Oregon Schools Report Strong Gains in Elementary Attendance as Awareness Campaign Expands
Following Governor Tina Kotek’s September Attendance Awareness Month proclamation earlier this month, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) recognized districts across the state that have shown positive trends in elementary attendance, including Centennial, Coos Bay, Ontario, and Yoncalla.
Oregon September Attendance Awareness Month Campaign Shows Increased School Attendance
ODE joined schools, families, and community partners in the Oregon Governor’s campaign that affirms the importance of regular attendance and the state’s shared commitment to supporting students.
The focus for September Attendance Awareness Month is on the youngest learners.
ODE Director, Dr. Charlene Williams, confirms that the agency is placing renewed focus on helping every child build the habit of showing up every day.
The emphasis on young learners emerges from the passage of Senate Bill 141 (2025) that expanded the educational accountability system by adding several new performance metrics for school districts, including a dedicated Early Learner Attendance Metric.
The new metric tracks, monitors, and supports improved attendance for students in kindergarten through second grade. Districts are leading the way with innovative approaches to supporting attendance in the early grades, and some of the success stories are:
Ontario School District – Aiken Elementary School
Regular attender rate rose to 90.7%, a gain of 4.2 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year (86.5%) in 2023-24, driven by efforts to strengthen student and building safety, increased mental health supports, improved support for K-3 literacy, and districtwide family engagement.
Coos Bay School District – Eastside School, Elementary
The 2023-24 regular attender rate rose to 70.3%, gaining 17.1 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year (53.2%). Kindergarten attendance increased 26 percentage points from 2022-23 (44.1%) to 2023-24 (70%).
The districts’ concentrated focus on serving and supporting families, including targeted communication and outreach, and work around foundational reading skills and improving outcomes for all students, including partnering with Oregon Response to Instruction & Intervention, has been credited with the better attendance.
Centennial School District – Pleasant Valley Elementary
Pleasant Valley and all Centennial schools have taken a multi-pronged approach to increasing attendance as a priority. In 2023-24, the regular attender rate gained 11.4 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year (57.5%), rising to 68.9%.
The district credits The Shadow Project, an ODE community partner, for providing teachers and assistants with training to help students build core skills such as literacy, which contributes to their success.
Yoncalla School District – Yoncalla Elementary School
Attendance rose to 63.8%, a gain of 5.9 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year (58%), compared with 40.6% in 2021-22, reflecting an improvement of 23 percentage points over two years.
Elementary enrollment also grew by 50% in 5 years, and the achievement reflects a focus on building good attendance habits beginning in preschool through family engagement, learning opportunities, and visible attendance reminders.