Practice Brief: Parent and Family Partnerships to Support Regular Attendance

Attendance notifications can let parents and families know when a child has been absent, but they do not necessarily help educators understand why. Strong family-school partnerships create opportunities to listen and learn from parents and families, understand what may be affecting attendance, and work together to identify supports that can make regular attendance possible.   

This State of the Field Practice Brief translates research into practical guidance for moving beyond one-way attendance notifications toward relationship-based, two-way partnerships with parents and families. It highlights strategies for building relationships before attendance concerns emerge, recognizing families as experts on their children, using data to start conversations rather than make assumptions, and partnering with families to identify supports.    

Designed for educators, school and district leaders, and parents and families, the brief offers actionable strategies and reflection questions for strengthening family-school partnerships and creating the conditions that make regular attendance possible across the preschool through Grade 3 (PK–3) continuum.