Fulton County presentation links attendance bands to student achievement and reports positive early results from Everyday Labs

Fulton County Schools staff told the Board of Education on Jan. 14 that the district’s attendance-improvement work is showing measurable links between attendance and student achievement and that integration with the third-party service Everyday Labs has produced early, positive results.

Director of Attendance Charity Trowbridge and Amanda Swerdlow, director of program evaluation, presented a district snapshot showing students with satisfactory attendance (roughly 95% or higher) have substantially higher rates of proficiency on state milestones in math and English language arts compared with students labeled chronically or severely chronically absent. The presentation framed attendance as a learning‑loss issue rather than only a compliance or truancy problem.

Why it matters: Trustees said the data demonstrates a clear academic impact from attendance patterns and asked staff to provide school‑ and subgroup‑level data so principals and parent communities can act. Officials also asked for more hands-on training for school teams to use Everyday Labs’ dashboard and for clear parent communications about how attendance is measured and counted.

Key findings and definitions - Attendance bands: staff defined "satisfactory" attendance as…