The groups Faith Coalition for the Common Good and Rise are backing a campaign called In School and On Time: Your Community Cares.

Saturday, they held a free back-to-school event for families at the Boys and Girls Club in Springfield.

The campaign is a city-wide effort to improve student attendance.

“If kids are not in school, they won’t learn,” Letrice Ware of Faith Coalition for the Common Good said. “So what we’re trying to figure out now is why kids are not showing up on time. That’s the first question we ask: why are kids missing school and going to school late?”

The goal for Springfield schools is 95 percent attendance. Research on school attendance consistently shows low absenteeism corresponds to positive student behavior, participating in extracurricular activities, higher grades, and better long-term educational outcomes.

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