T
HE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(more)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2011
No. 51
www.nyc.gov
MAYOR BLOOMBERG LAUNCHES WAKE UP! NYC CAMPAIGN
TO REDUCE CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM AND TRUANCY IN CITY SCHOOLS AND
RELEASES EARLY DATA FROM TRUANCY PROGRAM
Magic Johnson, Jose Reyes, Trey Songz, Big Boi, Jesse McCartney, SchoolMessenger, Viacom, Hot
97 FM, KISS Radio and Others Join Mayor’s Campaign To Reduce Truancy
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today launched the City’s first multimedia campaign to
reduce truancy and chronic absenteeism in City schools. The campaign, called WakeUp! NYC was
developed by the Mayor’s Interagency Task Force on Truancy and Chronic Absenteeism, led by
John Feinblatt, the Mayor’s Chief Policy Advisor. The WakeUp! NYC campaign will begin next
week with automated phone calls to students in a core group of 25 schools with principals who have
volunteered to participate in the Task Force’s work this year, and then expand chronically absent
students citywide. Campaign partners including Viacom and their BET Networks division, 98.7
KISS FM, Hot 97 FM and 101.9 RXP FM will also encourage school attendance every day on-air
and through social media. Through WakeUp! NYC, students will receive phone calls with pre-
recorded morning wake up messages from Magic Johnson, Jose Reyes, Big Boi, Terrence J and
Rocsi, from BET’s 106 & Park and award-winning artist Trey Songz as well as other celebrities
from program partners Viacom. The Mayor also announced early results from the truancy program
for the first half of the school year, which showed improvements in many schools.
“Through WakeUp! NYC we’re putting on a full-court press, using mass media and digital
media to drive home the point that every student should be in school every day,” said Mayor
Bloomberg. “It’s the next step in our efforts to cut absenteeism and put more students on the road to
success, in school and in life.”
“We believe strongly in the power of media and entertainment to address social issues
facing our country,” said Viacom Chief Operating Officer Tom Dooley. “Ensuring that our
country’s young people have the education they need to succeed is critical to the future of New
York City and the future of this country. But you can’t learn if you don’t come to school. That’s
why Viacom and the Get Schooled Foundation are excited to support Mayor Bloomberg’s Wake
Up! NYC campaign.”
“We want all of our students to excel and become successful adults, and good attendance
will help them reach that goal,” Schools Chancellor Cathie Black said. “We are working hard to
reduce chronic absenteeism, and thanks to the Mayor’s Task Force, we have seen a significant drop
2
in chronic absenteeism at the Isaac Newton Middle School. We know we have a long way to go, but
this is a good start.”
“We are focusing largely on students in elementary and middle school because absenteeism
in those grades is predictive of school failure and drop out,” said John Feinblatt, the Mayor’s Chief
Policy Advisor, who oversees the Mayor’s Task Force. “Research shows that if we can change
attendance patterns in those years, we will reduce high school drop out rates, and produce better
educational outcomes. And if we don’t deal with the problem now, we’ll be stuck dealing with
much worse problems in crime, government dependency and poverty.”
“The WakeUp! NYC campaign will help educate students and parents about the importance
of attendance every day and the dangers of chronic absenteeism for school, and life, success,” said
Leslie Cornfeld, chair of the Mayor’s Task Force. “Our media partners in this campaign will help
us generate a new awareness about the importance of school everyday –amplifying the impact of the
many new, multiagency strategies the Task Force is piloting at our schools and elsewhere this year.”
The Mayor was joined at the announcement, held at Isaac Newton Middle School in
Manhattan, by Chief Policy Advisor John Feinblatt, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, Schools
Chancellor Cathie Black, Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond, Task
Force Chair Leslie Cornfeld, NYC Service Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford,
Administration for Children’s Services Assistant Commissioner Dale P. Joseph, Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene Assistant Commissioner for School Health Roger Platt, Department of
Youth and Community Development Assistant Commissioner William Chong, and Isaac Newton
Middle School Principal Lisa Nelson.
The Mayor was also joined by media partners including Viacom Chief Operating Officer
Tom Dooley; Emmis Communications Community Outreach Director Reggie Nance; Jose Reyes;
Terrence J and Rocsi, from BET’s top-rated 106 & Park show; and award-winning artist Trey
Songz.
Wake Up! NYC Absence Alerts and Good News Calls
Through the WakeUp! NYC campaign, chronically absent students and students at-risk of
becoming chronically absent will receive inspirational wake up phone calls to encourage them to
attend school. The pre-recorded messages stress the connection between success in school and
success in life, because research shows that children and parents too often fail to make the
connection.
The WakeUp!NYC campaign will start next week when over 6,500 students at the 25
schools, who have missed 10 or more days of school this academic year, will receive a phone or
email message inviting them to participate in the WakeUp!NYC campaign. After this introductory
period, the WakeUp! NYC campaign will expand to approximately 250,000 chronically absent
students citywide.
