Officials from the Rochester City School District and some community organizations are joining forces to try and bolster attendance rates. The campaign is especially targeting families with younger children.
The Ad Council of Rochester is working with the district on a campaign called "Every Minute in School Matters," and it strives to help the district achieve a 95 percent attendance rate.
Along with the United Way and other partners, this advertising campaign focuses on the importance of attendance for students from pre-K through third grade. Officials say those are the formative years, where students need to develop their reading skills.
The president of the Ad Council, Todd Butler, says that it's too easy for students to get behind in their learning if they don't attend school on a regular basis.
“A student who misses one day every other week, which may not seem like a real big deal, actually is likely to be half a year behind by the time they reach fourth grade.”
The Ad Council did research on this issue which found that parents value education, but often do not draw a strong connection between attendance at early grade levels and success for their child.
The campaign will include a variety of multi-media messages about the importance of attendance, and next year, there will also be an incentive program to help encourage students to read.
