SchoolStatus Expands Attendance Solution to Help Districts in All States Identify Absenteeism Earlier

With new time-based attendance tracking, SchoolStatus is the only solution available that adequately supports evolving state-level mandates, flagging absenteeism earlier, tracking partial-day absences, and building stronger family engagement.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As districts work to address chronic absenteeism, one key challenge is rarely addressed: states track attendance differently. Today, SchoolStatus, the leading provider of K-12 attendance solutions, announced a major expansion of its Attend product. SchoolStatus Attend will now include flexible, time-based attendance tracking. Time-based attendance tracking, which measures missed learning time rather than just full-day absences, better captures how attendance impacts learning and helps districts intervene sooner.

New Attend Features Support Better Tracking and Positive Family Engagement
SchoolStatus launched these updates in response to districts' evolving needs and state requirements. For instance, Indiana asks districts to engage families when students have accumulated more than five absences in 10 weeks. Ohio requires districts to track time missed during a school day. And nationally, many districts are choosing to implement time-based attendance tracking because it is revealing patterns that would otherwise be missed.

Districts using SchoolStatus Attend will be able to track attendance by class period, based on missed instructional time, or on a rolling basis to account for students who miss a specified number of days in a defined period. SchoolStatus Attend also supports block scheduling and differing schedules school-to-school, providing precise, actionable views of student attendance. It's the only solution on the market built to handle the complexity of modern attendance policies without adding operational burden.

For over 20 years, SchoolStatus innovations have been inspired by the real challenges districts face. The company's commitment to growth has helped thousands of districts turn attendance data into actions, strengthen family engagement, and improve outcomes for millions of students nationwide.

Turning Accurate Data Into Earlier Action

Nationally, about 23% of students are chronically absent, meaning they've missed 10% or more of the school year. And many districts lack the bandwidth for proactive outreach. Intervention letters are often sent after students are already chronically absent. SchoolStatus Attend's proactive approach to attendance management consistently results in chronic absenteeism rates significantly lower than the national average. At the halfway point of the 2025-26 school year, Attend partners average 19%, or four percentage points below the national chronic rate.

The expanded capabilities build on SchoolStatus Attend's innovative approach to attendance management, including features such as Early Warning Insights, which identify students at risk of chronic absenteeism after just 60 instructional days. Highlighting at-risk students sooner enables districts to prevent chronic absenteeism early in the year.

SchoolStatus pairs Early Warning Insights with proactive, automated outreach to families who need extra support. Personalized communications are mailed or sent digitally to encourage attendance and re-engage families and students before absences become chronic.

SchoolStatus is also introducing Positive Notes, a new feature that makes it easy for educators to send encouraging messages to families. Whether recognizing improved attendance or celebrating consistency, these touchpoints help build trust and reinforce positive behavior.

"Our data shows that proactive, systematic intervention works," said Dr. Kara Stern, Director of Education at SchoolStatus. "Our product updates give districts the power to make this outreach personal, at scale, without overwhelming staff. That's when districts see real change."

A Shift from Compliance to Impact

SchoolStatus Attend automatically sends interventions when students meet defined absence thresholds. Time-based and block-schedule attendance tracking will allow districts to automate attendance interventions based on state-specific requirements like Ohio's excessive absence rules (missing 38 hours of school in a month or 65 in a single school year).

A single SchoolStatus attendance letter has been shown to improve attendance by 34%.

Offloading the administrative side of attendance makes a real impact. "When we took away the clerical piece of attendance interventions, principals became more connected to students and families," said Dr. Margie Boulware, Executive Director of Special Programs at Corsicana ISD. "They started to recognize the real-life barriers to attendance. Now, they're connected to people and not paper."

More Flexible Reporting Empowers Targeted Action

Districts that use SchoolStatus Attend to track attendance, regardless of their definition, have robust reporting, integrated with their Student Information System (SIS), to meet the needs of all administrators and teachers.

"District leaders shouldn't have to guess where to focus," explains Dr. Stern. "With expanded attendance tracking, they can easily see what schools will benefit from more support, what grade levels to focus on, and which students need extra help."

The expansion of SchoolStatus Attend to include more flexible attendance tracking and customizable message templates reinforces its leadership as the most comprehensive attendance solution available. Innovation is ongoing, and in the coming months, SchoolStatus will release more ways to help districts reach families at all attendance levels, better understand trends, and focus on supporting positive outcomes for students.

To learn more, visit: schoolstatus.com/attend.

Media Contact
Annmarie Ely, Associate Director
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267.454.4686
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About SchoolStatus
SchoolStatus connects educators and families around the topics that matter most. The company partners with K-12 districts to improve attendance, engage families, and build trust so students can succeed. A recognized leader in data-driven attendance and family engagement solutions, SchoolStatus enables districts and educators to engage families with relevant, timely communications and proactive support on important topics including absenteeism, literacy progress, and overall student readiness. Today, SchoolStatus supports districts in all 50 states and serves more than 22 million students nationwide as a trusted partner in driving better student outcomes.

SOURCE SchoolStatus