With almost any effort, it has long been said that showing up is half the battle. Whether we’re talking about an exercise or gym routine, starting a new project or simply being present in the classroom, ready to learn. Consistent school attendance helps develop foundational skills, boosts engagement and builds on academic achievement, leading to higher graduation rates. Declared Attendance Awareness Month by North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, September highlights the critical importance of having students in their seats, solidifying the crucial role attendance plays in achieving academic success. Missing a few days early in the school year can quickly translate into chronic absenteeism by the end of the school year.
Typically defined as missing 10% or more of school days over the course of a year, regardless of whether excused or unexcused, chronic absenteeism is one of the clearest, most actionable indicators that students are not fully accessing the learning resources and support schools provide. Before a solution can be identified and implemented, the issue must be clearly addressed.
“Since the pandemic, we’ve seen students having more difficulty transitioning into school,” said Taimak Willis, principal of Northwest Elementary School. “The school must determine what is really happening. You can’t solve the problem until you understand it. Relationships make it possible for families to explain why the student is not attending, and the team can then respond to the actual cause.”
Located in Greenville, NC, Northwest Elementary School was recently described as one of approximately 300 North Carolina public schools (out of more than 2,500) that has recently undergone strong attendance improvement. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate dropped from 36.3% during the 2021-22 school year to 18.6% in 2024-25, a reduction of nearly 49%. As a result, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) identified Northwest Elementary School as an AttendNC Bright Spot with the school outperforming expectations when compared to other schools serving similar student populations. Chronic absenteeism is reduced through building relationships, identifying concerns early, and responding to the needs of students and their families.
“I’ll begin with our team,” Willis said, explaining the change in his staff’s approach. “Everyone does their job, understands their role and cares. If a student is out for three or more days, our teachers are expected to follow up. During my first year, that was not always happening consistently. Over the past two years, teachers have been sending emails, making phone calls and following through. Everyone is contributing to get students back to school.”
When a student's family is faced with attendance barriers, whether it's a transportation gap, housing change or a need for clean clothing or food, Northwest Elementary School taps into local community resources to solve the problem directly rather than simply reminding families of an attendance policy. Partnerships included local churches, businesses and East Carolina University to provide food, clothing and supplies through the school's Backpack Buddies Program and developing a family resource center.
“Some parents have said that they don’t want to send a child to school because the child’s clothes smell or the family lacks something the child needs. We tell them to send the child and let us help,” Willis added.
The effort and strides made by Northwest Elementary School resembles the work of AttendNC Counts, a statewide initiative through NCDPI's Office of Research and Promising Practices. This initiative supports Pillar 4 and Pillar 6 of the five-year strategic plan, Achieving Educational Excellence. By pairing relationship-driven school culture with coordinated, barrier-focused support, Northwest Elementary School exemplifies what's possible when a school community commits to ensuring every student knows they're expected and welcomed.
Learn more about Northwest Elementary School’s progress and explore other schools working to improve classroom attendance by visiting AttendNC Bright Spots.