Summer gives educators something rare during the school year: time to reflect. With the rush of daily routines on hold and a year’s worth of insight from students and staff, it’s a natural time to step back and think about what’s working and what might need a closer look. One area that often needs a deeper look is chronic absenteeism.
Missed days aren’t just about skipping class. They can be a sign of something more: feeling disconnected, struggling with the material, or not feeling seen. While some of those factors are outside a school’s control, others aren’t. What students experience day to day, how they feel when they walk through the door, is something schools can shape. That starts with culture.
When students feel like they belong, they’re more likely to show up. When they feel safe and supported, they come back. This article looks at how schools can use the summer months to build the kind of culture that helps students stay engaged and stay in school.
Why School Culture Matters for Attendance
Chronic absenteeism, usually defined as missing at least 10% of the school year, has risen sharply since the pandemic. In some places, nearly one out of every three students is missing too much school. And those missed days add up fast. They lead to unfinished learning, wider gaps between students, and fewer resources for schools.
But schools aren’t powerless. A positive culture where students feel they belong can turn things around. When students feel like they belong, they’re more likely to show up. A strong, positive school culture supports students, helps staff work more effectively, reduces behavior issues, and improves communication with families.
Key Elements of a Positive School Culture
Creating a healthy school culture starts with understanding a few core principles.
1. Relationships Matter Most
Students need to feel known. Nearly 40 percent of high school students in California say they do not have a trusted adult to turn to at school, according to the 2024–25 California Healthy Kids Survey. This statistic highlights a critical gap and an opportunity. Students are more likely to attend, engage, and stay connected when they feel seen and supported by adults on campus.
These relationships don’t need big gestures. It’s often small, consistent interactions, like a morning greeting, a quick check-in, or a simple note of encouragement, that build trust over time.
Staff need connection too. When teachers and support staff feel like part of a team, that sense of belonging spreads to students.
Try This:
Look at student feedback or survey results. Do students report feeling supported? Could a homeroom or advisory model help? Identify students who may be more isolated and think about simple check-in systems for next year.
2. Clarity and Consistency
Students do better when they know what’s expected—and what to expect. Clear rules and steady routines help them feel secure. In contrast, when rules are applied unevenly or vary too much across classrooms, students may view the environment as unfair.
Consistency also matters across classrooms and grade levels. When policies vary significantly from teacher to teacher, students may perceive this as unfairness, which can negatively impact their sense of belonging.
Try This:
Revisit your behavior expectations. Are they age-appropriate and easy to understand? Are they fair to students from all backgrounds? Work with staff to make sure the message is clear and consistent.
3. Engagement and Voice
When students are engaged and have a say, they care more about school. Engagement can look like clubs, student councils, or just being invited to weigh in on something that affects them. It also means making sure classrooms aren’t just lecture halls but places where students participate actively.
Try This:
Check in with student groups or run a short survey. Ask what they’d like to be involved in next year. Even small shifts, like creating a student advisory group, can show students their voice matters.
4. Safe, Inclusive Environments
A sense of safety is non-negotiable for student attendance. If a student doesn’t feel safe, they won’t come to school regularly. And safety goes beyond the physical—emotional safety matters just as much. Schools should actively address bullying, bias, and unfair discipline practices.
Try This:
Look at climate data by student group. Are certain students less likely to feel safe or respected? Consider offering staff training in restorative practices or trauma-informed responses. Think about how your school supports students from all backgrounds, including English learners and LGBTQ+ youth.
How to Turn Culture into Better Attendance
School culture improvement requires concrete actions that can be implemented without significant budget increases. These strategies address the root causes of absenteeism through systematic approaches.
Build a Culture of Attendance
Avoid treating attendance as just compliance. Instead, approach attendance as belonging. Let students know their presence is noticed and valued.
- Send personalized messages to students who’ve been absent.
- Celebrate gains, not just perfection. If a student improves from 50% to 70% attendance, that’s progress worth noticing.
Strengthen Transition Support Systems
The start of school, returning after a long absence, or moving between grades can be vulnerable moments. Having structures in place to welcome and re-integrate students can ease those transitions.
- Host orientation days or peer mentor programs.
- Use your SIS to flag students returning from long absences so counselors or staff can check in.
- Ensure every student has a go-to adult who checks in regularly.
Equip Staff to Respond with Empathy
Absences often stem from deeper issues: housing instability, mental health concerns, or family stress. Staff trained in trauma-informed practices can help students re-engage without shame or punishment.
- Offer professional development focused on de-escalation and culturally responsive strategies.
- Shift conversations from “Why were you out?” to “Glad to see you. How can we help today?”
Build Two-Way Family Partnerships
Family engagement is about building two-way relationships, so families feel comfortable sharing concerns and know who to call when challenges arise.
- Use your SIS to provide real-time attendance dashboards and communication logs.
- Offer multilingual resources and culturally relevant outreach.
- Create a feedback loop and ask families how the school can support better attendance.
Leveraging Your SIS to Support Culture-Building
School culture initiatives gain power when the right tools support them. An SIS can play a big role in supporting school culture, especially when it’s used to flag concerns early and help teams coordinate responses.
The right SIS can help by:
- Flagging early warning signs: Automatically identify students approaching chronic absenteeism thresholds.
- Centralizing communication: Log outreach efforts so all staff are aligned on who has contacted a student or family.
- Supporting MTSS workflows: Assign tiered interventions based on attendance trends and track outcomes.
- Empowering data-informed decisions: View trends by grade level, demographic group, or teacher to identify where culture-building efforts may be needed most.
Culture lives in day-to-day interactions, supported by systems that ensure no student slips through the cracks. The goal is to ensure systematic support while preserving the personal relationships that motivate student attendance.
A Culture-First Approach to Attendance
Chronic absenteeism is complex, but culture is one piece of the puzzle where schools can lead with intention. When students feel respected, supported, and seen, they come back. When staff have the right tools and training, they can meet students with empathy and consistency.
Our Q Student Information System helps districts across California track attendance data, coordinate support, and focus efforts where they matter most. With the right tools in place, your team can spend more time building relationships that drive student success.
Contact us for a demo of Q SIS, and let’s work together to create schools where students belong and want to be every day.