September is National Attendance Awareness Month, and HISD’s goal this year, and every year, is to ensure every HISD student attends school regularly.

If students miss too much school – regardless of the reason – it can cause them to fall behind academically.

Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student success, starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. If a student misses just 10 days a year, by the time they graduate they will have missed more than a year of school!

Consider the following:

• Children chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of third grade.
• By sixth grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.
• By ninth grade, good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than eighth-grade test scores.

Please visit HISD’s attendance page for more information and a wealth of resources for students and parents.