Addressing AbsenteeismAfterschool Boosts Attendance

October 19, 2017

2812_10/17

Presenters

• Lacy Wood, Program Manager Illinois Quality Afterschool at American Institutes for Research (AIR)

• Sarah Ogeto, Principal Consultant Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)

• Antoinette Taylor, ChairIllinois Attendance Commission

2

Required: ISBE 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) State Goal

Performance Indicator: Student participants will have higher attendance rates and changes in their attitudes toward school.

Sources for Measurement: Attendance rates, increased academic activities, parent survey, student survey

Goal 2: Schools will show an increase in student attendance and graduation from high school.

Objective 2: Participants in the programs will demonstrate increased involvement in school activities and will have opportunities in other subject areas, such as

technology, arts, music, theater, sports, and other recreation activities.

3

Impact of Attendance in Illinois 21st CCLC Programs

4

Among elementary students who were in need of improvement in school attendance, 57% of these students who regularly participated in Illinois 21st CCLC programs showed improved attendance.

50% of middle and high school students

showed improved attendance.

Teachers of all grade levels reported that at least 50% of their students who attended a 21st CCLC

program regularly during the year showed increased engagement and improved behavior.

Source: Goodyear, Mansori, Cox, & Rodriguez, 2017.

Antoinette P. TaylorExceptional Needs Consultant

www.atexceptional.com

PhD Candidate: PreK–Grade 12 Curriculum and Instruction

Committee Involvement

ØState of Illinois Attendance Commission, Chairperson

ØU.S. Department of Education (Office of Special Education Programs): Results-Driven Accountability Initiative

Guest Lecturer• Argosy University (Chicago Campus) • Roosevelt University • University of Illinois–Chicago • Chicago State University

5

Illinois Attendance Commission

6

As a result of a recommendation from the Illinois Task Force on Truancy in Chicago Public Schools (December 2013–July 2014), the Illinois Attendance Commission was created by Public Act 099-0532.

• Chief sponsor: Representative Linda Chapa La Via (Illinois 83rd District)

• Senate sponsor: Senator Jacqueline Collins (Illinois 16th District)

Illinois Attendance Commission

Charged with studding the issue of chronic absenteeism in Illinois and making recommendations for strategies to prevent chronic absenteeism.

The Commission is charged with:

7

Setting a standardImproving data systems

Developing reportsIdentifying best practices

Being responsive

Research on Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism

How Afterschool Programs Can Help

8

Chronic Absenteeism

• When students are chronically absent, or miss 10% or more of school days, they are at serious risk of falling behind in school(Attendance Works, 2017).

• Some studies have found that by sixth grade, chronic absenteeism is a leading indicator of whether a student will drop out of high school (Baltimore Education Research Consortium, 2011).

• The correlation between attendance and academic achievement continues through secondary school, where chronic absenteeism also becomes an indicator of a student being off track for college and career readiness (Allensworth, Gwynne, Moore, & de la Torre, 2014).

9

The Role of Attendance in Afterschool• Several studies have found that

students who participate in high-quality afterschool programs have improved school engagement and attendance (Chang & Jordan, 2013).

• There is a a positive relationship between program participation and school-day attendance and/or discipline (Government Accountability Office, 2017, p. 15).

10

The Role of Attendance in Afterschool• Students who attended afterschool programs for two consecutive

years showed improvements in attendance and academic achievement (TASC, 2002).

• 7th and 8th grade students that attended afterschool programs were less likely to skip school and had increased academic confidence (Arbreton, 2009).

• Middle school students attending afterschool programs in Boston attended school 11 more days than their peers and were more likely to have good attendance in high school (Vile, Arcaira, & Reisner, 2009).

11

For more information: Attendance Works. (n. d.) Making the case: How good afterschool programs improve school-day attendance. Retrieved from http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Afterschool9.20.pdf

The Role of Attendance in AfterschoolAfterschool programs help increase attendance by providing students:• a sense of belonging, • connection to caring adults, and • academic support

Often improved attendance is a by-product of afterschool programs.

Programs can make a stronger impact if increasing attendance is an intentionalfocus of the work.Source: Attendance Works, (2011).

12

Attendance and Illinois 21st CCLCs

• Fifty-seven percent of elementary students who regularly participated in Illinois 21st CCLC programs showed improved attendance.

• Fifty percent of middle and high school students showed improved attendance.

• Teachers of all grade levels reported that at least 50% of their students who attended a 21st CCLC program regularly during the year showed increased engagement and improved behavior.

13

Source: Goodyear, Mansori, Cox, & Rodriguez, 2017.

