DATE:
May 7, 2026
TO:
Principals and Assistant Principals
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health & Wellness Consultant
Michelle Reyes, Attendance/Prevention Specialist, Health & Wellness
SUBJECT:
High Impact Attendance Actions for May and the May 2026 Attendance Newsletter
Key actions schools can take in May to maintain student engagement and attendance through the end of the year. Also, check out the May Edition of the attendance Newsletter.
1. Strategic Student Support
Identify students who are on the "cusp" of becoming chronically absent.
- Data Analysis: Use attendance dashboards to find students who have missed between 10% and 15% of the year.
- Targeted Outreach: Instead of focusing only on severe cases, prioritize these "moderately" absent students. A proactive nudge now can prevent them from crossing the chronic threshold by June.
2. Re-Engage Families after Testing
High-stakes testing can lead to burnout and "return anxiety" for students who have already missed significant time. After students have pushed through the testing they may feel ready for a break, and while it is important to recharge, this should not signal that all instruction has ended.
- “Send proactive reminders” letting students and families know that important learning is still happening to prepare their students for the next year and it shouldn’t be missed.
- “Create A Post-Testing Watch List with Targeted Messaging”: find students that have missed 1 of the last 5 since testing closed, have had recent attendance changes or are nearing the 10% threshold to send targeted encouraging messages to.
- Spring Communication Plan: Ensure families and students know about all of the important dates and events from now until the end of the year. Include all of the “unmissable days” (graduations/promotions, class parties, performances, celebrations, etc.)
3. Launch a Finish Strong Campaign
A campaign dedicated to keeping attendance up through the end of the school year can pay off. What might this include?
- “Grade Level Attendance Challenges”: This may help you get students in on the game and encourage each other to show up.
- “Weekly Shout-outs”: Everyone likes to be recognized for their efforts and hard work. Celebrating good or improved attendance can keep up the momentum.
- “Friendly Schoolwide Competition”: Aiming for improvements week over week and celebrating improvements can also create momentum.
- “Emphasize the ‘why’ ”: It can be easy to reach burnout as the end of the year approaches, but a continuous reminder that important learning is still happening helps keep students on track for the next year and can remove the misconception that nothing important happens at the end of the year.
Questions? Contact Michelle Reyes at michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8205.
