Attendance Matters

•NBTA Forum with partners held April 2013

•A common theme in the discussions -

attendance and tardiness are issues in K-12 in

NB

•Data shared with DEC and the need for a

focus on attendance added to the District

Improvement Plan (2014-15)

ASD-S High School Attendance Historical Overview

20.0%

17.0%

18.3% 17.8% 18.1%

16.5%

15.9%

15.0%

10.0%

10.3% 10.1% 10.2%

9.0% 8.5% 8.8%

5.0%

0.0%

% of Absenteeism Male % of Absenteeism Female % of Absenteeism Total % of Male Student

Involved

% of Female Student

Involved

% of Total Student

Involved

High Schools 2013-14 High Schools 2014-15

Grade K-8 Report

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

6.4% 5.8%

6.0% 6.2% 6.4% 5.9% 6.0% 6.2%

5.2% 4.7% 5.4% 5.0%

5.6% 5.5% 5.0%

5.5% 5.2% 5.7%

5.0%

0.0%

% of Absenteeism Male % of Absenteeism Female % of Absenteeism Total % of Male Student % of Female Student % of Total Student

Involved Involved Involved

Semester 1 Semester 2 Total (Year)

ASD-S K-8 Attendance Historical Overview

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.7%

5.8%

5.4%

5.4%

5.6%

5.6% 6.2%

5.9%

5.9%

5.5% 6.1%

5.7%

5.0%

0.0%

% of Absenteeism Male % of Absenteeism Female % of Absenteeism Total % of Male Student

Involved

% of Female Student

Involved

% of Total Student

Involved

K-8 2013-14 K-8 2014-15

Working Group formed to chart the journey:

• Debbie Thomas, Dir of Schools, Saint John

• Paul Smith, Dir of Schools, Hampton

• Jenny MacDougall, Dir of Schools, St.

Stephen

• Elizabeth Horgan, Inclusion Facilitator

• Helen Johnston, Inclusion Facilitator

• Lori Wall, Inclusion Facilitator

• Erica Lane, Community Engagement

Coordinator

• Suzanne LeBlanc Healey, Dir of Curriculum & Instruction

• Kate McLellan, Dir of Educational Support Services

• Marc Godin, Data and Accountability

• Zoë Watson, Superintendent

February 2015

•All ASD-S High School Principals met to discuss beliefs and values about attendance; to share initiatives that have worked to improve attendance and to identify challenges

April 2015

•Two similar focus groups of Principals and

Vice Principals (elementary and middle school) met

May/June 2015

•Focus groups of students from 7 high schools

and 2 middle schools across ASD-S were facilitated by committee members. Schools were asked to form a ‘mixed group’ of students for the discussion

Why do students come to school?

• School is welcoming

• Feel safe at school

• Feel pride in the school

• To get a job or post secondary

• Parent expectations

• Social and friends

• Extracurricular activities

• Teachers

• Pressure of society to do well

Why do students not come to school?

• Lack of family support

• Abuse at home

• Need to work to support the family

• Substance abuse

• Not motivated

• Not feeling like they are part of school

• Anxiety and depression

• Anger issues

• Pressure to do well

• Relationship issues

• Struggling academically

• Schedule is not suitable

• Can’t get the courses they want

We learned ….

• Students need to feel they belong and are part of the school community

• Teachers can make a huge difference

• Teachers can help you if you get behind

• When teachers care, students do not want to disappoint them by not coming to school

•Vice Principals – initiative was shared at the

May meeting

•Principals – Summary of student feedback

shared at the June meeting and 9 schools received all comments from their school

September 2015

•Launch of Attendance Matters and

awareness campaign for students, staff, families and communities on the importance of school attendance and being on time

•Video

•Posters

•Brochure

Tools Developed:

•Family letter of introduction

•Message for ASD-S and school websites

•On-going use of Twitter & Synervoice

Opportunities for Sharing Attendance Matters

• Grade 6 and 9 transition days

• Open House events

• ASD-S PSSC Orientation

• Media

• Parent Focus Groups

• Staff Meetings

• Sharing our brochures, video and posters with community partners

• Encourage more focus groups of students

Data

•High schools will receive attendance data

every two weeks

•Elementary and middle schools each term

•All schools have ESS teams and in 2015-16 a

Core Leadership Team, and attendance will be part of their discussions

•All schools will have an attendance strategy as

part of their School Improvement Plan (SIP)

•Schools and PSSCs will be engaged in the

discussion about the initiative and attendance guidelines.

•Continued focus on Positive Behaviour Intervention Supports (PBIS) and Mental Health & Fitness from the District Improvement Plan

•Students need to feel ‘connected’ and welcome.

•Can we do more?

•ASD-S will provide opportunities for school

leaders to share best practices and what is

making a difference

In conclusion, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to present this evening. The students of ASD-S are our future and your future employees. Working together we can make a difference in drawing attention to the importance of being on time and attending school on a regular basis.