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United Way of Southwest Alabama / Uncategorized  / United Way Supports Attendance Awareness Month

United Way Supports Attendance Awareness Month

Some of our youngest students miss 10 percent of the school year—about 18 days a year or just two days every month. Chronic absenteeism in kindergarten, and even pre-K, can predict lower test scores and poor attendance and retention in later grades, especially if the problems persist for more than a year. In fact, studies have shown that kindergarten and first-grade students who miss too many days of school have trouble mastering reading by the end of third grade. Since third-grade reading proficiency is a key indicator of future success in school, it is vital we help young students and their families develop good attendance practices.

“To continue to increase the graduation rate in our school system, we need to reduce chronic absenteeism among our students,” stated Martha Peek, Superintendent of Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) and United Way of Southwest Alabama (UWSWA) Board of Trustee. “That effort Starts With Us because when our students flourish, our community prospers.”

For the second year in a row, UWSWA, in partnership with the MCPSS and Sam’s Club, is helping raise awareness among parents and guardians about the impact of school attendance on academic achievement by distributing more than 30,000 flyers with tips for developing good attendance habits to families at every MCPSS elementary school.

“Schools can have the best teachers in the world, and we can have the finest programs available, but if the students are not attending, none of it matters,” said Alan H Turner II, President and CEO of UWSWA.  “We want to do whatever possible to help get our students in school so they can learn.  Our hope is that this partnership and awareness campaign will make students and parents more aware of the importance of being in school.”

To help promote good attendance, UWSWA and Sam’s Club will host Perfect Attendance Parties at Mobile County public elementary schools. One classroom in each of the Mobile County elementary schools with 100% attendance, from September 2 to 30, 2014, will be randomly selected to win a party for the entire class and a $100.00 gift card for the teacher to purchase classroom supplies.  These Perfect Attendance Parties will be held October 7-17, 2014.

“The Attendance Awareness Initiative requires collaboration and cooperation among teachers, students, families, and community partners in order to succeed,” said Dwayne Myles, co/Club Manager, Sam’s Club Mobile. “By coming together as a community to combat chronic absenteeism, we can remove the barriers that keep children from achieving in school and help develop a habit of attendance that will benefit the students later in life.”

For more information about United Way’s Attendance Awareness Initiative, please contact Erin Schwind, Communications Coordinator for UWSWA, at 251-433-3624 or eschwind@uwswa.org.

About United Way of Southwest Alabama

The United Way of Southwest Alabama (UWSWA) serves Mobile, Washington, and Clarke counties. Created in 1926 as a Community Chest, UWSWA’s mission is to improve the quality of life in the community.  The vision of UWSWA is to strengthen communities by focusing on united and mobilizing resources in support of the building blocks for a better life:  Education, Financial Stability, Health, and Essentials.  UWSWA has raised and invested more than $240 million into our community to help strengthen the capacity of positive community progress.  Many of these issues that affect our community are addressed by the funded programs and initiatives that help more than 600,000 local people each year.  For more information, visit www.uwswa.org.

About Mobile County Public School System

The Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) is the largest in the state of Alabama with approximately 59,000 students in 90 schools.  MCPSS earns state and national recognition and holds a record of 99.6 percent of highly qualified teachers.  Accredited by national standards of AdvanceEd, the mission of the MCPSS is to graduate citizens who are literate, responsible, and committed to learning. Offering a variety of pathways to academic and career success, visit us at www.mcpss.com for more.

About Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is the nation’s eighth largest retailer and a leading membership warehouse club across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.  Members saved an average of 33% vs. traditional retailers.  To learn more about Savings Made Simple, visit www.SamsClub.com/newsroom, shop www.SamsClub.com and www.m.SamsClub.com, try our mobile apps, and look for Sam’s Club on Twitter and Facebook.