Three Critical Components for Launching a Successful Attendance Campaign

When we think about attendance campaigns, most of us think about ‘Back to School’ season. We hear about attendance quite a bit in those early months of school, in August and September, to nurture healthy habits early in the year. But a true sign of a strong attendance campaign is staying power. Are people still talking about attendance in later months? In January, March, even May? If you put the time in now to plan a strong attendance campaign, you’ll be reaping the benefits all year long.

Ready to get started? Here are 3 key things to focus on when launching a successful campaign: 

1. The Campaign Slogan

The cornerstone of a solid campaign is a slogan that your school community can rally around and ground themselves in. It’s important that your slogan is short, easy to remember, and visually appealing. Attendance Works has a ton of great campaign posters, visuals and slogans that are easy to adopt. No need to reinvent the wheel!

2. Generating Enthusiasm

It’s important that every member of your school community— families, students, staff, teachers, and administrators—all know that the campaign exists and understands why it is important. Use back to school get-togethers to spread the word about the campaign. Send letters home that highlight the importance of attendance and key information on attendance policies. The earlier families receive these messages, the better! If you can, try to tie something fun to the campaign to help generate excitement- maybe an ice cream social? Or a family movie night when the first attendance goal is reached. Get those creative juices flowing and tap into the things that your unique school community enjoys.

3. Communication Timeline

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Once the school year begins, be sure to carve out a plan for how often you’ll  communicate with your school community about attendance efforts. Will you set monthly attendance goals? Weekly? Quarterly? Using an attendance dashboard can help you identify and track the right goals, especially when it provides attendance data updated in real time to monitor progress. This is a great way to keep your team aligned and accountable. 

To keep the momentum going, how will you celebrate when you reach those goals? How will you pivot if you are consistently not reaching those goals? Thinking through these questions now will help bring that staying power that is critical to a successful campaign. 

Remember, the purpose of your attendance campaign is to improve attendance and ensure that all members of your school community know and understand why it is important to attend school. Don’t be afraid to have fun with your attendance campaigns! That joy is vital to your school's culture, and reminds students and families why school is a great place to be, every day.  

Visit our website for more attendance resources and to learn more about our newest solution for your attendance team: EveryDay Pro!

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