Improving School Attendance

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Improving School Attendance

• Instructional Leadership
• EDL 7710

Tom Alverson Pam Davis Ken Fagin
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OBJECTIVE How to improve student attendance at
a local school

• PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
• Why are students absent?
• Why do students leave early?
• Why are students tardy?
• What can be done?
• Who is accountable?

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Research
Problem

• Students at Sample School A are having major
  difficulties attending school. In a single
  school year, approximately 32 of Sample Schools
  2,016 students missed at least fifteen days of
  school.

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Sample School Absence Percentages for 2005-2006
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Three Major Problems
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Sample School Attendance Goal for 2006 - 2007

• Students should not miss more than ten (10) days
  of school this school year five per semester for
  grades 9 through 12.

How
The more people know about the efforts to
increase student attendance the more successful
the efforts will be.
School system will develop a plan of action that
will include Administrators, Teachers,
Counselors, parents and Social Worker .
Who
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Student Advisement Teachers Duties

• Step One
• Student advisement teachers will develop and
  implement student attendance incentive programs
  to support and encourage good daily school
  attendance.
• Step Two
• Students who had 15 or absences during the
  previous school year will receive additional
  notation on their letters that will include the
  number of absences the student had during the
  previous year and encouraging better attendance
  during the current year.

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Student Advisement Teachers Duties

• Step Three
• The student advisement teacher will use the
  Home Room Attendance Grid Report (example1) daily
  to monitor classroom attendance.
• Step Four
• The student advisement teacher use the Three
  or More Unexcused Absence report (example2) to
  check class room attendance and will contact the
  parent/guardian, for the students on this list.

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Student Advisement Teachers Duties

• Step Five
• The student advisement teacher will check the
  Five or More Unexcused Absences repot (example3)
  for any student that has more than four unexcused
  absences. For any student on this list the
  teacher will send home a formal notification
  letter that will inform the parent/guardian of
  the need for improving attendance.

The case will then be referred to the Attendance
Support Team for review.
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The Attendance Support Teams Duties

• The Attendance Support Team will send a formal
  letter of notification informing the
  parent/guardian about the need for improved
  attendance and the potential consequences that
  may follow if improvement is not shown. This
  team will also setup a meeting with the
  parent/guardian to put in place a written plan to
  improve attendance.

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The Attendance Support Teams Duties

• The Attendance Support Team will notify the
  school Social Worker (SSW) when a student has
  missed ten unexcused days.
• The SSW will send a formal letter of notification
  to the parents/guardian and may make a personal
  contact or visit to inquire about the reason for
  the absences and offer support and encouragement,
  as well as remind student and parent of possible
  consequences.

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School Social Workers Approaches

• Positive Appropriate Monitoring Attendance
• Parents will have up to the minute updates of
  whether their child is in school or not through
  the use of a parent service called Attendance
  Viewer. Parents can view this on the local board
  of education website.

Negative Appropriate Monitoring Attendance If
these efforts do not result in improved
attendance the school Social Worker may file a
truancy petition with the Juvenile Court or may
request that the students case be diverted from
a formal hearing into the Truancy Intervention
Program or a similar diversion program.
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