www.attendanceworks.org
Leveraging PBIS to Reduce Chronic Absence
Available Resources from Attendance Works
Feb 9, 2014
• Introductions• Define chronic absence and other attendance
terms• Demonstrate how chronic absence can be
masked by other types of attendance data• Learn how chronic absence affects student
outcomes• Learn about the prevalence of chronic absence
in MD• Learn about the causes of chronic absence• Learn about Attendance Works’ frameworks,
strategies, and resources for reducing chronic absence
• Begin to develop ideas for how you can integrate utilizing chronic absence data into your PBIS process
Agenda
2
• Teacher, • SST Chair, • PBIS Coach, • Guidance Counselor, • Social Worker, • Psychologist,• Other?
Introductions, who is in the room?
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High Attendance: Missing 5 or fewer days of school in an academic year.
Satisfactory Attendance: Missing 5% or less in an academic year. No more than 2 days missed per quarter on average.
Unsatisfactory Attendance: Missing 6%-9% of school in an academic year. 3-4 days missed per quarter on average.
Chronic Absence: Missing 10% or more of school in an academic year. 5-9 days missed per quarter on average.
Severely Chronically Absent - Missing 20% or more days of school per year. 10+ days missed per quarter on average.
Truancy: Missing 20 days of school unexcused and on roll for at least 90 days.
Average Daily Attendance: the percentage of enrolled students who attend school each day. 4
Defining the Terms: Maryland is Data Rich
• Turn to your neighbor and share how you currently work with attendance in your PBIS team and what attendance data you use.
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Icebreaker
What is Chronic Absence?
Excused Absences
Unexcused absences
Suspensions
Chronic Absence
Attendance Works recommends defining chronic absence as missing 10% or more of school for any reason.
Chronic absence is different from truancy (unexcused absences only) or average daily attendance (how many students show up to school each day).
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Chronic absence as a leading indicator:
• Chronic absence in the elementary grades correlates with low academic achievement, grade retention, and special education referrals.
• Chronic absence in secondary grades correlates with course failure and high school drop out.
• The educational experience of regularly attending children can be adversely affected when teachers must divert their attention to meet the learning and social needs of chronically absent children when they return to school.
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Why We May Not Notice Chronic
Absence
Absences Add UpChronic Absence = 18 days of absence = 2
days a month
90% and even 95% ≠ A
High Levels of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Can Mask
Chronic Absence
A B C D E F
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
7%
12% 13% 13%15% 16%
Chronic Absence For 6 Elementary Schools in Oakland, CA with 95% ADA
in 2012
% Chronic Absence
98% ADA = little chronic absence 95% ADA = don’t know
93% ADA = significant chronic absence
A B C D E F0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
20% 20% 20% 21%23%
26%
Chronic Absence for 6 Schools in New York City with 90% ADA in
2011-12
% Chronic Absence
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Starting in PreK, More Years of Chronic Absence = Need for Intensive
Reading Support By 2nd Grade
* Indicates that scores are significantly different from scores of students who are never chronically absent, at p<.05 level; **p<.01; ***p<.001
Some risk
At risk
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Multiple Years of Elementary Chronic Absence
= Worse Middle School Outcomes
Oakland Unified School District SY 2006-2012, Analysis By Attendance Works
Chronic absence in 1st grade is also associated with:
• Lower 6th grade test scores
• Higher levels of suspension
Years of Chronic Absence in Grades 1-5
Increase in probability of 6th grade
chronic absence
Each year of chronic absence in elementary school is associated with a substantially higher probability of chronic
absence in 6th grade
5.9x
7.8x
18.0x
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The Effects of Chronic Absence on Dropout Rates
Are Cumulative
With every year of chronic
absenteeism, a higher
percentage of students
dropped out of school.
http://www.utahdataalliance.org/downloads/ChronicAbsenteeismResearchBrief.pdf 13
Chronic Absence in High School Predicts Lower College Persistence
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In Rhode Island, only 11% of chronically absent high school students persisted into a 2nd year of college vs. 51% of those with low absences.