Illinois Attendance Commission

Attendance Awareness Campaign

14

Contextual Background of the Attendance Commission

15

Chicago Tribune Series “Empty Desk Epidemic” (November 2012)

Using data from 2010–11, the Chicago Tribune reported findings based on the percentage of K–8 students who missed at least 4 weeks of school*:• African American: 20.4%• Hispanic: 8.3%• Caucasian: 6.7%• Asian, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 4.2%• Other: 9.1%

Source: Chicago Tribune, 2012. Retrieved from: http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/truancy/graphic.html

*Chicago Public Schools officials did not challenge findings reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Contextual Background of the Attendance Commission

16

Chicago Tribune Series “Empty Desk Epidemic” (November 2012)

Students who missed four or more weeks by disability:• Social-emotional disorder: 42.2%• Specific learning disability: 15.4%• All other disability categories: 21.7%• Compared with students without a documented disability as

identified by an individualized education program (IEP): 11.9%

Note: The Chicago Tribune data exclude students with a disability as identified by a 504 Plan.

*Chicago Public Schools officials did not challenge findings reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Source: Chicago Tribune, 2012. Retrieved from: http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/truancy/disability_graphic.html

Contextual Background of the Attendance Commission

17

Response to Chicago Tribune’s (2012) findings by the Illinois General Assembly:

• Representative Linda Chapa La Via introduced a resolution to form a Task Force on Truancy in Chicago Public Schools. The resolution was carried in the Senate by Senator Jacqueline Collins.

• Representative Bob Pritchard committed to bipartisan collaboration to address the matter.

• Senator Kimberly Lightford introduced legislation to change the compulsory age of attendance in Illinois from 7 to 6 years old. This legislation became effective 2013.

Illinois Task Force on Truancy in Chicago Public Schools

18

Task Force statutory requirements include issuing a report with:

• Recommendations for Chicago Public Schools (District 299)

• Recommendations for Illinois districts overall

• Recommendations to the General Assembly regarding Illinois policy (initiate or review)

What are the requirements for school attendance in Illinois?

19

A calculation of standard clock hours in a day that equal a full day based on instructional minutes for both a half day and a full

day per learning environment

How does Illinois define chronic truancy?

20

A chronic or habitual truant shall be defined as a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause from such

attendance for 5% or more of the previous 180 regular attendance

days.

Gaps in the Policy: Defining Chronic Absenteeism

21

There was no definition for chronic absenteeism in the statute.HB3139: Chronic Absenteeism Bill*• Rep. Chapa La Via (Chief Sponsor)• Sen. Collins (Chief Sponsor)• Effective: July 1, 2018

“Chronic absence” means absences that total 10% or more of school days of the most recent academic school year, including absences with and without valid cause, as defined in Section 26-2a of this Code, and out-of-school suspensions for an enrolled student. “Student” means any enrolled student that is subject to compulsory attendance under Section 26-1 of this Code but does not mean a student for whom a documented homebound or hospital record is on file during the student's absence from school.*The definition is included in the state's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.

Gaps in the Policy: Average Daily AttendanceThere was no definition on average daily attendance for the state report card (data collection) or requirement to collect and report data for all students with a documented disability (students with an IEP and students with a 504 Plan).

SB1532: School Report Card—Attendance• Senator Collins (Chief Sponsor)• Representatives Linda Chapa La Via and Bob Pritchard (Co-

Sponsors)• Effective July 1, 2019

22

Gaps in the Policy: Average Daily Attendance

23

There was no provision in statute for reporting average daily attendance by grade level.

HB3059: SCH CD—Average Daily Attendance• Representative Bob Pritchard (Chief Sponsor)• Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant• Effective immediately

Amends the school code by requiring a school district's school report card to include average daily attendance by grade level.

Illinois House Joint ResolutionHJR11: Adopted by both houses May 31, 2017

Encourages the ISBE and each school district in Illinois to consider the benefits of the attendance awareness campaign “Every Student Counts, Every Day Matters” promoted by the Illinois Attendance Commission.

24

National Policy• The No Child Left Behind Act did not specifically address school

attendance in a way that required state education agencies to intentionally and purposefully embed student attendance into their practices.

• Congress responded by including specific state requirements regarding attendance in ESSA.

25

Chronic Absenteeism Accountability Indicator in ESSA

26

Core academic indicator

75%

Student Success/ School Quality (SSSQ) indicator

25%

Chronic absenteeism 7.5%–20%

SSSQ indicator

Illinois Attendance Commission Charge to Action

Create and increase awareness about school attendance

“The work of the Attendance Commission can be successful only through significant and intentional engagement with parents, educators, students and community members including but not limited to the faith based community and the business community.”

Antoinette Taylor – Chairperson Illinois Attendance Commission: College Changes Everything Conference 2017

27

Attendance Awareness Campaign

28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iSjNSJvaAA

We Need You!

Let us hear from you!We know there are great things happening throughout Illinois.

• This is everyone’s campaign. It will be grow and be shaped over the next three years by all of us.

• We can all seek and share wisdom from each other to collectively lift our state.

• Every step (big or small) toward attendance awareness is important.

