1. Division of Student Support Services
Buffalo Public Schools
Attendance Improvement Plan
Division of Student Support Services

2. Student Support Services 2016 – 2019 Comprehensive Attendance Improvement Plan
The Comprehensive Attendance Improvement plan represents a school community approach to improving attendance that will incorporate strategies that district offices, schools, parent groups, and community based organizations will partner to execute. The plan outlines objectives that are designed to increase attendance throughout the district and meet the goals of providing services to the district’s most neediest children and families, as outlined in the District’s New Education Bargain with Students and Families.
The plan is structured to cover a three year period that incorporates annual incremental goals that will lead to the 2019 goal. Five priority objectives have been identified through the collaborative development of the plan and represents a start to the important work of developing strategies that will address the following goals:
Decrease the percentage of students missing 20.01% or more days of school (Severe).
Decrease the percentage of students missing % days of school (Chronic).
Decrease the percentage of students missing % days of school (At-Risk).
Increase elementary school attendance to 95% by year ending 2019.
Increase secondary school attendance to 90% by year ending 2019.

3. “The New Education Bargain with Students and Parents”
Buffalo Public Schools
Student Support Plan
Guiding Objective
“The New Education Bargain with Students and Parents”
Rigorous Early Elementary Education
Strong Community Schools
New Innovative High Schools
Extended Learning Excellence for All Our Students
Services for Our Neediest Children and Families
New Relationship with Our Teachers
Ensure the BEST Instruction for ALL our Children -
Every day, in Every classroom, in Every subject, for Every year of School

4. Buffalo Public Schools Neediest Children and Families
Students that present behavioral issues that result in suspension or potential suspension
Students with Attendance issues (Chronic, Severe, At-Risk)
Students that are pregnant and/or parenting
Students experiencing homelessness
Students with Disabilities (SWD) that challenge their ability to be successful
Students that have been traumatized (i.e. victims of bullying, child abuse, sexual abuse, war, etc.)
ELL students (New Americans) displaying social adjustment issues
Students experiencing mental illness
Students with medical issues that may prevent successful academic achievement (Medically ill, 504 students, lead paint exposure, etc. )
Disconnected students with engagement issues (in school but not engaged academically)

5. Comprehensive Attendance Improvement Plan Development Partners
District Offices
Division Student Support Services
Division of Curriculum and Instruction
Office of School Leadership
Office of Strategic Alignment and Innovation
Department of Special Education
Department of Multilingual Education
District Committees
District Implementation Team
School Based
Principals
Teacher Focus Group
Parent Groups
District Coordinating Council (DPCC)
Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization (BPTO)
Community-Based and National Organizations
Citizen’s Action
Say Yes Buffalo
Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition
Attendance Works

6. Projected Implementation Timeline
Student Support Services – Attendance Improvement Priority Actions
Priority 1 - Enhance District-wide Attendance Improvement and Dropout Prevention Supports
Projected Implementation Timeline
Objective 1
Establish a district-wide attendance recognition program for students and schools.
Summer 2016
Objective 2
Establish a truancy prevention hotline
Objective 3
Establish a truancy drop-in center
Fall 2017
Objective 4
Update the district's Attendance Policy
Objective 5
Develop a marketing campaign and materials to encourage consistent school attendance and high school completion
Objective 6
Enhance student supports to the neediest children and families (i.e. homeless, pregnant and parenting, New Americans, etc...)
Immediate and Ongoing
Objective 7
Develop a more effective system for reporting attendance to critical stakeholders (i.e. OSL, principals)

7. Projected Implementation Timeline
Student Support Services – Attendance Improvement Priority Actions
Priority 2 - Support and Increase the capacity of schools to meet the needs of students and parents
Projected Implementation Timeline
Objective 1
Establish/Enhance targeted early intervention, targeted and individualized supports for students.
Summer 2016
Objective 2
Establish an attendance improvement and dropout prevention manual for schools that outlines the district and school processes for addressing absenteeism and non completion issues.
Objective 3
Enhance the model of attendance service delivery provided by school based attendance teachers.
Objective 4
Provide professional development to school staff (i.e. teachers, parent facilitators) that will enhance their understanding of the impact of poverty and trauma on attendance and school completion.
Fall 2016 –
Spring 2019
Objective 5
Develop a referral process for students that fall into the at-risk, chronic, and severe absence category and make appropriate referrals to Family Court, Erie County Family Services Team, or PINS Diversion.
Objective 6
Improve the district's data accuracy and accountability of student attendance.
Immediate and Ongoing

8. Projected Implementation Timeline
Student Support Services – Attendance Improvement Priority Actions
Priority 3 - Engage and educate parents and students to realize students full potential to succeed in school and beyond
Projected Implementation Timeline
Objective 1
Increase communication with parents and students about the importance of school attendance (i.e. newsletters, report cards, quarterly learning opportunities).
Summer 2016
Objective 2
Enhance the utilization of the District's absences notification process and system to parents (SchoolConnect).
Fall 2016
Objective 3
Establish Attendance Conferences for parents of students that have achieved at-risk, chronic, and severe absenteeism. –
Fall 2017
Objective 4
Work with Erie County PINS and Department of Social Services to ensure parents have more supports to ensure their children are attending school consistently.
Spring 2016
Spring 2017
Objective 5
Empower student leadership teams to create a campaign to increase student achievement.
Objective 6
Expand the district's website to include material on the importance of school attendance and completion. -
Spring 2019

9. Projected Implementation Timeline
Student Support Services – Attendance Improvement Priority Actions
Priority 4 - Enhance School's capacity to support Attendance Improvement & Dropout Prevention Efforts
Projected Implementation Timeline
Objective 1
Establish as a function of a school based team (i.e. School Leadership Team, Student Support Team, etc.) a weekly review of attendance records and non attendance cases and develop individualized and group approaches toward addressing student absences.
Fall 2016 –
Spring 2017
Objective 2
Identify attendance designees (will also serve as Homeless Education and Project A.C.T. Designees ) in each school to serve as the point of contact to liaison between school and central office.
Objective 3
Leverage school partnerships to increase attendance supports (i.e. parent/teacher organizations, community based, corporate).
Fall 2017
Objective 4
Establish attendance goals (e.g. grade level/ cohort etc.) that the entire school community works to achieve.
Objective 5
Align funding and resources to focus on continuous attendance improvement strategies.

10. Projected Implementation Timeline
Student Support Services – Attendance Improvement Priority Actions
Priority 5 - Engage the Community
Projected Implementation Timeline
Objective 1
Establish a District Student Attendance Committee made up of school community stakeholders to establish a school and community collaborative approach , provide input on district attendance and dropout prevention initiatives, leverage and align capacity and resources, and to innovate and challenge our collective approach to problems and policies that have consistently impacted student success.
Spring 2016
Objective 2
Collaborate with community-based organizations on the development, implementation and monitoring of programs, initiatives and supports.
Objective 3
Establish local and national partnerships to increase attendance and decrease occurrences of dropout.
Objective 4
Review data to enable groups to restructure and organize further supports for schools.
Summer 2016