ATTENDANCE APPRECIATION &
RECOGNITION SYSTEMS
EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY.
MAYOR’S
MAYOR S INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE
ON TRUANCY, CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM
AND SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT
Fall 2012
WHO WAS THERE FOR YOU?
Take a moment to think back over your school career.
Now think of a person who was instrumental in brightening your life
during that time.
Write that person’s name on a post-it note and put it up on the wall of
fame.
OBJECTIVES
• Participants will review and discuss strategies important to
supporting positive student attendance and addressing absence
• Participants will understand how school connectedness is
correlated to a positive school experience
• Participants will review and share known and best practices
How Do We Know If A Youth
Is On Or Off the Path?
Research tells us it’s
it s the ABCs….
ABCs
Attendance:
If yyouth are to learn in school, theyy must first show up.
p Successful
students consistently attend school.
Behavior:
Successful youth generally behave well, which allows them to remain
engaged in their learning activities. Misbehavior, on the other hand,
disrupts learning
learning.
Coursework:
It’ss particularly important that youth earn in Math and English:
It
good grades in these primary subjects, which form the academic basis for
most other subjects.
Attendance is Learned
• Attendance is a behavior
• We can teach good attendance habits
• We intervene with students having attendance
problems
• We monitor attendance and need to assess the
effectiveness
ff ti off our interventions
i t ti
Why is attendance important?
• Poor attendance impedes academic success
• Ab
Absence ffrom school
h l ffor any reason h
has negative
ti consequences
• Loss of instructional time
• Absenteeism at every
yggrade level hinders academic advancement
We Believe in a Spectrum of Intervention
(Attitude)
Attendance Behavior
Supports
pp Supports
pp
STUDENT
Academic
A d i
Supports
From: LAUSD Multidisciplinary Team Support
Adapted from Sprague & Walker, 2004
Targeted/
g
Intensive *Intensive Interventions
3 Tiered TIER 3 *SART & SARB Meetings
LEVEL
Approach to Severely Chronically *Specific and individualized plans
Att d
Attendance Absent or 38+ days
Far Below Basic
*Ed
*Educational
ti l alternatives/options
lt ti / ti
<88% in-seat attendance *Case Managed support
23+ days absent
Selected
(At-risk Students) *Re-teach Attendance
LEVELS – TIER 2 * Systems of Identification
B l Basic:
Below B i 89-88
89 88 % in-seat
i t attendance
tt d
20 - 22 days absent Chronically Absent
*Student/family supports
Basic: 95-90 % in-seat attendance *Documentation & Monitoring
9 – 19 days absent * Team Meetings (COST/SST)
Universal Level
80% of all students *Teach Attendance
should be attending 96% of the time *Reinforce good habits
LEVELS – TIER 1 *Positive School Climate
Proficient: 96+ % in-seat attendance * Communicate goals
Perfect Attendance: 100% with less than 3 tardies * Attendance plans
LAUSD – Pupil Services & Attendance - 2009
Academic Achievement and Assets
Studies have associated Commitment-to-Learning assets directly or
indirectly with:
` Increased high school completion
` Increased enrollment in college
` Higher grades
` Higher achievement test scores
` Better attendance
` Less sexual intercourse and childbearing
` Less drug use
` Fewer conduct problems
Kindergarten attendance matters!
Chronic absence in Kindergarten
g is associated with lower
academic performance in 1st grade among all children,
and most significantly for Latino youth.
((Hedy
y Chang,
g 2009))
Predictors of Dropout
p Middle
School
(Balfanz, Neild, and Herzog, 2007)
6th graders with even one of the following four signals had at least a three in
four chance of dropping out of high school:
• A final grade of F in mathematics
• A final grade of F in English
• Attendance below 80 percent for the year
• A final “unsatisfactory” behavior mark in at least one class
Students with more than one signal had an even higher probability of
dropping out within six years
“What Matters for Staying On Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools” (July 2007)
Attendance is everybody’s business!
ATTENDANCE
IS THE FIRST STEP IN
DROPOUT PREVENTION
We must all consider attendance
41
4:1
1
4 • 4 POSITIVE interactions to every
negative
RECOGNITION SYSTEMS
• Individual
• Small Groups
• Classrooms
• Grade Levels
• School wide
• Parents
• Community
INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION
• Praise (Intrinsic rewards)
• Thanks for coming to school
• Thanks for making it on time
• I appreciate you coming in the rain
• Coupons/Tickets (Extrinsic rewards)
• Token systems
• Points
COUPONS/RAFFLES
ATTENDANCE TICKET
SAMPLE SCHOOL NAME
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO SCHOOL TODAY!
YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT MEMBER OF OUR EDUCATION COMMUNITY!
NAME: ___________________________________
DATE: ___________________________________
GIVEN BY: ________________________________
POSTCARD
Dear Student,
THANKS for coming everyday this week! I know that working
together we are going to improve your ____________ skills!
I really look forward to seeing you at school!
Sincerely,
Your Success Mentor Buddy
CLASSROOMS/GRADE
LEVELS/SCHOOLWIDE
• “Fi to L
“First Lunch
hBBunch”
h”
• Spelling out “Perfect
Perfect Attendance”
Attendance
• Popcorn
p parties
p
• Attendance race
• Perfect Attendance Week
• Double points day
• Principal challenge
PARENTS & COMMUNITY
• Award parents during assemblies
• Recognize parents in newsletters
• Letters/Phone calls home
• R
Recognize
i community
it supporters
t
• Invite community members to present awards
COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT
• Positive communities promote positive families
• Include community members (businesses, elected officials, clubs,
f ith organizations)
faith i ti )
• IInvite
i community
i to b
be iinvolved
l d
• Donations
• Recognitions
• Media & p
public relations
• Newsletters
• School paper
Don’t forget
g the p
parents!
Dear Mom & Dad,
Dad
ACKNOWLEDGE PARENTS! Thank you for sending me
to school everyday this
week.
• Parents want to be acknowledged too!
- from student Did you know
k that
th t I
improved in spelling?
- from teacher
- from p principal
p
L
Love,
- from YOU!
Your son/daughter
• Everyone loves personal mail
• Remember the 4:1 ratio
BEING POSITIVE WORKS!
WALL OF FAME
YOUR NAME HERE
THANK YOU!
“Thank
Thank you for the difference that you are going to
make in the lives of our students and families.
You are changing the future of our families, our
schools, and our community.”
YOU are changing the world!
