Chronicabsence.net becomes Attendancecounts.org

Attendance Counts debuts its website today, offering strategies, research and tools for reducing chronic absence in our schools. Hedy Chang's blog can now be found there, along with toolkits, assessments, research and policy news. School districts across the nation are already monitoring this important data--starting in kindergarten--and making changes that improve attendance. Through local practice and policy reform at the state and federal level, we can ensure that all schools are taking attendance seriously.

Attendance Counts' campaign for reducing chronic absence is also part of the PolicyforResults.org toolkit for ensuring that more children are reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade. The recent KIDS COUNT report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation identified chronic absence as one of the reasons children are not learning to read well by the end of 3rd grade, contributing to the nation’s achievement gap and its high dropout rates.