1 Curbing Chronic Early Absenteeism: Implications for Community School Collaboratives Coalition of Community Schools National Forum April 8, 2010 Philadelphia, PA

Getting to Know You What is your role? _Educator _Community Agency Partner _Researcher /Evaluator _Advocate _Technical Assistance Provider _Other What kind of communities do you work in? _Urban _Rural _Suburban _Mix? What are the ages of the students you target? _ prek __elementary __middle school __high school __all ages

THE CHRONIC ABSENCE QUIZ TRUE OR FALSE?  Attending Kindergarten regularly doesn’ t really matter.  We don’t need to worry about large numbers of students missing school until middle or high school.  Most educators monitor when students are absent for extended periods of time.  Because families are ultimately responsible for children getting to school every day, schools can’t do anything to address chronic absence.

Attendance Definitions Chronic Absence: missing 10% or more of school over the course of an entire academic year for any reason. 10% was associated with declining academic performance in our research. No standard definition currently exists. Truancy: refers only to unexcused absences Average Daily Attendance: the percent of enrolled students who attend school each day

Presenters Hedy N. Chang, Attendance Counts Margarita Cotto-Hernandez, Burton Elementary School, Grand Rapids MI Abe Fernandez, National Center for Community Schools, Children ’ s Aid Society, NYC Sue Fothergill, Baltimore City Student Attendance Work Group

Myth #1 Attending Kindergarten regularly doesn’t really matter (FALSE)

Reality: Chronic Absence in K Affects Academics Among poor children, chronic absence in kindergarten predicted lower 5 th grade achievement. Source: National Center for Children In Poverty

Source: Baltimore Education Research Consortium Reality: Poor 6 th Grade Attendance Predicts Drop out

Myth #2 We don’t need to worry about large numbers of students missing school until middle or high school. (FALSE)

Reality: Chronic Early Absence Can Reach High Levels Nationwide, 1 out of 10 K & 1 st graders are chronically absent. (Source: NCCP). Chronic early absence can be even higher in some localities. (Across 9 districts, ranged from 5% to 25% of K-3 graders).

*1 st gr3 rd gr4 th gr5 th gr6 th gr7 th gr8 th gr9 th gr10 th gr Chronic Absence in Baltimore MD Source: Baltimore Education Research Consortium

Myth #3 Most educators regularly monitor when students are chronically absent. (FALSE)

Reality: Most Do Not Monitor Chronic Absence Schools typically only track data on average daily attendance and truancy (unexcused absence). BUT both can mask high levels of chronic absence. Especially in the early grades, children are not likely to be home without the knowledge of an adult who can call in to say they will be absent.

Myth #4 Because families are ultimately responsible for children getting to school every day, schools can’t do anything to address chronic absence.

Reality: Schools + Communities CAN Make A Difference Characteristics of Effective Strategies Partner with community agencies to help parents carry out their responsibility to get children to school. Make chronic absence a priority, set a target and monitor progress over time. Examine factors contributing to chronic absence, especially from parent perspective Begin early ideally in Pre-K Combine universal and targeted strategies. Offer positive supports before punitive action.

A Comprehensive Programmatic Response High Quality Engaging Educational Program Attendance Incentives Early outreach & case management to families with poor attendance Coordinated public agency and legal crisis response Quality Early Care and Education Experiences Family Engagement in School Access to Preventative Health Care Parent Education & Peer Support Roll Regularly Taken in Caring Manner

Why Aren’t Schools and District Doing More to Address Chronic Absence?

Chronic Absence in NYC: Dramatic Findings in 2008 Study The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School analyzed individual student attendance data citywide with a focus on elementary students. The prevalence of chronic absenteeism in grades K-5 shocked school officials and the broader public. o One of every five students in grades K-5 was chronically absent. This number was as high as one in every three students in the poorest neighborhoods.

LEVELS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM BY DISTRICT Citywide: Absenteeism Most Intense in Poor Neighborhoods

NYC PK-12 Trends Similar to Other Inner-City School Systems COMPARING CHRONIC ABSENCE MEASURES PK-12

How could we do a better job of monitoring chronic absence?

Collecting and Monitoring Data On Chronic absence  Attendance is tracked daily and in secondary schools by class in Baltimore City  Attendance data is uploaded to the principal’s dashboard weekly  Principals have access to an alert list of students on track to becoming chronically absent, a list of students who were chronically absent in the prior school year, and the school’s chronic absence rate as compared to its own rate in the prior school year

Burton’s School Attendance Team: Weekly Meeting ( 1 hr. to 1 & half hrs. ) Social worker from the local department of human services, community school coordinator, district attendance specialist, attendance secretary, and principal. Principal leads the meeting. Meeting involves – review of excessive absences and/or tardiness. Letters to excessive absences and/or tardies students, decide which students will receive a call and/or home visit based on the TR data.

What are effective interventions to reduce chronic absence?

Effective Strategies – Burton Elementary Offering attendance incentives (STAR) Sharing the research with parents on chronic absenteeism and its effect on their children especially in the early grades (Pre-K, K, & 1 st ). Not “letting up” -- good attendance is expected and that tardiness is not acceptable. Following-up on chronic attendance/tardy students/families. Providing families with resources to remove barriers that are keeping their children from being at school.

Tiered Strategies to Improve Attendance Tier 1 – Universal Strategies (for all students) Establish a school-going culture including. response to each absence, welcoming back absent students, communicating the importance of regular attendance to the home. Utilize Global Connect or make phone calls home after each absence Offer classroom attendance incentives for improved good attendance Utilize school attendance incentives such as attendance ceremonies, special trips for high attenders and rewarding parents whose children regularly attend

Tiered Strategies to Improve Attendance Tier 2 – Intervention Strategies (for students who miss 5 or more days of school) Refer a student with attendance problems to the SST including all of the adults who touch the child’s life (e.g. school nurse, after school providers, and the community schools coordinator.) Assign special activities to increase at risk student’s feeling of belonging Develop attendance plan with student & parents Provide the family with an alarm clock Refer to programs like Truancy Court or B-SMART

Tiered Strategies to Improve Attendance Tier 3 – Recovery Strategies (for students who are missing at least 10% of their days on role) Involve external partners in the provision of needed services such as mental health providers Conduct a home visit Refer the student to the Attendance Office

District Systems Reforms Affecting Attendance Reforming school suspension policy Reducing the number of school transitions by creating schools grades k- 8 and 6-12 Increasing student and family options by creating and supporting innovation, contract, charter and transformation schools 29

Results to Date % Missing 20 or More Days of School SCHOOL LEVEL% Chronic Absence % Chronic Absence % Chronic Absence ELEMENTARY GRADES MIDDLE GRADES HIGH SCHOOL ALL CITY SCHOOLS

Self Assessment Exercise Spend 5 minutes reviewing and beginning to fill out self-assessment tool Share results with a partner Discuss implications for the role of community schools in addressing chronic absence

DISCUSSION: What can community schools do?

Contact Information Hedy N Chang; Abe Fernandez ; Sue Fothergill ; Margarita Cotto Hernandez;