I know—attendance goals probably don’t get you leaping out of bed in the morning. But let's face it: improving attendance is always on the radar, year after year. You’ve likely got an attendance target in your school improvement plan, something along the lines of, “We aim to increase attendance by X percent to meet the state average.” Sound familiar? Yeah, it's the same tune we hear every year, often coming from folks who haven’t set foot in a classroom in ages. And honestly, what are we really doing with all this data? Another round of number-crunching? Cool. But that’s not going to solve the deeper issue.

Our schools are sending mixed messages to families. On one hand, we say, “Keep your child home if they’re sick.” Then, the moment they do, we hit them with truancy threats. It’s no wonder parents are frustrated. We can’t have it both ways, and it’s time to get clear on how we approach attendance.

The truth is, all the data in the world won’t matter if your school doesn’t feel welcoming. Let me ask you: is your school a place where students and staff want to be? Or does it feel like a beat-down space where everyone, including you, just goes through the motions? If your building’s culture is off, attendance will be too. Period. So before you tackle those numbers, ask yourself—how are you fostering a sense of belonging for both your staff and students?

In my experience working with “at-risk” students in Title I schools, the biggest game-changer for attendance was building CONNECTION. When students feel connected to something bigger than themselves, they show up. Simple as that. Start by identifying which students have the worst attendance. Then, assign each one to a trusted adult who can connect with them beyond the classroom. Here’s how we did it: we ran the data, created a list, and asked staff to sign up for students they had a bond with. The results? Teachers were fighting to sign up because they wanted to help kids they had taught years ago. It wasn’t some formal “pilot program”—we just rolled it out and made it happen. And it worked.

Another simple but powerful shift we made was ditching tardy slips and replacing them with "Welcome Passes." Let’s be real—what do you actually do with the excuse on a tardy slip? It’s just another way to shame students who are already off to a rough start. Instead, we handed students a Welcome Pass with the message, “Our school isn’t complete without you.” This made a HUGE difference in how our students felt, especially those who were chronically late. Did it solve every issue? No. But it transformed the overall vibe of the school—and it showed our students that we want them there.

And guess what? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If you’re interested in implementing Welcome Passes in your own school, you can access them through us. We’ve already done the work, so you can focus on what really matters—building connection and improving attendance.

Get your families involved! Once we connected our students with staff members, we made sure to loop in parents. We explained that we were all on the same team, working together to support their child’s attendance. The result? Parents appreciated our efforts, and kids started showing up more regularly. Attendance doesn’t have to be a battle—it can be a partnership when everyone’s on the same page.

My mom used to say, “You catch more bees with honey,” and it’s true. If you want students and staff to show up, you’ve got to create an environment they actually want to be in. It’s about fostering a culture of connection, support, and belonging—because when people feel valued, they show up.

So, principals, are you ready to shift the conversation around attendance? Let’s move from shaming students and families to building a school community where everyone wants to be. Start today—focus on connection, ditch the tardy slips, and involve your families. And if you want to save some time, grab our Welcome Passes to make it even easier. Together, let’s create schools where everyone feels like they belong—because when they do, attendance will follow!

Big Love,
Leigh
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