Rhode Island Data Hub: May 2014
Turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself and share:• One thing that you learned about
chronic absence that you didn’t know before
• One thing that you were surprised about
Discussion: Pair and Share
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Chronic Absence is a Problem in Maryland and Occurs at all
Grade Levels
Elementary Middle High0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
19,083 17,837
47,653
21,12517,190
46,314
2009-10 2012-13
6.3% 6.6%
17.8%
9.3%9.5%
18.0%
Source: mdreportcard.org
Vast Majority of Chronically Absent Students Can Be Found in
a Small Number of Districts
Source: mdreportcard.org
Ann Arundel
Baltimore
Baltimore County
Montgomery
Pr. George's
Maryland0
5
10
15
20
25
8
21
11
6
1311
Maryland’s 5 largest school districts have 70% of the chronically absent students.
(2009-2010 school year)
Some Districts are Heavily Affected by Chronic Absence Even Though its a Small Number of
Students
550
2,481642 312
565
1,594351
1,314
476
Source: mdreportcard.org
Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Meals in MD are Three Times More
Likely to be Chronically Absent
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Elementary Middle High0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
35
1210.6
15
29.2
State Non-FARM State FARM
% C
hron
ic A
bsen
ce
Source: mdreportcard.org
It can serve as an:• Unifying, common goal• Effective tool for resource
allocation• Easy to understand measure of
progress and success• Early warning indicator when
students, certain classes, or grades are struggling
Chronic Absence Data is a Critical Tool for PBIS
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Who Can Help Reduce Chronic Absence?
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PEOPLE
District Leaders
• Offer district support and data
• Identify and engage priority schools
• Make attendance a priority• Ensure implementation
team and plan
School Leaders
• Link to community resources (health, afterschool, food, mentoring, family support, etc.)
Community Partners
School-wide PBIS emphasizes four integrated elements: (a) data (absences) for decision making, (b) measurable outcomes (improved attendance and
reduced suspensions) supported and evaluated by data, (c) practices (strategies to improve attendance) with
evidence that these outcomes are achievable, and (d) systems (attendance teams, data tracking, absentee
protocols) that efficiently and effectively support implementation of these practices.
What is the overlap between school-wide PBIS and attendance?
Find Out Why Students Are Chronically Absent
MythsAbsences are only a problem if they are
unexcused
Sporadic versus consecutive absences
aren’t a problem
Attendance only matters in the older
grades
Barriers
Lack of access to physical and
behavioral health or dental care
Poor transportation
Human trafficking
No safe path to school
AversionChild struggling
academically
Lack of engaging instruction
Poor school climate and ineffective school
discipline
Parents had negative school experience
Chronic disease
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High Cost
Low Cost
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• Recognize good and improved attendance• Educate & engage students and families
• Monitor attendance data • Clarify attendance expectations and goals
• Establish positive and engaging school climate
Improving attendance requires adoption of a tiered approach that
begins with prevention
TIER 1All students
• Provide personalized early outreach• Meet with student/family to develop
plan • Offer attendance Mentor/Buddy
TIER 2Students exhibiting chronic absence (missing 10%)
• Intensive case management
with coordination of public agency
and legal response as
needed
TIER 3Students who missed 20% or more of the prior school year (severe chronic absence)
Parent Video & Discussion Guide
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• SETTING THE STAGE • VIDEO (6 minutes) • FACILITATED
CONVERSATION– THE CONSEQUENCES OF CHRONIC
ABSENCE– HOW TO IMPROVE ABSENTEEISM
• FAMILY PRACTICE• INCREASE SOCIAL CAPITAL• IDENTIFY HOW SCHOOL CAN HELP• COMMUNITY SERVICES
Chronic absence (missed 10% or more of school) in the prior year, assuming data is available.
And/or starting in the beginning of the school year, student has:
Criteria for Identifying Priority Students for Tier 2
Supports
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In first 2 weeks
In first month (4
weeks)In first 2
months (8 weeks)
2 absences
2-3 absences
4 absencesMissing 10% any time after
Possible Tier 2 Interventions
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Assign Attendance
Buddies
Partner with families/students to develop
Student Attendance
Success Plan
Recruit for engaging Before- or
After-School Activities Connect to
Walk- to-School
Companion
Offer plan or contacts for
Health Support
Positive Linkages and Engagement for Students and Families
Tailoring the Conversation to Students’ Situations
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Satisfactory
Attendance
At-RiskChronic Absence
Congratulate parents on making attendance a priority and encourage them to keep it up. Ask them what they’re doing that’s enabling them to be so successful.
Let parents know that you are concerned about attendance because their child is beginning to head off track, and it is easy for absences to add up.
