Every Day Counts is an initiative to support Vermont schools and health care providers to build or strengthen partnerships that emphasize school attendance and youth wellbeing. It includes intensive pilots in 4 communities across Vermont, as well as state-level awareness raising and training efforts.  Every Day Counts is made possible through generous support from the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships at the University of Vermont and close partnership with Vermont state government.

For more information on Every Day Counts, visit here:  Every Day Counts: Reducing Absenteeism in Vermont’s Schools.

For more information about the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships, visit here:  Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships | The University of Vermont

The state-level summit “Every Day Counts: Building Partnerships to Boost Attendance and Health,” was held on November 17, 2025.  This one-day event was hosted by the Every Day Counts initiative at UVM’s Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, Vermont Agency of Education, Vermont Department of Health, Catamount Community Schools Collaborative, and UVM Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships.

This summit brought together leaders from Vermont’s education, health and other social service sectors to:

• Elevate the issue of chronic absence as an educational and public health priority
• Highlight the power of partnerships to improve attendance, decrease chronic absence and address root causes, with a focus on health
• Share best practice to build strong foundations for future work to support school attendance in Vermont
• Seek feedback from key stakeholders to inform the state’s strategic plan around chronic absence

Sessions included a keynote presentation from Dr. Christina Grant, former state superintendent of education and now at Harvard Center for Educational Policy Research, as well as panels and break-out sessions to elevate perspectives and practical tools. Participants also had the opportunity to provide feedback on the Vermont Agency of Education’s strategic efforts to decrease chronic absenteeism.

Every Day Counts: Building Partnerships to Boost Attendance and Health 

Date: 

Monday, November 17, 2025

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Registration

9:00 – 4:00 p.m. Summit Sessions

Location:

Killington Grand Resort Hotel

228 E Mountain Rd, Killington, VT 05751

Continuing education credits: 

We will NOT have continuing education credits available for this event.

Every Day Counts: Building Partnerships to Boost Attendance and Health 

Detailed Summit Agenda (PDF)

Summit presenters collated key resources related to their sessions or workshops, linked below.

Chronic Absenteeism: What, Who, and Why?

Presenter: Heidi Schumacher, Vermont Child Health Improvement Program

• Presentation Slides (PDF)
• www.AttendanceWorks.org is the premier national organization aiming to reduce and eliminate chronic absenteeism through evidence-based policies, practice and data.  Their website has a plethora of resources, news, research and communication templates and tools.
• All in for Attendance – JHU Center for School Health:  “Johns Hopkins University Center for School Health with Kaiser Permanente and Attendance Works has developed a new public health framework for addressing chronic absence and promoting school attendance. The framework is organized around three evidence-based guiding principles and supported by specific actionable recommendations.”
• Every Day Counts: Reducing Absenteeism in Vermont’s Schools | Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships | The University of Vermont

Tackling Chronic Absence: Data and Team Strategies

Presenter: Nick Conner, Director of Student Engagement and Data, Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools and Senior Fellow, Attendance Works

• Attendance Works: District and School Attendance Tracking Tools
• Attendance Works: Organize District and School Teams

Building Bridges for Student Success                                                       

Presenters: Susan Lieberman, Senior Fellow, Attendance Works; Chelsea Lareau, School Engagement Clinician, Colchester School District; Andrew Conforti Ed.D., Principal, Colchester High School

• Presentation Slides (PDF)
• Attendance Works: Recommended Strategies for Schools
• Attendance Works: Sign up for the Attendance Works Newsletter

Building Belonging: How the Community Schools Approach Reduces Chronic Absenteeism

Presenters: Bernice Garnett, Associate Professor, UVM College of Education and Social Services; Maria Davies, Community Schools Coordinator, Burlington School District; Maya Caplan, UVM undergraduate student, Community Schools Intern, Burlington School District; Samantha Stevens, Community Schools Coordinator, North Country Supervisory Union; Lisa Daigle-Farney, Community Homeschool Liaison, North Country Supervisory Union; Elaine Collins, Superintendent, North Country Supervisory Union

• Learning Policy Institute (2024): Reducing Chronic Absenteeism, Lessons From Community Schools
  • This practice brief spotlights 4 community schools in California and highlights how community schools leverage family engagement, integrated student supports, and strategic partnerships to boost attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism.
• Attendance Playbook (2023): Smart Strategies for Reducing Student Absenteeism Post-Pandemic (PDF)
  • The Attendance Playbook is a comprehensive compendium of evidenced based interventions that reduce chronic absenteeism, organized through the multi-tiered system of support. The attendance playbook highlights the community schools approach as an integrated effort for holistic approaches to support belonging and attendance.
• USDOE (2024): Leveraging Community School Interventions to Boost Student Attendance and Engagement
  • This policy brief outlines key federal resources and state level community school implementation exemplars that showcase the power of community schools in reducing chronic absenteeism.
• Maryland Center for Community Schools (2025): From Absence to Engagement: Community Schools’ Innovative Approaches to Reducing Chronic Absenteeism and Increasing Attendance (PDF)
  • This research brief highlights the multi-level strategies of the community schools approach that support attendance, highlighting specific key practices and activities from community schools in Maryland, including family engagement strategies, incentive and reward structures and targeted interventions. 

From Clinic to Classroom: School & Primary Care Partnerships to Improve Attendance

Presenters: Heidi Schumacher, Vermont Child Health Improvement Program; Michaela Martin, Multi-Tiered System of Supports Coordinator, White River Valley Supervisory Union; Sara Palmer, Home to School Coordinator, White River Valley Supervisory Union; Danielle Isham, Nurse Care Coordinator, South Royalton Health Center

• Presentation Slides (PDF)
• American Academy of Pediatrics:  School Attendance resource page, including links to relevant policy, learning bursts, training videos, and more.
• Tools to Support School Health Information Sharing from the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Association of School Nurses, including a FERPA/HIPAA compliant consent template and implementation toolkit.

Leveraging School Health Services to Improve Attendance

Presenters: Jess LaClair, Public Health Specialist and School Liaison, Vermont Department of Health; Kathleen Bryant, Nurse Practitioner, Gifford Health Care School Based Health Centers; Kelly Marcus, School Nurse, Champlain Valley School District; Adria Ciampaglia, Coordinator of Behavioral Supports, Clara Martin Center

• Local Health Offices | Vermont Department of Health Your local health office is a free resource for assistance with population-level health and wellness-related work in your school community. We can share data, evidence- based best practices, and promising strategies related to school health and wellness policies and procedures, support schools in expanding health-related services and initiatives such as Asthma-Friendly Schools or 802 Smiles, and can help bring partners to the table to help address health and wellness-related community issues, such as poor mental health or lack of social connection, that impact the school environment.

• Health Handouts - Attendance Works Many of these resources are available in languages besides English, and can be helpful in addressing misconceptions around attendance. The handout on anxiety is particularly helpful for families.

• The Impact of School Mental Health Services on Reducing Chronic Absence - Attendance Works
• A Guide to Opening a School-Based Health Center in Vermont