Community Resources
Starting the Year
The start of each school year is the perfect time to start tackling the barriers of chronic absenteeism in school. Educate students and families about the importance of attending school every day.
Each September, we celebrate Attendance Awareness Month, allowing schools and educators the opportunity to help students build the essential skill of showing up on time every day.
The following resources can help schools start the year strong:
Visit the September Attendance Awareness Month homepage.
The Attendance Works website provides free toolkits and tips for celebrating Attendance Awareness Month in September.
Community Resources
A list of resources for student-specific and family-specific strategies to address the issue of chronic absence:
Attendance Works is a national organization that promotes awareness of the importance of attending school and offers resources, materials, and supports for schools, families, and community partners.
Facebook InspirED provides free 10, 20, 30, and 60-minute fun activities you can do with your mentee one on one or in groups!
Mentor New York: A New York-based organization that offers free customized training to your Success Mentors and school staff. Topics include home visits, youth engagement, goal setting, etc.
Class Trips: If you’re looking to celebrate improved attendance with trips, ClassTrips.com provides a list of free trips in NYC you can go on as well as grants you can apply for to support transportation and admissions to events.
Homebase: A network of CBO’s that offer housing prevention: https://www.easymapmaker.com/map/Homebase
Single Stop: A network of providers that provide all benefits in one place, Single Stop is located throughout the City: https://www.easymapmaker.com/map/singlestop
Office of Pupil Transportation: Key for supporting youth with transportation to and from school. Contact DOE staff here: (718) 392- 8855
NYS-TEACHS: 800-388-2014 for assistance answering questions related to students' eligibility for McKinney-Vento determined programs. NYSTEACHES offers numerous training and webinars. Find the schedule here: http://www.nysteachs.org/trainings/
Domestic Violence Assistance: Family Justice Centers for Domestic Violence are located throughout the city. See here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/ocdv/programs/family-justice-centers.page
Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-621-HOPE | 1-800-621-4673
Connecting with shelters. Every shelter has a ‘Family Assistant’ DOE liaison, who is meant to connect schools & families to support them with enrollment, transportation, transfers, etc., and meet the educational needs of Students in Temporary Housing children and youth.
Floating Hospital provides free, comprehensive medical care services to homeless students and families. Their clinic provides medical, dental, mental health, medical specialties, and transportation. Visit: https://www.thefloatinghospital.org/our-services/#OurServiceLocations
For a mental health and social services reference sheet.
http://www.uft.org/files/attachments/mental-health-social-services-for-nyc-youth.pdf