Our Vision

We envision a system of schools in which every child attends school all day and families, school staff, community organizations and city agencies work in unison to create and sustain home, school and community environments conductive to students’ school success.

Our Mission

The mission of the Office of Attendance and Truancy (OAT) is to ensure that schools strategically use their resources to improve student attendance by:

• Adopting and implementing with fidelity policies, processes and procedures which deter absenteeism and reward good attendance.
• Providing technical assistance to school personnel in best practices for promoting attendance and preventing escalation of absenteeism.
• Collecting, disseminating and utilizing data to pinpoint schools and situations in need of intervention.
• Collaborating with other School District offices, families, community-based organizations, City Council and the State Legislature, the Mayor’s Office, the Police Department, the Department of Human Services and Family Court to intervene early in supporting students with attendance problems so they do not become chronic absentees or truants.