Prince William County Public Schools has announced “Knowledge is Power, Attend Every Hour” as the theme for this year’s school attendance campaign. The winning entry was submitted by Samuel Knorr, a senior at Forest Park High School. More than 4,000 votes were cast by PWCS high schoolers in this year’s inaugural competition. Knorr’s theme, “Knowledge is Power, Attend Every Hour,” one of nearly 470 submissions, received the most votes.
Knorr was surprised at Forest Park High by Superintendent of Schools Dr. LaTanya D. McDade, Associate Superintendent of Student Services and Post Secondary Success Denise Huebner, Potomac District School Board Representative Justin Wilk, and Director of Student Health and Wellness Pamela Bell, who announced his win and presented him with a prize. Knorr’s parents, twin brother, and Forest Park Principal Richard Martinez were also on hand for the big announcement.
“Chronic absenteeism is a major concern and something that all schools are really working to conquer,” Bell shared while at Forest Park for the announcement. “The idea of this campaign is to truly spread awareness, and it has been so important for us that students lead the way, providing the theme and messaging that connects with other students throughout the division.”
The theme “Knowledge is Power, Attend Every Hour” will be used on attendance campaign materials including posters, signs, and other promotional materials produced throughout the school year.
The student theme contest is one of many initiatives underway in PWCS to reduce the chronic absenteeism rates across all grade levels and all student groups. Since returning from the pandemic, chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 18 days or more of school or 10% of the school year, has reached critical levels across the country, state, and in PWCS.
Congratulations to Samuel Knorr for his winning submission as well as Kingston Mills, a sophomore at Charles J. Colgan High School, and Toheed Amhad, a junior at Forest Park High, whose themes received the second and third most votes in this year’s attendance slogan contest.
