You and your team know that attendance is important. You’re ready to organize and take your work to the next level by creating an attendance team. Wondering where to get started? Here are 5 tips to help you build a powerhouse attendance team that will support your efforts to help more students have the opportunity to learn every day.

1. Assign Clear Roles

Even if your team is small but mighty, having role clarity will be essential to your success. If possible, you should assign a team Chair or Co-Chairs, Recorder, Data Coordinator, and Liaisons. This will keep your team running smoothly and help with clear communication.

2. Set Meeting Logistics

How often will your team meet? What time, day, and location? Agree to these key logistics early on so that you fall into a regular meeting cadence that everyone will be accountable to. A bi-weekly cadence is recommended—leverage the Bi-Weekly Agenda template to get started, or create your own standard meeting agenda.

3. Create Meeting Norms

Setting up mutually agreed upon norms early on, such as work expectations (i.e. what responsibilities are involved while being a part of the team) and values (ex. Transparency, assuming best intent), will allow your team to maximize their time together and respectfully navigate challenges.

4. Reflect on current practices

What are the different members of the team currently doing to help support attendance at your school/district? What are some questions you have about current practices? Where are you currently excelling, and what areas could be improved? Taking time to consider what is working well and what needs additional attention will help your team effectively grow and learn together. The Self Assessment Rubric is a great tool to help guide your reflection.

5. Set goals

No one can achieve a goal that hasn’t been set! Don’t miss this exciting part of your attendance work—take the time to envision all of the great things you would like to accomplish, and what key metrics and evidence you’ll be looking for to know you are well on your way.

Check out the Launching an Attendance Team Guide in the Resources section to get started!