September is Attendance Awareness Month, a nationwide effort to highlight how essential consistent attendance is for student success and school funding. Research from Attendance Works shows that missing just two to four days in the first month of school can predict chronic absence for the rest of the year.

For ILTexas, attendance is more than academic: it directly impacts resources. State program funding is based primarily on attendance data submitted to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). When students miss school, fewer dollars are available for instruction, enrichment, and support services. ILTexas relies on $200 Million+ in state funding each year, much of which depends on accurate attendance.

ILTexas serves over 26,000 students across 26 campuses, and ensuring students are in class every day helps protect the funding needed for staffing, facilities, and innovative programs like leadership development and multilingual education.

ILTexas also recognizes that many families face barriers to daily attendance—such as health concerns, transportation issues, housing instability, or family transitions. We know that for students to be successful, their parents and guardians may need to be supported. 

To help, ILTexas provides resources including:

• Families in Transition (FiT) program for students experiencing homelessness or foster care

• Counseling services for mental health and social-emotional support

• Family engagement initiatives, such as Parent University and multilingual family communication

• Campus counselors, who connect families with community partners for food, clothing, and housing

 

 

Families needing support can reach out to ILTexas counseling services at: counseling@iltexas.org

We look forward to partnering with our families to ensure that every student has the resources they need to reach their full potential.

Together, we can ensure every student shows up ready to learn—and that ILTexas schools continue to thrive.