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West Richland proclaims September 2025 Attendance Awareness Month; United Way accepts proclamation
Summary
Mayor Brent Gary and the council issued a proclamation recognizing September 2025 as Attendance Awareness Month; United Way of Benton-Franklin counties’ community impact director accepted the proclamation and described chronic absenteeism locally.
Mayor Brent Gary and the West Richland City Council issued a proclamation on Aug. 19 recognizing September 2025 as Attendance Awareness Month, citing research that chronic absence (missing roughly 10% of school) predicts later academic difficulties and higher dropout rates.
Astra Adekas Bonjayo, community impact director for United Way of Benton-Franklin Counties, accepted the proclamation and described the Attendance Matters initiative. “When children and teens regularly attend school, they're more likely to develop their whole selves personally, socially, academically, emotionally,” Adekas Bonjayo said, adding that chronic absenteeism doubled after the pandemic and remains elevated locally.
Adekas Bonjayo provided local figures in her remarks, saying “About 1 quarter of seventh graders and 1 third of eighth graders and kindergarteners locally are chronically absent every year,” and thanked the council for issuing the proclamation and for supporting outreach and community efforts to improve attendance.
The proclamation asks community members and partners to focus on reducing absenteeism and supporting students’ regular school participation.
