Every day counts. 

Research has found that each day in school matters for student academic outcomes. For many schools and districts, student attendance has long been area of focus, with the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbating challenges around absenteeism. The good news is that we know absenteeism is a solvable problem and that even low-effort interventions can improve outcomes for students. 

Engage & connect with families.

LIFT Up Attendance is a user-friendly messaging program that integrates with the Infinite Campus student information system (SIS) to provide personalized messages that inform caregivers about their student’s total number of absences each month. Caregivers are provided with information on how to contact the school if they need support to address barriers to their student’s attendance. LIFT Up Attendance aims to engage and empower families and caregivers as partners in their students’ education by providing transparent, real-time information about attendance patterns.  LIFT Up Attendance can be used in conjunction with other family engagement initiatives or as a standalone engagement strategy. 

Proven to increase attendance in rural districts.

LIFT Up Attendance was developed by researchers and initially piloted in 8 rural districts in New York and Ohio during the 2020-21 academic year. Even amidst the uncertainty and disruption of the pandemic, NCRERN's initial pilot study had a high degree of certainty that the personalized messages saved instructional days and reduced absences for rural students by over 2%.  

LIFT Up Attendance was designed to address two common root causes identified by rural districts as reasons why students frequently miss school: (1) caregivers may be unaware of how much school their student is missing, and (2) caregivers may lack knowledge about the value of daily attendance. The program draws on an extensive body of research that suggests that outreach to families and caregivers about their students' attendance patterns can help reduce absenteeism.

Designed with educators' busy schedules in mind.

We know that schools have a lot going on. That's why Infinite Campus, with express written permission of districts, is collaborating with NCRERN to implement the messaging program. LIFT Up Attendance is designed to be quick and easy — just a few clicks per month! LIFT Up Attendance will be built into your Infinite Campus message center and automatically populate customized attendance information for each student in the message template. Districts who participate in the pilot will receive a one hour training to orient staff to the LIFT Up Attendance program.

Help generate evidence for effective programs for rural schools.

NCRERN is committed to contribute to the body of rigorous research and proven solutions in rural education. The LIFT Up Attendance Messaging Program National Pilot Study seeks to scale-up the program piloted in New York and Ohio to rural districts across the country to assess the efficacy of the messages on a national level. Districts who participate in the pilot study will receive the LIFT Up Attendance at no cost, as well as on-going training, supports, and resources from the NCRERN team.