"Attendance is not just about showing up. It's about feeling connected and psychologically safe enough to want to."
Each morning before school, a child faces an important question: Should I show up to school today?
As educators, perhaps we should ask ourselves a similar question: What is it about my school, my classroom, or my interactions that makes students WANT to attend each day?
As a parent, I ask another: What is it about my child’s school that makes me feel confident and excited to send my child there every day?
These questions are critical as chronic absenteeism, students missing more than 10% of school for any reason, continues to impact schools across the country. One of the strongest predictors of school attendance is trust. Research consistently shows that students attend school more regularly when they have positive, trusting relationships with teachers and peers and feel a sense of safety and belonging.
Cambridge Dictionary defines trust as “having confidence in another person’s integrity, honesty, and intentions.” Trust is rarely built through grand gestures. It is built through small, consistent actions repeated every day. A warm greeting, a caring conversation, a teacher who follows through, or a staff member who notices when a student is struggling can make all the difference. While educators cannot control every external factor that affects attendance, we do have significant influence over the culture, climate, and relationships within our schools. Trust should be the foundation on which those conditions are built.
When a student has at least one trusted adult at school, that adult is uniquely positioned to recognize early signs of disengagement and respond with care before absenteeism patterns develop.
Trusting Relationships with Families Reveal the Real Reasons Behind Absences
One of the greatest benefits of building trust is that students and families become more willing to share the real reasons behind attendance challenges. When trust exists between families and school staff, conversations move beyond attendance numbers and toward understanding barriers such as transportation issues, health concerns, anxiety, housing instability, or family challenges. Once schools understand the root causes, they can provide meaningful support.
This is why relationship-centered strategies such as “Welcome Home” visits can be so powerful. Instead of approaching families with judgment, schools can approach them with empathy and curiosity:
“What is standing in the way of your child attending school regularly?”
“How can we help?”
That simple shift transforms attendance conversations from punitive to supportive.
Schools Building Trust Intentionally
District and school leaders should ask themselves: How will we ensure every student and family has a trusted adult?
Consider these strategies in conjunction with the RaaWee ATTENDANCE+™ platform:
By intentionally fostering trust among staff, students, and families, schools can create a culture where attendance improves naturally because students feel seen, connected, and supported. When you go back to the first question at the beginning of this article, which is typically on the minds of students each morning, please remember that…..Attendance is not just about showing up. It’s about feeling connected and psychologically safe enough to want to.
Because when trust grows, chronic absenteeism shrinks.
Learn More About RaaWee ATTENDANCE+™
RaaWee ATTENDANCE+™ is THE premier attendance improvement platform used by partner districts nationwide. RaaWee delivers measurable results through recovered funding, reduced chronic absenteeism, and millions of instructional minutes regained.
Research article: Connection, Trust, and Learning.
About the Author
Sharon Bradley is a national educational consultant, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience in K–12 education. She previously served as a district administrator in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, leading districtwide efforts in truancy prevention and student engagement, and has held roles including student services director, high school principal, assistant principal, and dropout prevention coordinator.
She is the author of Chronic Absenteeism: Prevention and Intervention Strategies for Schools, Families, and Communities and Combating Chronic Absenteeism through Attendance Intervention Plans. Sharon is also a founding member of Attendance USA and was recognized as a 2024 “Leader to Learn From” by EducationWeek and the 2023 “Person of the Year” by the International Truancy and Dropout Prevention Association.
She currently serves as Principal Consultant at RaaWee ATTENDANCE+™, supporting districts with proven attendance and engagement strategies.
