In an effort to combat chronic absenteeism in schools, Valley of the Sun United Way has initiated a billboard campaign throughout Maricopa County. This initiative falls under the Supporting Attendance Across Maricopa County project.
Collaborating with the Helios Foundation and Read on Arizona, the campaign aims to uncover the reasons behind student absences. The billboards feature Calais Campbell, a player for the Arizona Cardinals, promoting the message: “Attend School Every Day. Be a Champion” in both English and Spanish.
Dawn Gerundo, who leads community development and engagement at Valley of the Sun United Way, highlighted the severity of the issue stating, “In Arizona, we have an issue with chronic absenteeism. Currently about one in every four students, give or take a little, is chronically absent, meaning they’re missing more than 10% of the scheduled school year.”
The rise in absenteeism is partly attributed to the pandemic, alongside other political and economic challenges. Gerundo emphasized the academic risks associated with frequent absences, noting, “What we know is when children remain chronically absent, we see a decrease in their academic success.”
To address this, Valley of the Sun United Way is devising strategies to reduce the number of students missing more than 10 days of school.
