E3 Alliance, a regional, data-driven education collaborative based in Austin, Texas realized in 2013 that a spike in absenteeism in schools was perfectly timed to a spike in flu cases in the region. An evaluation of E3's Kick the Flu school-based immunization campaign found that when data is limited to 2 baseline and 2 flu peak 'clean' weeks (i.e., weeks without holiday involvement), as vaccination rates increased, absence rates decreased during the peak flu weeks. Find out more.

We will award the state with the most pins and the state with the greatest increase in pins a small prize. Don't forget to pin your activities on the Attendance Action Map. We're hoping for 600 pins on the map this year; make sure your site is included! You can share with us your photos, videos, and stories for a chance to be featured on the Attendance Awareness Month website or in the AAM newsletter.

Portraits of Change: Tuesday, September 12, 2017 (2:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET).  Join us as we discuss Portraits of Change: Aligning School and Community Resources to Reduce Chronic Absence, a new brief from Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center. Co-authors Hedy Chang and Robert Balfanz will highlight key findings from their national and state analysis of how many schools face high levels of chronic absence and discuss the implications for state and local action. Presenters will share inspiring examples of how their communities reduced chronic absence, even when it reached high levels. (Registration opening soon!)

Starting Early: Recruiting and Supporting the Elementary Success Mentors, Wednesday, August 30, (3 pm - 4 pm ET). Join Attendance Works and the National Student Attendance, Engagement, and Success Center (NSAESC) for a free webinar focused on the development of a success mentors program for elementary students. This webinar is designed for District Captains, Principals, and Site Coordinators who are implementing the Success Mentor strategy. Learn more about Success Mentors in our toolkit. Register Now for the webinar!

Forty-five new communities have joined the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a nationwide movement to ensure early school success for children from low-income families. The communities pledge to address three underlying challenges that can keep children from learning to read proficiently: school attendance, readiness and summer learning. A few of the newest communities to join this collaborative effort are: Maricopa and Northern Pinal Counties, Ariz.; Logan Heights (City of San Diego), Orange and Santa Barbara Counties, Calif.; St. Lucie County, Fla.; six counties in the state of Georgia; Sioux City, Iowa; Chatham, Durham and Rowan Counties, N.C.; and the City of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Kansas has also joined as a statewide network.

Twenty-seven school districts and School Attendance Review Boards in California were recognized for their successful and innovative programs to bring down chronic absenteeism rates in the state, according to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. The number of districts that applied to the Model SARB Recognition Program tripled since 2016! The SARBs were honored during a ceremony at the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance (CASCWA) conference in April, as models that can be copied by other SARBs in the state.