Moving Beyond Stickers and Social Media to Drive Meaningful Change
As the new school year kicks off, districts across the country are gearing up for Attendance Awareness Month in September. This annual initiative aims to shine a spotlight on the critical issue of chronic absenteeism – missing 10% or more of the school year. However, many traditional attendance campaigns fall short of driving meaningful, lasting change.
The Limitations of Traditional Attendance Campaigns
The typical approach often involves social media posts, incentives like prizes or stickers, and media appearances. While these tactics may generate some short-term enthusiasm, they may not be the most effective way to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism, which is the ultimate goal. Lesley Bruinton, APR, a school public relations expert, cautions that “stickers won’t make the difference for the students who are chronically absent.”
Shifting from Outputs to Meaningful Outcomes
She realized this early in her career when an attendance campaign focused on outputs, like stickers, posters and social media posts, did not yield appreciable results for the students who most needed the message. While she admits the incentives were nice to have for students without chronic attendance issues, it wasn’t the right kind of incentive to help the students who were ultimately the focus of the efforts.
A Multimodal, Supportive Approach
She recommends districts should take a multimodal approach that leverages their communication channels to highlight the supports available for students and families. While social media may be part of the overall strategy, more direct forms of communication may be needed to reach the intended audience.
Bruinton suggests districts look at “all facets of the school system to help students and their families overcome barriers, including support from social workers and school staff.”
This could mean strengthening partnerships with community organizations, improving communication with parents, or providing access to resources like transportation and healthcare.
By taking the time to understand the unique challenges faced by chronically absent students and their families, districts can develop tailored interventions and use their communication platforms to raise awareness. This might include featuring success stories from schools that’ve implemented strategies to improve attendance, or highlighting the availability of supports to promote attendance.
Creating a Long-Term Strategy for Lasting Change
The key is to create a multi-pronged strategy that extends beyond the confines of Attendance Awareness Month. When students and families feel truly supported, empowered to overcome barriers, and understand how they can partner with schools on their child’s attendance, the results can be transformative. And that’s news worth sharing!
Need help rethinking your attendance efforts, contact us now!
