The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is excited to share resources throughout the month of September to draw attention to the importance of attendance and engagement in Maine schools. Our hope is that this will help to set a strong foundation for the 2025-2026 school year.
To help your schools and school administrative units (SAUs) maintain their focus on attendance, we have curated a collection of actionable steps for your consideration:
- Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed September as School Attendance Awareness Month in Maine! Please share this information with your school boards and communities at-large. You can find a link to the proclamation here.
- Bookmark the Maine DOE’s Maine Engagement and Attendance Center (MEAC) webpage—and encourage an administrator on your team to submit a “good news” story through the linked form. We are hoping to highlight examples of how local schools and SAUs have found success in addressing attendance and engagement among their students.
- Involve your school/SAU in our messaging campaign! Over the summer, MEAC held the Maine Attendance Campaign Name and Slogan Contest. “Rooted in Learning, Growing Every Day: Be Pine Tree Present!” was selected as the winning campaign name/slogan and will become an integral part of Maine’s attendance celebration, highlighting how educators and staff are supporting their learning communities through increased attendance and engagement. Now, we invite every school in Maine to host their own logo design contest based on this campaign name/slogan and send the winning logo our way by October 10, 2025! Each school can determine the parameters of their contest; we simply want to offer the opportunity for potential statewide recognition. Please keep an eye out for details at the end of the month regarding where to send the winning entry—and in the meantime, create your contest opportunity.
- Check out Maine’s Count ME In! website. Sign up for the monthly newsletter, get data-informed ideas to approach attendance improvement, and learn about ongoing professional development events.
- Sign up for the national Attendance Works 2025 Attendance Awareness Campaign.
- Mark your calendars for the upcoming MEAC Office Hours, a new, year-long series of monthly virtual office hours focused on evidence-based strategies to support increased attendance. These meetings will occur on the third Thursday of each month from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Please register here.
MEAC is part of the Maine DOE Office of School and Student Supports. Please contact Maine DOE Student Engagement Specialist Sarah Nelson at Sarah.Nelson@maine.gov, if you have questions or would like additional information.
