Boston Public Schools created the "I'm In": Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow" campaign to address the district's 25 percent chronic absence rate. "I'm In" includes a series of steps, including targeted intervention, and student-focused public service ads running on buses and subway cars that feature testimonials from seven BPS students on what drives them to stay in school and achieve. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the Boston Celtics "Stay in School" program, and Arbella Insurance Foundation are partners. Learn More.

St. Joseph School District, MO is on a mission to set aside the misconception that students can easily make up missed days. Working with parents, students, and community members the district launched the Strive for 5 program that began in Grand Rapids, MI. Strive for 5 includes an awareness effort stressing the importance of regular attendance, boards at each elementary school that document each grade's attendance to spur competition, and calendars for students to fill out at home. High school students are making more independent decisions about their attendance. Learn more.

Washington D.C. Mayor Bowser initiated Every Day Counts! to ensure every student in the District of Columbia pubic schools attends school every day. Every Day Counts! will bring together the entire community to support students and families through a public awareness campaign, a taskforce coordinating public agencies and stakeholders, and investments in data-driven strategies to increase attendance. Students and community members sign a pledge to commit to improve student attendance throughout the school year! Find out more.

The Connecticut State Education Department (CSDE), in partnership with Attendance Works and The Governor's Prevention Partnership, launched its Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow campaign to provide districts, schools and community partners with resources and artwork to promote its message of daily attendance. A new website www.attendtodayct.org offers social media graphics, banners, parent handouts and more. CT has made huge progress in reducing chronic absence, dropping the rate from 11.5 percent in 2012-13 to 9.6 percent in 2015-16, and this Campaign is just the latest dimension of its work. CSDE hosted a roundtable with Commissioner Diane Wentzell and Attendance Works' Hedy N. Chang to discuss national and state policy, while local educators shared what is working in their schools and communities.

Save the Date! Join us at the Early Warning Systems Community of Practice Fall Virtual Convening October 24-25, 2017, hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Safe and Healthy Students and its National Student Attendance, Engagement, and Success Center (NSAESC). Learn more.

The four webinars in this year's series build on each other and focus on each of the three tiers of action needed to improve attendance. Consider arranging a webinar party! Find the webinar recording for all four webinars on our website.

Our heartfelt thanks to partner United Way Worldwide, who once again provided broad support of the AAM 2017 webinar series. UWW arranged the registration, provided technical staff and moderated each of this year's five webinars. Thank you UWW! United Way Worldwide is engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide. It brings people and organizations from all sectors of society together to improve education, income and health, the building blocks for a better life and stronger community.