If you have kids and live in Michigan then most likely you already know what today was, don't you? Today was, of course, that most important day called “Count Day”. If you do not know what that means, then here is an explanation.

School districts in most states now have one or two days each year when their total attendance is counted. The count is important because this is used to show the official head count the school is servicing and therefore the total budget they are to receive.

Across the country people have been “tightening their belts” economically to try to do more with less and no area is feeling this more than our public education system. As teachers and administrative staff work tirelessly to cut financial corners without cutting the caliber of education they deliver, creative solutions are in increasingly high demand. A sublimely important starting point for this task is to, at the very least, ensure that your school is getting every penny of the funding that it should be getting. This means that it is crucial to have an accurate and maximized headcount on count days.

Every state handles counts differently. For some, like Illinois, the enrollment count is done on the last school day in September. Others, like Michigan, have two count days with one occurring in early October and the other in February. No matter when the count is done, it has become ever more important to get as large a student population turnout on count days as you possibly can in order to ensure that you have the funding necessary for your kids. What's an easy way to get a great turnout for count days? Easy. School assemblies.

Wait... School Assemblies?

Yup. School assemblies.

You know... a science show, or a live animal program. A mobile planetarium or a visit from an actor portraying Martin Luther King. Yup. School assemblies.

School assemblies and school shows are exactly the blend of entertainment and education that schools need in order to make sure their student population turns out in force. Assemblies grant the rare opportunity to put the subject matter your kids are already learning in an exciting package that no kid wants to miss. School assemblies are fun. School assembly day is the very last day that a child wants to stay home.

School shows generate a buzz amongst the kids and that buzz will make sure that your school gets as much of the funding it is entitled to as possible. With the hard work you're already putting into the education of your kids, doesn't it make sense to bring all of them out so that you can receive all the funding that you're earning every day with your efforts?

Something like the Earth Dome may be exactly the cherry on top that encourages your kids who might not otherwise make it to show up on that particular day. A science assembly with cool chemicals and dazzling explosions or a visit from an ex president might be just the very thing necessary to make sure your kids are in school, in their seats and ready to be counted. A school assembly may, indeed, be the perfect way to keep your school's budget on track!

Yup!