30

Let us hear from you!E-mail the Attendance Commission with your updates to these prompts:

• We highlighted attendance awareness by:

• We will continue to highlight attendance awareness by:

• Highlighting attendance awareness resulted in:

Illinois Attendance Commission e-mail address: attendancecommission@isbe.net

31

Resources and Tools

32

Illinois Quality Afterschool Quarterly: Fall 2017

33

Attendance Works: Worksheet for Expanded Learning Providers

34http://www.attendanceworks.org/tools/tools-for-afterschool-providers/

ToolsBringing Attendance Home: Engaging Parents in Preventing Chronic Absence Toolkit (Attendance Works)• http://www.attendanceworks.org/tools/for-parents/bringing-

attendance-home-toolkit/The Student Attendance Success Plan (Attendance Works) • http://www.attendanceworks.org/tools/for-parents/student-success-

plan-facilitator-handout/Absences Add Up: Additional Resources for Afterschool Providers• http://absencesaddup.org/additional-resources/for-afterschool-

stakeholders/Attendance Matters Training Starter Template (You for Youth)• https://y4y.ed.gov/tools/attendance-matters-training-starter-template

35

Resources

Task Force on Truancy in Chicago Public Schools Final Report

• https://www.illinois.gov/gov/P20/Documents/What's%20New/Truancy%20in%20CPS%20Task%20Force%20-%20Final%20Report%20-%2007.31.14.pdf

Illinois Attendance Commission• https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Illinois-Attendance-

Commission.aspx

State of Illinois ESSA plan• https://www.isbe.net/Pages/ESSA.aspx

Illinois Family Engagement• https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Family-Engagement.aspx

36

ResourcesHJR11

Illinois General Assembly. HJR0011. 100th Gen. Assembly. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=HJR&DocNum=11&GAID=14&LegID=100136&SpecSess=&Session

HB3139 (PA 100-0156)

Illinois General Assembly. HB3139. 100th Gen. Assembly. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=3139&GAID=14&LegID=104759&SpecSess=&Session

SB1532 (100-0448)

Illinois General Assembly. SB1532. 100th Gen. Assembly. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=1532&GAID=14&LegID=104160&SpecSess=&Session

HB3059 (100-0147)

Illinois General Assembly. HB3139. 100th Gen. Assembly. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=91&GA=100&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=3139&GAID=14&LegID=104759&SpecSess=&Session

37

ReferencesArbreton, Amy. (2009). Making Every Day Count: Boys & Girls Clubs’ Role in Promoting Positive Outcomes for Teens.

Philadelphia, PA: Public/Private VenturesAllensworth, E. M., Gwynne, J. A., Moore, P., & de la Torre, M. (2014). Looking forward to high school and college: Middle

grade indicators of readiness in Chicago Public Schools. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. Retrieved from https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Middle%20Grades%20Report.pdf

Attendance Works. (n. d.) Making the case: How good afterschool programs improve school-day attendance. Retrieved from http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Afterschool9.20.pdf

Attendance Works. (2011). Leveraging Afterschool to Improve School Attendance Peer Learning Webinar. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Leveraging-Afterschool-Peer-Learning-Complete.pdf

Attendance Works. (2017). The secret formula 1+2+3: Improving attendance for our most vulnerable students [slide presentation]. Retrieved from http://awareness.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/Secret-Formula-8-8-17-ver-9.pdf

Baltimore Education Research Consortium. (2011). Destination graduation: Sixth grade early warning indicators for Baltimore City Schools. Their prevalence and impact. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from http://www.baltimore-berc.org/pdfs/SixthGradeEWIFullReport.pdf

Chang, H. N., & Jordan, P. W. (2013). Building a culture of attendance: Schools and afterschool programs together can and should make a difference! In T. K. Peterson (Ed.), Expanding minds and opportunities: Leveraging the power of afterschool and summer learning for student success. Washington, DC: Collaborative Communications Group. Retrieved from http://www.expandinglearning.org/expandingminds/article/building-culture-attendance-schools-and-afterschool-programs-together-can-and

38

References, ContinuedChicago Tribune. (2012). An empty desk epidemic. Retrieved from

http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/truancy/index.htmlEvery Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), Pub. L. No. 114–95 (2015).

Goodyear, L., Mansori, S., Cox, J., & Rodriguez, S. (2017). Illinois State Board of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program: State-level program evaluation 2015–16. Waltham, MA: EDC. Retrieved from https://www.isbe.net/Documents/statewide_report_1516.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2017). K-12 Education: Education needs to improve oversight of its 21st Century program (GAO-17-400). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684314.pdf

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), Pub. L. No. 107–110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2002).Welsh M.E., Russell C. A., Williams I., Reisner E.R., White R. N., Winter N, & Pearson L. (2002). Promoting Learning and

School Attendance Through After-School Programs: Student-Level Changes in Educational Performance Across TASC's First Three Years. New York: The After-School Corporation.

Vile, J.D., Arcaira, E. & Reisner, E.R. (2009). Progress toward high school graduation: Citizen Schools’ youth outcomes in Boston. Washington, D.C.: Policy Studies Associates, Inc.

39

Questions?

40

Contacts• Lacy Wood

lwood@air.org

• Sarah Ogetosogeto@isbe.net

• Antoinette P. Taylor attendancecommission@isbe.net

41

http://iqa.airprojects.org/42

Resource Database

43

http://iqa.airprojects.org/resource-database/

44

https://www.facebook.com/groups/IQA.SEDL/

Connect with us on Facebook!