Over 200 residents from Allegheny County braved the snow and headed out to the University of Pittsburgh to spend a day of learning, sharing, and strategizing about school attendance at our GradNation Community Summit on March 6th, 2015. 

Be There! School Attendance Matters Conference was hosted by the United Way of Allegheny County (UWAC) and the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development. In the fall of 2013, the county held its premiere conference on school attendance, which served as a launching point for the new UWAC initiative “Be There,” a county-wide awareness campaign focused on reducing chronic absenteeism. 

The previous conference, which featured keynote speaker Hedy Chang of Attendance Works, answered the question why? – why is chronic absence an issue in our county, and why is improving school attendance imperative?  

This time around, Be There and its partners reconvened to dig deeper into the issue: how? – how are we working to reduce chronic absence, and what are the best practices? Through both research and first-hand experience, speakers shared that engaging students and families is the key to getting kids to school. 

Bright and early on Friday morning, folks from all over the county assembled – principals, probation officers, afterschool providers, social workers, government agencies, superintendents, parent volunteers. The summit filled with a diverse group of people, equally passionate about education and eager to learn more. 

Setting the day in motion was County Councilman Tom Baker. Mr. Baker officially declared March 6th as “Be There Day” in Allegheny County – a day to not only shine light on attendance, but also a day to come together and take action.  

Another familiar face from the county was the Honorable Judge Dwayne Woodruff. Some might recognize him from his days as Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steeler. Though you may still occasionally see him at Heinz Field, he now spends his days in the courtroom.  As a judge on the Court of Common Pleas, Judge Woodruff sees truant and chronically absent students on a daily basis. He stressed that good attendance is vital for the success of students, and challenged the county to work, holistically, towards getting kids in school, every day. 

Also there to welcome the crowd was Jim Penna, a Regional Director at AT&T, whose support is part of AT&T Aspire, the company's $350 million commitment to graduate more students from high school ready for college and career. 

Be There was fortunate enough for Dr. Heather Weiss, founder and director of the Harvard Family Research Project, to travel to Pittsburgh and present the keynote address. Despite the snow, Dr. Weiss made it safely and was able to deliver her fantastic presentation, “Family Engagement as a Strategic Lever to Expand Learning Time and Opportunities in a New World for Learning,” which touched on her research regarding what problems kids have getting to school and family engagement-based solutions.

Following the keynote, participants dispersed to attend their choice of six attendance-related workshops. Workshops ranged from a training session on natural mentoring, to a policy session regarding local attendance data. All sessions were interactive and led by Be There partners of Allegheny County. 

Everyone then reconvened for a lunch panel highlighting local engagement strategies. A panel of community leaders from a variety of schools and agencies discussed attendance work happening in the community and strategies for engaging parents, schools, and systems.   

A second round of workshops followed lunch. Participants could choose from sessions such as “Introduction to Restorative Practices” and “Organizing Parents to Drive Change.” Be There commends all partners for crafting these tactful workshops.  

The day would of course not be complete without hearing from students. A group of high school students have been working to increase student attendance at their school, Brashear High School. The “Be There Brashear Attendance Ambassadors” answered questions and shared what projects they’ve completed, such as building a Free Little Library in their community and hosting a school-wide challenge. 

In addition, two sophomores, Becky and Alissa, were honored for having perfect attendance; the girls received a standing ovation as they received certificates. 
The day wrapped up with a rousing call to action, urging everyone to meet again in a year, having made even greater strides towards building a community with good attendance. 
Pittsburgh’s GradNation Summit was an opportunity for community partners to collaborate and strategize; it was an opportunity to refocus and reinforce. The summit allowed for us to involve caring adults as well as students in Allegheny County in thoughtful and engaging discussions to help young people stay in school.  

To learn more about or to get involved in the Be There Campaign visit: www.unitedwaypittsburgh.org/be-there.