Dallas ISD is encouraging students to begin the 2026-27 school year with strong attendance through an August campaign that rewards students for showing up every instructional day during the first three weeks of school.
The district’s “First 15 Days of School” attendance challenge runs Aug. 11-31. Students who achieve perfect attendance during all 15 instructional days will be entered into a districtwide raffle for a chance to win a prize.
Dallas ISD says the opening weeks can help establish habits that influence learning, friendships and achievement throughout the school year. The campaign is being promoted under the hashtag #ShowUpDallasISD26_27.
The August initiative comes ahead of September Attendance Awareness, a national effort designed to highlight the importance of regular school attendance and help families understand how repeated absences can affect student learning.
Missing just two days of school each month can add up to a substantial loss of classroom instruction over the course of a school year. Those absences can affect students at every grade level, even when families may not initially realize how quickly missed days accumulate.
Resources Available for Families
Dallas ISD encourages parents experiencing transportation, health, scheduling or other barriers that interfere with regular attendance to communicate directly with their child’s campus.
Parents should also notify the campus attendance office whenever a student will miss school. Students returning following an absence must provide the appropriate excuse documentation.
The district’s attendance initiative focuses not only on recognizing students who maintain strong attendance, but also on helping families address circumstances that may prevent students from consistently getting to class.
Additional attendance information is available through Dallas ISD’s attendance resources.
Senior Perfect Attendance Recognition
Dallas ISD also offers special recognition for graduating seniors who complete their final year of high school with perfect attendance.
Eligible 12th-grade students receive a special graduation cord to wear during spring commencement ceremonies and are recognized in their school’s graduation program.
Those students may also have an opportunity to qualify for the Superintendent’s Scholarship.
Five Years of Perfect Attendance
An additional distinction is available to students who maintain perfect attendance throughout their entire secondary school career in Dallas ISD.
Students in grades eight through 12 who attend a Dallas ISD campus continuously for all five years and record perfect attendance during each school year receive special campus recognition at the end of the year.
To qualify, students must have no break in Dallas ISD enrollment during the five-year period and no absences recorded as excused, unexcused or out-of-school suspension.
Through its August attendance challenge, yearlong attendance efforts and recognition programs, Dallas ISD is emphasizing that consistent attendance remains an important part of academic progress and student success.
