Unit 4 Schools launches ‘Every student, every day’ attendance campaign at Community Coalition

Dr. James Harden, a representative of Unit 4 Schools, introduced a countywide attendance push called "Every student, every day" at the Community Coalition meeting, urging organizations and faith groups to partner with schools to improve daily attendance. "A student who misses just 2 days per month is considered chronically absent," Harden said, adding that chronic absence—about 18 days a year—places students at "great risk of academic failure."

Harden said kindergarten attendance has a disproportionate effect on third-grade reading proficiency and tied the early-reading metric to later life outcomes, saying communities can influence school success by improving routine attendance. He described the campaign’s initial tools as social media teasers, video content, billboards and small participation giveaways; Carlton was credited as the creative lead for the campaign video. "This is all about attendance matters," Harden said, and he asked community organizations to incorporate campaign messages into their regular outreach.

Tracy Parsons and other coalition members framed the campaign as a broad partnership and encouraged local groups to sign on; Lauren noted that January is National Mentor Month and promoted CU 1 on 1 mentoring—one hour per week on school grounds—as one concrete way to support students. Organizers said a limited number of promotional items will be distributed to community partners who engage with the rollout.

The campaign does not specify funding sources or a detailed timeline in the meeting remarks; coalition leaders asked attendees to express interest and said staff would follow up with distribution and volunteer details. The initiative’s next steps are further partner outreach and the public rollout of billboards and video content.