If student is right around 10% or a
little above
Let parents know their child may be academically at risk because they have missed so much school. Discuss underlying causes and how you can help.
If student is severely
chronically absent (e.g. >20%)
The type of challenges these families face may differ from those with more moderate absence problems. Be prepared to touch on difficult topics, be supportive, and be ready to connect to community resources.
Framing the Conversation to Build a Relationship of Trust
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Learn
Share
Inform
Discuss
Arrive at a Plan
1
2
3
5
4
Learn about the student’s family and their experience in your school or classroom. . Ask how the school year is going socially and academically. Find out about hopes and dreams.Share positive things you’ve observed about the student. Share your own vision for student learning & development, including helping put students on a pathway to success by encouraging a habit of good attendance. Review attendance report with parents. Tailor your conversation to student’s level of absenteeism and inform parents of possible impacts of missing school. Connect attendance back to parents’ hopes and dreams for their child.
Discuss the challenges parents face in getting their children to school, as well as strengths they can build upon. For chronically absent students, try to understand the barriers that are keeping their children from school.Think through strategies with parents for addressing absences and help them develop an attendance improvement plan. Offer referrals to services as needed and ask if there are other ways you can help.
Aaron has missed 12 days of school in the past semester. He missed an entire week of school in November and then came back to school several days late after winter break. So did his 3 siblings. Aaron is also frequently late to school. When his teacher asked him if he was sick, he said no. His parents decided to take longer vacations so Aaron and his siblings could time with their his grandparents.
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Role Play Activities
• Communicate understanding• Set rules, limits and consequences• Create a safe and trusting environment• Remain neutral• Use nonjudgmental language• Respond only when a response is necessary• Encourage people to “vent” while being aware of
safety• Listen and repeat what students say (reflective
listening)• Identify and label feelings, values, and topics to be
resolved (strategic listening)• Ask open-ended questions• Assist people in using a positive problem-solving
approach
Strategies for Building Positive Relationships with Parents and
Students
39Adapted from Baltimore City Public Schools
• What type of attendance data does the PBIS team need to inform strategies and practices?
• How can PBIS help in addressing issues that lead to absenteeism?
• What incentives would be most useful in helping to create a culture of attendance?
• Thinking about older youth, how can we establish school as a place where students want to be?
Creating Expectations for Attendance through PBIS
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• Who is positioned to have caring conversations?
• How would you equip them?
Identify how caring conversations about attendance happen in your school:
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Tier 1 Strategy: Communication and Establishing Relationships
• Should be action-oriented• Use data to understand which sub-
populations of students are most affected and what are trends over time
• Identify and mobilize school and community resources to address identified needs
• Ensure needs of individual students with poor attendance are being addressed
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PBIS Teams…
Attendance Teams best practices sources: Attendance Works, Children’s Aid Society, the Children’s Initiative, the Baltimore Education Research Consortium and the Baltimore Student Attendance Campaign
DATA: Use your student management systems to identify by grade the rate of attendance: <10%; =>10 but <20%, >20%
RESOURCES: Draw a pyramid. Invite team members to use:* green stickies to fill in an existing resource* yellow to fill in resources that could be leveraged to address this tier of work.
Filling in the information
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• Recognize good and improved attendance• Educate & engage students and families
• Monitor attendance data • Clarify attendance expectations and goals
• Establish positive and engaging school climate
Map the need and available resources
TIER 1 How many are missing < 10% so this might be enough?
• Provide personalized early outreach• Meet with student/family to develop
plan • Offer attendance Mentor/Buddy
TIER 2How many are missing 10-19%?
• Intensive case management
with coordination of public agency
and legal response as
needed
TIER 3 How many students are missing 20% or more of current or prior year?
Once mapping is filled in, PBIS team discusses:
a) What do we know about the groups of students who are chronically absent?
b) Where are the gaps in resources?c) What resources could we easily leverage to
address gaps, especially for tier 1 and 2?d) What are implications for who we need as
partners?e) What are our highest priority next steps?f) Consider presenting results to other
members of the school staff for feedback.
Examine the implications
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• America’s Promise: Offers a parent engagement toolkit.
• Get Schooled: Provides celebrity wake up calls for students, attendance competitions among schools, and other resources.
• Attendance Works: School strategy frameworks and fliers for parents
• Parents and Caring Adults! In focus group conversations with high school aged students when asked why they attend school regularly they most often cited, parental influence or another caring adult
Resources for Older Youth
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