attendance matters: how we can help improve student …...why attendance matters: a national problem...

Attendance Matters: How WE Can Help

Improve Student Attendance

Positive Youth Development InstituteJuly 21, 2015

Mary Booth, MSAD 75Susan L ieberman, Count ME In

• “In elementary school you walk through the door, every teacher is busy so they just walk by you saying nothing and then someone says you have to go to class. It makes it hard to want to come to school.”

What students are saying…

Today’s Agenda• Student Attendance, Engagement, and Achievement

• National and State Research

• Resources and Strategies: What You Can Do!

Average Daily

Attendance

• The % of enrolled students who attend school each day.It is used in some states for allocating funding.

Truancy

• Typically refers only to unexcused absences and is defined by each state under No Child Left Behind. It signals the potential need for legal intervention under state compulsory education laws.

Chronic Absence

• Missing 10% or more of school for any reason -- excused, unexcused, etc. It is an indication that a student is academically at risk due to missing too much school starting in Kindergarten.

Unpacking Attendance Terms

4

Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Can Mask Chronic Absence

9.10%8.10%

12.70%

8.70%

11.60%

7.50%

1 2 3 4 5 6

District with 95% ADA: Rate of Chronic Absenteeism

• “I missed over 70 days. Teachers just explain it to me the same way over and over. If I still don’t get it, they tell me to figure it out for myself, so I stopped going. Should I just fail or sit home and sleep.”

What students are saying…

Why Attendance Matters:A National Problem

Children from low-income families who were chronically absent in kindergarten had the lowest levels of achievement in fifth grade among their peers. (Balfanz & Byrnes, 2012)

Of chronically absent high school students who enrolled in college, 40% persisted, full time into a second year versus 72% of the students with low absenteeism. (Rhode Island HUB, 2014)

Students who missed 2 to 4 days in September were 5 times more likely to be chronically absent during the school year than students who missed fewer than 2 days. Students who missed 4 days in September were over 16 times more likely to be chronically absent. (Olson, 2014)

•“If you miss school, you fall behind and it feels impossible to come back.”

What students are saying…

Community Partners Can Make A Difference

Middle school students in an afterschool program in Providence Rhode Island had a 25% lower absence rate than their peers. The improvement in school attendance increased with the amount of time in the program. ( 2011)

Students who attended the afterschool Boys and Girls Club skipped school fewer times, increased school effort and gained academic confidence. The study was based on 10 clubs throughout the country. (2009)

Mentoring, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, demonstrated that mentoring has a positive influence on student attendance. (2007)

• “My teacher personally texted (contacted)me to let me know she missed me. It worked and I returned to school because I knew she cared.”

What students are saying…

What We Can DoThe Power of Positive Relationships

Chronic absence can be reduced when schools and communities partner to:

Build a strong culture of attendance

Monitor attendance and interventions to better understand nature and extent of absenteeism

Work with students, families, school staff, and the community to identify barriers and solutions to getting to school

12

Universal Strategies for Building a Culture of Attendance & Identifying Barriers

Count ME In ModelComprehensive Data-Driven Approach

UniversalMessaging

Early Warning & Response

System

Data and Evaluation

Consortium of District and Community

Partners

Toolkit of Strategies Student

& Family

What Works?!How do you access information on student attendance, engagement and achievement?

What quest ions do you have?

What You Can Do!

Strategies and Interventions

BY WORKING TOGETHER

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

•“If a student misses a few days of school, the school should ask questions, wait for an answer, listen, and then ask what they may need.”

What students are saying…

Talk about School Attendance!

• Ask students about their school day and what they are learning

• Discuss whether students attend every day

• Learn what the chronic absentee rate is in your community

• Celebrate student attendance and learning

•“I like it when I walk into school and they say hello to me and know my name because they’re glad to see me. I can tell when someone doesn’t really mean it.”

What students are saying…

Absences Add Up:Excused and Unexcused=Missed Days

Do you know the attendance rate for the youth/students

in your program?

Afterschool Providers• Provide the extra support and guidance that a student may need to develop good attendance habits

• Stress the importance of good attendance to parents and students

• Track attendance in the program and at school

• Check-in with students who are absent

• Connect with the student’s school

Businesses• Recognize students with good attendance

• Incentive programs or discounts

• Host a community forum to discuss need for good attendance

• Talk about development of “soft” and “hard” skills

Relationship Building• Walking School Bus

• Mentor or Attendance Buddies

• Breakfast or Dinner Clubs

• Rise n’ Shine Activity Clubs

• Parent Coffees

• Restorative Practices

School and Community Climate

• Greetings to start the day, class or program

• Check and Connect

• Checklist for students new to the school

• Student Voice: Include ALL Students

• Restorative Practices

Solution: Community EffortChronic absence is a problem we can solve when the whole community gets involved.

September is Attendance Awareness Month

Nationwide event recognizing the connection between school attendance and academic achievement.

THANK YOU!Mary Booth: boothm@link75.org

207-729-0061 x 254

Susan Lieberman: slieberman@countmeinmaine.org207-747-9059

Additional Resources

Count ME In: www.countmeinmaine.org

Attendance Works: www.attendanceworks.org

Count ME In is funded through grants from JT Gorman Foundation, Sam L Cohen Foundation, Betterment Fund, United Way of Greater Portland, and FH Brain Foundation