The WakeUp! NYC campaign will also include “good news” calls to congratulate students
for strong or improved attendance. Research suggests that celebrating improved attendance helps
promote attendance. Conversely, students whose chronic absenteeism does not improve, in addition
to additional interventions by the Task Force, will receive telephone absence alerts notifying the
student and parents about the serious nature of the student’s attendance patterns. The WakeUp!
3
NYC telephone calls will be made through SchoolMessenger, a communications company focused
on connecting schools and families, which has underwritten the cost of implementing the call
campaign to all chronically absent students in NYC.
In addition, the WakeUp!NYC campaign’s media partners will run public service
announcements and discuss the importance of attending school every day on their morning shows.
The media partners will also mention WakeUp! NYC through social media and using testimonials
from formerly chronically absent students and their parents, and will help the campaign spread the
word about the importance of attendance every day.
“I am proud to be a part of this campaign,” said Magic Johnson, who recorded several
messages as part of WakeUp! NYC. “We need to do whatever it takes to let kids know that getting
to school every day is the best way to succeed in school, and in life.”
“School really is a kids’ best hope for a better future. But kids don’t get that these days,
neither do parents,” said Jose Reyes, of the NY Mets. “I am ready to go tot bat for the Task Force’s
Campaign, and do what I can to spread the word. This Campaign is what people need to really
WakeUp about education and their future.”
“I want to help kids and parents realize that education is the best path to a good future,” said
award-winning artist Trey Songz. “By joining forces with Get Schooled, I hope to use my fame as a
positive influence and keep kids in school and out of the streets.”
“We are proud to partner with the Mayor in getting kids to school every day,” said Reggie
Nance, Vice President of Emmis NY. “Hot 97, and KISS FM are committed to spearheading this
campaign on the air by spreading the word about WakeUp! NYC – so that all New Yorkers,
students and parents alike, understand that school every day is the best way to a better future. So,
listen to us and hear what we are doing to help fix this problem for the future of our kids, and our
City. Stay tuned.”
Early Data Show Preliminary Positive Results
The Mayor’s Task Force released its early results from the first half of the academic year,
showing that the schools in its pilot program had reduced their rates of chronic absenteeism this
year, as compared to last year. At the Task Force’s ten elementary schools, chronic absenteeism
was down by 24% over last year; at the Task Force’s eight middle schools, it was down by 16%.
Because students in temporary housing have above average rates of chronic absenteeism
citywide, as part of it’s comprehensive strategy to reduce absenteeism, the Task Force also piloted a
number of new initiatives at 15 of the City’s Tier II family shelters, including tracking attendance
and chronic absenteeism bi-weekly, creating homework centers at all Tier II shelters citywide,
creating new data sharing agreements between agencies, and creating a new culture of school
success and attendance every day at the shelters.
“The Task Force initiative is changing the culture of attendance in Tier II shelters,” said
Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond. “We are pleased that the preliminary results of
our work reflect attendance success among our shelter children. Chronic absenteeism decreased at
the pilot shelters from this year to last, and we also saw a lower rate of absenteeism in the pilot
4
shelters than other similar Tier II shelters. By continuing the partnership of the Task Force, we can
only make further progress for our children.”
“New York City has clearly become the national leader in developing innovative strategies
to reduce truancy and chronic absenteeism,” said Dr. Robert Balfanz, research scientist at Johns
Hopkins, and Task Force advisor. “The positive early outcomes seen today in reducing chronic
absenteeism in New York City schools and shelters reflects the strength of the comprehensive
strategies that the Task Force has implemented in a remarkably short period of time,”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Mayor’s Interagency Task Force on developing
models leading the nation in reducing truancy and chronic absenteeism,” said Richard R. Buery,
President and CEO, Children's Aid Society. “The Task Force is demonstrating what outcomes are
possible when data-driven strategies, citywide collaboration and unwavering energy for improving
attendance and educational outcomes for our most at-risk students, are so successfully executed for
the children of New York City. The work being done here should have the attention of every urban
center and school system in the country.”
Task Force Tackles Pockets of Chronic Absenteeism
The Task Force, launched by the Mayor on June 10
th
of last year, has focused its first efforts
on developing responses to early warning signals in a child’s early years – before truancy is an
entrenched habit. About 20 percent of all City school students missed one month of school or more
last year – totaling over 250,000 students. The Task Force has worked with a series of partners to
develop incentives for attendance including Old Navy, Starbucks, Office Depot and NY Skyride,
which donated tickets to their unique simulator inside the Empire State Building that provides a
virtual tour of New York City.
Research shows that three out of four students who are severely chronically absent in the
sixth grade never graduate from high school. In New York City, approximately 80 percent of
children in the juvenile justice system had missed a month or more of school; 40 percent had missed
two or more months. Absenteeism rates are highest in low-income communities, where school
offers students the best opportunity for future success.
- 30 -
Contact: Stu Loeser / Jason Post (212) 788-2958
