Skip To Main Content

Attendance

Columbus City Schools “Strive for 5! Start Strong Attendance Challenge” graphic promoting regular attendance from September 1–25.

SEPTEMBER:
Strong Start - CCS Strive for 5!

2026 Attendance Awareness Month | September 1 - September 25, 2026


Acknowledgement Announced: October 2

FAMILY CHALLENGE ACTIVITIES & CONNECTIONS

Check with your child’s school for details.

Why Families Matter

A strong start begins with consistent routines, encouragement, and connection between home and school. During Attendance Awareness Month, families can help students build habits that support the CCS Strive for 5! message: Show Up. Stand Out. Succeed.

Click here to learn more about Whole-Child Supports.

STRIVE FOR 5!
FAMILY REMINDERS

  • Show Up. Stand Out. Succeed.
  • Every day matters. Every student matters. Every future matters.
  • Strong attendance starts with a strong start.
  • If your child is struggling to attend, connect with the school early so the team can help.
  • September is Attendance Awareness Month.
  • Use #CCSStriveFor5 and #StayInTheGame to share the energy.

Elementary Schools

Strong Start at Home:
Five Ways Families Can Help

Elementary students benefit from predictable routines and encouragement. Families can make attendance visible, positive, and connected to the people and experiences children enjoy at school.

AT HOME:
  • Take the Strive for 5! Pledge Together
    Ask your child to complete the CCS Strive for 5! Student Pledge and share their answer to: “I show up because ______.” Talk about their reason and display the certificate or response at home.
  • Create a Five-Day Family Streak
    Choose a simple way to mark each school day your child is present—stars, checkmarks, magnets, or a calendar. Celebrate five-day streaks and fresh starts after an absence.
  • Build a Strong-Start Routine
    Practice a consistent bedtime and morning routine. Pack backpacks, choose clothes, check transportation, and prepare school items the night before whenever possible.
  • Name Five Reasons to Show Up
    Help your child identify five people, classes, activities, goals, or experiences they look forward to at school. Keep the list somewhere visible for encouragement on harder mornings.
  • Celebrate Progress, Not Perfection
    Notice improvement and consistency. A high-five, encouraging note, favorite family activity, or special choice can reinforce the habit of showing up.
  • Family Conversation Starters:
    • What is one thing you are excited about at school this week?
    • Who at school helps you feel welcome or supported?
    • What can we do tonight to make tomorrow morning easier?
    • What is one reason showing up today mattered?
  • Try This Family Celebration:
    Create a “Strong Start” family celebration when your child reaches a family-selected attendance or routine goal. Keep it simple: choose dinner, pick the family movie, take a walk together, enjoy extra game time, or select another no-cost/low-cost family privilege.

Middle & High Schools

Strong Start:
Connect Attendance to Their Why

Secondary students are building independence, but family encouragement still matters. Conversations that connect attendance to relationships, activities, graduation, college, career, athletics, work, and future goals can help students see why showing up matters.

AT HOME:
  • Ask Them to Take the Strive for 5! Pledge and Share Their Why 
    Use the Strive for 5! prompt: “I show up because ______.” Listen for what matters to your student—friends, a team, a class, graduation, college, career, work, or another goal—and revisit it when motivation dips.
  • Set a Weekly Attendance Check-In
    Once a week, ask: How did attendance go? What made getting to school easier? What got in the way? What is the plan for next week? Keep the conversation supportive and solution-focused.
  • Plan the Night Before
    Encourage your student to check alarms, transportation, clothing, school materials, assignments, practices, work schedules, and other morning needs before going to bed.
  • Notice the Streaks and Comebacks
    Recognize five-day attendance streaks, improved weeks, and returning after an absence. Reinforce that one missed day does not mean giving up—come back, reconnect, and keep going.
  • Connect Attendance to the Future
    Talk about how being present supports grades, eligibility, credits, graduation, relationships with teachers, extracurriculars, college and career plans, and opportunities after high school.
  • Family Conversation Starters:
    • What are you showing up for this year?
    • Is there anything making it harder to get to school or get there on time?
    • Who is one adult at school you can go to when you need support?
    • What is one goal this year that depends on you being present and connected?
  • Try This Family Celebration:
    Set one shared Strong Start goal for the challenge period—for example, improving the morning routine, reducing avoidable absences, or building stronger weekly attendance. Decide together how you will recognize progress.
START STRONG    |    SEPTEMBER 1-25, 2026