Contact: Lisa Deffendall • First Posted: Thursday, September 7, 2006

On September 12, schools in Fayette County will go head to head against other schools in the state to see who can get the most kids in class and on time. Schools that come out on top will win T-shirts for students and $500 cash. The competition is the first of it’s kind in Kentucky “Statewide High Attendance Day,” sponsored by the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel. All schools throughout the state of Kentucky will compete for the highest average student attendance for the day. Prizes will be awarded in elementary, middle, and high school categories. School winners will be recognized, each student in the school will receive a T-shirt, and the school will receive a cash prize of $500. Research has shown a strong correlation between regular school attendance and student achievement. And truancy is often a sign of other problems for kids. In the last year the Fayette County Public Schools have placed a strong emphasis on the importance of being in school every day with its School Counts campaign. In the event there is a tie, each district will submit the daily attendance percentage for each school in the district for Sept. 12 as well as for the four school days prior to that date on Sept. 6, Sept. 7, Sept. 8 and on Sept. 11. The Kentucky Department of Pupil Personnel Board will then go back each day and compare attendance percentages until a winner is determined.