Partner Spotlight: Ho'okele Elementary School, Kapolei, Hawaii

Background: A Whole-School Commitment to Attendance in Hawai‘i

Ho'okele Elementary School, located in Kapolei, Hawai‘i, serves a diverse student population with a strong sense of community. Like many schools across the country, Ho'okele experienced a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism following the pandemic. Recognizing that attendance is the foundation for student learning and success, school leaders—especially school counselor Elizabeth Okamoto—mobilized quickly to turn things around. Today, Ho'okele is leading the way in attendance improvement, thanks to a schoolwide commitment to data-driven, student-centered strategies.

The Challenge: Post-COVID Absenteeism and Overburdened Staff

Before COVID-19, chronic absenteeism at Ho'okele was a relatively minor issue, with only a handful of students regularly missing school. But the pandemic changed everything—students, families, and staff were navigating new health concerns, shifting mindsets about school, and greater instability overall. Absences rose dramatically, and the small team managing attendance was stretched thin. Despite Elizabeth’s efforts to send custom attendance letters using Infinite Campus, the growing volume made it impossible to keep up. Letters that once took an hour or two to produce were now consuming entire weekends. And even when the letters did go out, families often misunderstood their intent, seeing them as punitive rather than supportive. The school needed a more sustainable and effective approach.

The Solution: Team-Based Interventions and a Smarter, Supportive System

Ho'okele responded by creating a dedicated, cross-functional attendance team—composed of counselors, a family court liaison, and mental health staff—to identify and support students who were chronically absent. They began holding proactive family meetings framed as “workshops” rather than disciplinary interventions, complete with coffee and doughnuts to help put families at ease. The goal was to understand and address the root causes of absenteeism, not assign blame.

At the same time, the school began using EveryDay Labs’ attendance solutions. Elizabeth was immediately drawn to the platform’s professional design, peer comparison visuals, and its supportive tone—something her Infinite Campus letters couldn’t easily replicate. With personalized attendance letters and nudges now automated and streamlined through EveryDay Labs, staff saved hours of work and were able to focus more on high-impact student interventions.

The EveryDay Labs dashboard also allowed Ho'okele to track attendance trends in real time and measure the impact of their interventions. Counselors used the platform to identify chronically absent students, create small group supports like “Connection Clubs,” and monitor progress across the school.

The Results: A 50% Reduction in Chronic Absenteeism and a Shift in Culture

The results speak for themselves: chronic absenteeism dropped from 28% in the 2022–23 school year to just 13.7% in 2023–24, and continued to improve in 2024-25 to 12.3% at a time when many other districts around the country had stagnating rates. In fact, Ho’okele led their complex area in attendance. Students and families are more engaged, and attendance is increasingly seen as a shared responsibility and a point of pride. Even students are tracking their progress—first graders celebrate when they see their attendance calendar filled with green (present) days.

The culture shift is clear. Families no longer feel targeted by attendance communications. Instead, they feel supported. “The tone of the EveryDay Labs letters matches our mindset shift,” Elizabeth shared. “We want families to know we’re here to help, not to shame. The letters help make that message clear.”

With their streamlined communication system and data-driven strategy, Ho'okele’s staff now spend less time stuffing envelopes and more time working directly with students and families. “It’s about working smarter, not harder,” Elizabeth said. “EveryDay Labs has saved me hours and hours of my life—and made our attendance work more effective.”

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Curious about how an EveryDay Labs partnership can help improve attendance in your district? Reach out today!