Valley of the Sun United Way is celebrating Attendance Awareness Month in Maricopa County by providing toolkits for individual schools, school districts and nonprofits to use in an effort to spread the word about the importance of students attending school and participating regularly.
Chronic absenteeism, when students miss 10 percent or more of the school year, has steadily increased since the pandemic. In 2022, it reached an alarming rate of 28% of the student population and 35% of economically disadvantaged students, according to the Arizona Department of Education. Students who are chronically absent face academic challenges, higher rates of stress and fewer social emotional coping skills than their peers who attend school regularly.
“Valley of the Sun United Way, along with our many partners, want to ensure students are in the classroom ready to learn,” said Carla Vargas Jasa, president and CEO of Valley of the Sun United Way. “By reducing the rate of chronic absenteeism in schools, we are also building stronger communities today and a well-prepared workforce in the future."
Led by Valley of the Sun United Way, the toolkit program is facilitated in partnership with Attendance Works, Alhambra Elementary School District, ALL In Education, Arizona Head Start Association, Arizona PBS, Arizona State University, Avondale Elementary School District, City of Phoenix, Denova Collaborative Health, Education Forward Arizona, First Things First, FrameShift Group, Future for KIDS, Helios Education Foundation, Isaac School District, Littleton Elementary School District, Million Dollar Teacher Project, Mountain Park Health Center, New Pathways for Youth, Phoenix Suns, School Connect, TNTP, Union Elementary School District, Valley Leadership, Washington Elementary School District and Wesley Community & Health Centers.
Toolkits created to bolster the program include fact sheets, key statistics and data, suggested messaging to use in communicating to parents, community members and students, flyers for distribution in both English and Spanish, and a customizable proclamation.
For more information about the importance of regular attendance or to download the free resources to help shine the spotlight on Attendance Awareness Month and reduce chronic absenteeism, visit vsuw.org/attendance.
