In September 2018, the Mississippi Department of Education kicked off its “Strive for Less Than Five” campaign to promote regular school attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent of the school year for any reason. The Harrison County School District adopted our own campaign, “Attendance Matters” with the same goals in mind.  Incentives, at both the district and school levels, were provided throughout the school year to remind students of the importance of regular attendance and to encourage them to keep absences to a minimum.