Attendance Innovation: Perris Union High School District
At Perris Union High School District (PUHSD), family engagement isn’t a side initiative—it’s the foundation for improving attendance and student success. Faced with rising chronic absenteeism, PUHSD leaned into community voice and created something powerful: a culture of shared responsibility.
Here’s how they’re doing it:
1. PELI Teams: Parent-Led, Data-Informed
PUHSD’s PELI Action Teams—modeled after Dr. Joyce Epstein’s NNPS framework—exist at every campus. These diverse teams of parents, students, staff, and community partners review data, identify root causes of absenteeism, and design customized engagement strategies. Parents aren’t just invited—they lead.
2. Student Voice Drives Strategy
Students help shape the work by sharing what really keeps their peers from showing up—whether it's feeling disconnected, juggling work, or needing more inclusive activities. This feedback has led to real changes: new club opportunities, peer mentoring, and a more flexible online learning program.
3. Community Partnerships Amplify Impact
From local business sponsorships to parent-led resource fairs and art contests, PUHSD ensures the wider community is part of the solution. When students see their town showing up for them, they show up too.
Districtwide, chronic absenteeism has dropped 8%, family participation is up, student engagement is rising, and trust is growing. PUHSD isn’t just improving attendance—they’re changing the way schools work with families and students.
Want to learn more about Perris Union's work to improve student attendance? Tune in on Thursday, August 14 to hear from Lindsay Chavez and 4 other outstanding educators who won a 2025 Attendance Innovation Award!
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Attendance Innovation: Carver College and Career Academy
When 62.5% of students at Carver College and Career Academy (Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia) were identified as chronically absent, the team knew something had to change. But instead of doubling down on punishment, they reimagined what it means to want to come to school.
The Dilemma: Build Your Own Attendance Intervention or Partner with an Expert?
As districts across the country face tightening budgets and an ESSER funding cliff, the difficult conversations around which resources should stay and which must be cut are well underway. Maximizing the amount of days that students are in school and learning is a huge component of the critical learning recovery needed post-pandemic. And while it may be tempting to take on the enormous task of absence reduction in-house, it’s worth reflecting on the costs—financial, time, and risk—when building your own attendance intervention versus working with a partner to implement this on your behalf.
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