A superhero mascot and 1-on-1 support: PGCPS is tackling chronic absenteeism

Prince George’s County Public Schools is recruiting community ambassadors, asking students why they miss school and sending a superhero called Princess Present into classrooms to encourage attendance.

But with more than 1 in 4 students chronically absent, the district is also preparing to launch a more intensive approach: assigning staff members to work individually with students who frequently miss school.

The efforts come as two new national reports suggest that reducing chronic absenteeism requires more than reminding families to send their children to school. Strong relationships, early intervention and targeted support are among the strategies researchers say hold the most promise.

In Prince George’s County, 28.2% of students were chronically absent during the 2025-26 school year, nearly twice Maryland’s goal of 15% as part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Students are considered chronically absent when they miss at least 10% of the school year, including excused absences.

Many of the district’s initiatives align with the research. But whether they’re making a measurable difference remains unclear.

The 2026 Attendance Playbook, released Monday by the think tank FutureEd and nonprofit Attendance Works, identifies more than 30 evidence-based strategies for reducing absenteeism, drawing on a review of more than 150 studies.

A separate Johns Hopkins University report, based on nationally representative surveys of school principals, found that schools reporting multiple effective attendance strategies were more likely to report improvements than those relying on fewer approaches.

Building relationships, one student at a time

Both reports, which were released on Monday, emphasize the importance of personal relationships.

Sixty percent of principals surveyed by Johns Hopkins said that improving student-teacher relationships was effective or very effective in reducing absenteeism, while 53% said the same about strengthening relationships among students.

Tisa Holley, PGCPS’ director of student stability and success, told The Banner that the district is preparing to launch an attendance case management framework in November to provide individualized support to habitually truant students.

Developed after officials found the highest concentrations of habitual truancy among high school students, the program will operate across grade levels.

Under the framework, eight to 10 staffers at each school, including counselors, administrators and student advocates, would each be assigned roughly 10 students for weekly, biweekly or monthly support.

Their responsibilities vary. Counselors address students’ academic and emotional needs, while pupil personnel workers help families overcome barriers to attendance. Student advocates provide peer mentoring, conflict resolution and other interventions, including home visits, according to the district’s website.

“At the foundation of it all is relationship,” she said. “If a student knows that someone is looking for them — if a student feels at least one person in that building genuinely cares for them — they’re gonna show up.”

The approach aligns with the research. Johns Hopkins found that principals who described their attendance teams as effective were more than three times as likely to report substantial attendance improvements as those without effective teams.

Still, researchers cautioned that their findings relied on principals’ self-reported experiences and could not establish that the strategies caused attendance to improve.

Understanding why students miss school

PGCPS is also asking students directly why they miss class.

Last school year, the district began holding voluntary focus groups with high school students, including multilingual learners and students receiving special education services.

Holley said students were asked what keeps them home, how their parents respond to absences and what changes would make their schools more welcoming.

“It’s one thing for research to tell us ... what these issues are that our students are facing,” Holley said. “But through the student focus groups, we were able to activate students and be able to hear from them.”

The district plans to continue those conversations this year.

The effort addresses a notable gap identified by Johns Hopkins researchers: 41% of surveyed principals said their schools had not used surveys, interviews or focus groups to better understand absenteeism.

Those causes often extend beyond school walls.

Nationally, 40% of principals identified transportation challenges as contributing to excessive absences, while 37% cited unstable housing.

Holley identified similar challenges locally, including housing instability, mental health concerns and students working to support their families.

Transportation remains a concern in PGCPS, where families have reported missed pickups, lengthy commutes and unreliable bus tracking amid ongoing problems with the district’s school bus routing system.

Creative campaigns

Beyond individualized support, PGCPS is experimenting with more creative ways to encourage attendance.

Since March, the district has recruited 77 adult attendance ambassadors from businesses, faith organizations and community groups to promote regular attendance and connect families with resources. A student ambassador program is expected to launch in January.

Students have also developed social media campaigns, including memes and videos encouraging classmates to show up.

Then there’s Princess Present, the district’s costumed attendance superhero who has visited back-to-school nights, parent orientations and attendance celebrations.

“This is weighty. It’s a serious topic, and so we’re taking a novel approach,” Holley said.

Meanwhile, about 20 schools are participating in “Go2Grow,” a pilot program that brings parents of young children together with school staff to discuss attendance and address concerns about regularly sending children to school. The district plans to monitor kindergarten attendance before deciding whether to expand it.

But while awareness campaigns may encourage attendance, the national research suggests that messaging alone is insufficient.

The Johns Hopkins report found that simply communicating the importance of attendance was among the less effective strategies reported by principals. The FutureEd report similarly emphasizes identifying and addressing the underlying reasons that students miss school.

Holley said district officials review attendance data monthly to identify troubling trends and direct additional support to schools.

“We’re not sitting and waiting,” she said. “We are responding as early as we can.”