Salt Lake City School District Selects Edia Learning, Inc. to Power AI-Driven Attendance Solution

Multi-year partnership aims to cut chronic absenteeism in half for more than 18,000 students by 2029

SALT LAKE CITY, June 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD) has selected Edia Learning, Inc. as its AI-powered attendance solution. The multi-year partnership aims to reduce chronic absenteeism from 28% to 10% by 2029, returning thousands of instructional days to students across the district.

Chronic absenteeism, missing 10% or more of the school year, is one of the strongest predictors of long-term academic difficulty, with outsized impact in urban districts serving diverse, multilingual populations. SLCSD enrolls more than 18,000 students; 59% are students of color, 48% are economically disadvantaged, and more than 80 languages are spoken across the community. Last year, 29% of SLCSD students were chronically absent, each missing nearly a full month of instruction.

Meeting Families Where They Are

Edia is the leading AI Attendance solution. Unlike traditional tools that push one-way notifications, Edia conducts two-way AI-powered conversations with families via SMS, and automatically detects each family's preferred language across more than 100 languages, including Spanish, Swahili, Karen, and Chinese. When parents respond in their native language, staff see replies instantly translated into English, ensuring no family goes unheard.

"Every day a student is absent is a day of learning we can't get back. Our partnership with Edia is about closing that gap, not with more letters or robocalls, but with real two-way conversations that help us understand what families need and respond quickly," said Superintendent Elizabeth Grant.

Edia reaches out within minutes of an absence to collect the reason. When a conversation surfaces a deeper barrier—transportation, anxiety, bullying, a family emergency— the platform flags it for staff intervention. Attendance data, family-reported reasons, and conversation insights surface through shared dashboards that give counselors, administrators, and teachers a unified view of which students need support and why.

"SLCSD's commitment to reaching every family, in every language, mirrors exactly why we built Edia. We're grateful for their trust and excited to support their team in the work ahead," said Joe Philleo, CEO of Edia.

About Edia Learning, Inc.

Edia is the leading AI partner to K-12 school districts. Its AI-Powered Attendance Solution helps districts reduce chronic absenteeism, improve student outcomes, and build deeper family engagement at scale. Learn more at www.edia.app/attendance.

Contact: Cami Morse, [email protected] 

SOURCE Edia Learning, Inc.