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Positive Attendance Strategies for Secondary Schools

The following are great activities that secondary teachers and/or school staff can use in their classrooms to help improve and promote everyday student attendance. At the bottom of this page, you will a list of low-cost incentive and reward ideas students can receive for good attendance.

Student Attendance Success Plans

Student Attendance Success Plans are a great tool teachers can use to foster attendance awareness in the classroom through student empowerment. Attendance Success Plans allow students to set their own attendance goals, create realistic strategies to meet their goals, and establish a personalized helping network. This is a fantastic exercise for advisory and homeroom teachers to perform with their students. For more information and access to the Student Attendance Success Plan template, click HERE.

 School-Wide Video or Poster Contest for Secondary Students

A video or poster contest is a great way for students in Middle and High School to visually express what school means to them and why attendance is important.

Key Points for Video and Poster Contests:

  • Provide a theme for students to use (example could be “Why Attendance Matters” or “Attend Like A Champion!”).
  • Each video should be between 1 - 3 minutes.
  • Allow students to get creative. Videos can be: PSAs, skits, music videos, etc.
  • Pick the top three videos or posters submitted and award the winners at a school assembly. Share the winning videos at the school assembly.
  • Post the videos or posters on the school website and social media pages.
  • Make sure the students have parental consent if you are using YouTube (or other public forums) for students to submit their video or are planning to publicly display the video.
  • Try avoiding copyrighted material.
  • Consider partnering with KLRN to promote the winning videos.

AttendanceWorks has created a fantastic contest guidelines template that can be accessed on their website or by clicking HERE.

Classroom incentives do not have to be costly. Here are some ideas:

  • Free homework pass; Extra Credit; Extra computer, recess, and free time
  • Award a Class Pass to the student
  • Free tickets homecoming or other school events
  • Access to a VIP Student Lounge for high school
  • Extra points on final exams