A large-scale study from researchers at the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity & Research at Wayne State University finds there is no single “silver bullet” strategy for improving student attendance. Instead, schools that deployed targeted approaches—especially “deep family engagement” such as regular home visits and frequent, personalized messages—show comparatively stronger attendance outcomes. The researchers analyzed survey responses from administrators at 1,100 Michigan schools and absenteeism, achievement, and demographic data collected across 2021-22 through 2024-25. Using value-added models intended to isolate attendance effects from contextual factors, the team reports that moving between lower- and higher-performing schools on the measured practices correlates with roughly seven additional school days attended. The findings land as chronic absenteeism remains elevated post-pandemic, with the Return to Learn tracker maintained by the American Enterprise Institute showing most states declining but none returned to pre-pandemic levels.