As many districts in Pennsylvania pivot to hybrid or virtual models of education in response to Covid-19, it is hard to think about what "attendance" means or how to track it. Yet attendance is more important than ever. Students need to stay engaged to continue their learning and to access the myriad supports that districts are offering. And we know that chronic absenteeism leads to lower performance and increases the likelihood of dropout. How can we keep students coming to school? Increased communication with parents and timely use of data to identify and overcome the barriers to attendance are more important than ever--especially in districts with already high rates of absenteeism. [This is Brief 1 of the Back to School series.]