In turnaround spaces, especially in communities where dropping out of high school is common and disengagement starts early, we cannot afford to treat engagement as fluff. High interest electives are not schedule decorations. They are attendance strategies. They are relationship builders. They are identity shapers. They are often the first place a student feels competent, needed, and successful.

In a school where chronic absenteeism had taken root as a growing challenge, we made a bold decision: attendance would no longer be treated as a routine task. It would become a shared goal. From day one, we committed to transforming how students, staff, and families think about being present. Not through pressure. Not through penalties. But through purpose, partnership, and people. Starting with Staff: Knowledge First We began the year by investing in the one group best posit