EVERY SCHOOL DAY COUNTS! 
Year two of our county-wide
Attendance Awareness Campaign  is underway!
Theme for December: 
Good school attendance equals a good reader

Key Message: Research shows that students who are chronically absent in Kindergarten and 1st grade are far less likely to read proficiently by 3rd grade.
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Communication Tools/Strategies:  
Our nation is facing a crisis in early literacy: fully two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders are not reading proficiently, national assessments show. The numbers are even more dire for students from low-income families: 80 percent of them haven't reached proficiency. 

Schools and community organizations working with parents can take several approaches to help families improve attendance and, with it, reading skills. 

  • Inform parents early and often about the value of good attendance
    Parents are often unaware of the corrosive effects of absenteeism and how quickly absences add up to academic trouble in the early grades. Some face challenges with health, transportation or housing that contribute to absences. 
  • Offer incentives to recognize parents' efforts to build a culture of attendance
    One strategy for improving attendance is engaging students, parents, educators and community members in a campaign that offers positive rewards for getting to school on-time. 

For more information, visit the Attendance Works website and read a brief studey called "Attendance in the Early Grades: Why it Matters for Reading" 


During the Holiday Season Take a Pro-Active Approach
Principals and teachers have an opportunity to reduce holiday absences by ensuring that parents and students understand the toll that absenteeism takes on achievement.  Attendance Works has developed some  tools and messaging  for school leaders hoping to encourage good attendance around the winter holidays.  Follow this link to Attendance Works website for holiday messaging  resources here! 
 
Engage now, and help us boost school attendance and reduce truancy countywide! You can also follow the status of the county-wide campaign and share the strategies that you are using at your site on on social media
(#cocoschooleveryday)

If you missed our last webinar--
Check out the resources available online...

Every Student, Every Day: A Virtual Summit on Addressing and Eliminating
Chronic Absence
Reminder:  The Attendance Awareness Month Contest Results Are IN!
 
 
The results of the recent Attendance Awareness Elementary Poster and Middle School Essay Contest are in.  The Grand Prize and 12 Runner-up Winners for each category are now posted on the CCCOE website and may be found HERE!
 
Each winner is invited, along with their parents and teachers, to attend the
Contra Costa County Board Meeting on December 9th at about 5:00 p.m. to be recognized by the committee and the board. At that time, we will also be thanking our sole sponsor Phillips 66, and the members of the Youth Health Coalition. Contest winners will receive a certificate and gift card, and a copy of the newly produced 2016 Attendance Awareness Campaign Calender, featuring the poster and essay winners from the contest. Please consider joining us then! 
Contra Costa County Office of Education | 925-942-3343
Bookmark our website and check back often for valuable resources.
www.cocoschools.org/attendance

Share your successes with us and other Contra Costa County schools on Twitter
#cocoschooleveryday