staff and elementary school staff who shared their impressions of current school-level attendance policies and practices. In addition to analyzing the survey data, the report considers what can be done by schools and in communities to reduce chronic absence in preschool and the early grades and shares bright spots of schools in North Carolina that are already acting to reduce chronic absence.
