1. Collective Impact in Kern County:
Effective Strategies to Reduce Chronic Absence
Kern Pledge July 18,

2. About Us
Attendance Works is a non-profit initiative that advances student success and closes equity gaps by reducing chronic absence. Since our launch in 2010, we have become the nation’s “go to” resource for student attendance with more than a quarter million annual users of our website (
We work at the local, state and national level – with each level of practice informing and influencing the other. Our cross-cutting objectives are to:
Nurture proven and promising practice
Promote meaningful and effective communications
Advance better policy
Catalyze needed research

3. What is Chronic Absence?
Chronic absence is missing so much school for any reason that a student is academically at risk. Attendance Works recommends defining it as missing 10% or more of school for any reason.
Chronic
Absence
Excused absences
Unexcused absences
Suspensions
Chronic absence is different from truancy (unexcused absences only) or average daily attendance (how many students show up to school each day).

4. Requires Quickly Advancing A New Paradigm on Attendance
Truancy
Counts unexcused absences
Emphasizes individual compliance with school rules
Uses legal, typically more punitive solutions
Chronic Absence
Counts all absences
Emphasizes academic impact of missed days
Uses preventive problem solving, relationship building strategies

5. Student Attendance is Strongly Associated with Academic Success
High School Completion: Students who attend school regularly are more likely to graduate from high school
3rd Grade: Students who attend school regularly are more likely to be able to read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.
Middle School Success: Students who attend school regularly are more likely to have passing grades in middle school
College Completion: Students who attend school regularly in high school are more likely to persist in college and graduate
K-1st Grade: Students who attend regularly in the early grades perform better on measures of academic and social and emotional capacities.

6. 8 million students missed 15 days or more
14% nationally
12% in California
Source:

7. Partners for Change
The greater the size of the challenge, the more partners are needed. Many different types of partners can be enlisted, but local government and public agencies are especially important.
Businesses
Community Schools Initiatives
Family Support Organizations
Early Childhood Providers
Faith Based Organizations.
Health Providers
Housing Agencies
Hunger Relief Organizations
Institutes of Higher Education
Local Government  
National Service/ Volunteers/Mentors
Out of School Time providers
Social Emotional Learning Providers  
Social Services  
Population-Specific Service or Civic Organizations
Philanthropy (including foundations and United Ways)
We also encourage folks to tap into existing initiatives and coalitions as resources for engaging/convening potential partners.

8. 36 states + DC adopted chronic absence as a metric in their ESSA plans.
The vast majority adopted the definition recommended by Attendance Works.
Who's In: Chronic Absenteeism Under the Every Student Succeeds Act
Future Ed, Georgetown University, September 2017.

9. How Can We Address Chronic Absence?

10. Invest in Prevention and Early Intervention
Engagement + Attendance is also part of the webinar Series: Reducing Chronic Absence: It’s a Matter of 1, 2, 3!

11. Organizing your tiered attendance strategy

12. Tier 1 Strategies - Examples
Positive engagement strategies such as: relational home visits, kindergarten roundups
Attendance messaging
Recognition of good and improved attendance
Attendance contests
Providing the basics school-wide (e.g. breakfast in the classroom, clothes closets)
Health (Flu shots, reducing asthma triggers)

13. Attendance begins with creating a warm and welcoming school climate
Let’s watch this video demonstrating the difference a positive school climate can make. Turn to the person next to you and answer the following questions together:
How did the beginning of the video make you feel?
How did you feel during the second part of the video when the school staff took a positive approach to their engagement?
What makes it hard for schools to maintain a positive school climate?
Popcorn Share
Facilitator Notes:
The video is intended to the stage for a schoolwide approach and reinforces many initiatives that schools and districts are already implementing such as PBIS.
Attendance, academic success and school climate are all interconnected … strategies to address chronic absence do not stand alone.
National research shows chronic absenteeism erodes the academic and social skills needed to succeed in school.
Students can’t benefit from investments in high quality instruction and more engaging, rigorous curriculum unless they are in their classroom.
School climate is an essential ingredient in improving attendance.
Relationships matter for a sense of connection and belonging.
Shows the “softer side” of building a culture of attendance, relationships matter and attendance is about engagement

14. Parents underestimate the number of year-end absences
Missed 10+ days annually 30%
Missed an average of 2+ days per month 90%
Ad Council research commissioned by the CA Attorney General asked parents with students with a history of absence about their children’s absences in two ways:
Was your child absent an average of 2 or more days a month?
Was your child absent more than 10 days over the year?
60% of parents said their child was absent an average of 2+ days a month, but not 10+ days a year
The math: If a child is absent an average of 2+ days a month, then he/she is absent far more than 10+ days a year

15. Chronic Absence = 18 days of absence = As few as 2 days a month
Chronic Absence is Easily Masked if We Only Monitor Missing Consecutive days
It’s easy not to notice when your child may be missing too much school. 10% of a school year is about 18 days of absence. That sounds like a lot but when you break it down, that’s just two days a month. Most parents don’t get too stressed out if their child misses two days of class in a month. But when it happens month after month, it becomes a problem. Why?
Chronic Absence = 18 days of absence = As few as 2 days a month

16. Parents More Likely to Consider Attendance a “Big Deal” in High School
% who say “it’s a big deal to miss at this grade level”
Ad Council – CA Attorney General – Parent Ethnographies 2015

17. Parent Video & Discussion Guide
Bringing Attendance Home
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

18. Grand Rapids and Challenge 5
Example #1
Grand Rapids and Challenge 5

19. 

20. Download Challenge 5 collateral at
Believe 2 Become 

21. Cleveland Metropolitan School District Cleveland, Ohio
Example #2
Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Cleveland, Ohio

23. Cleveland Metropolitan School District Demographics
Cleveland has 37,000 scholars
67 K-8 schools
3 K-12 schools
schools
100% on Free and Reduced Price Lunch
65% African-American, 15% White, 16% Hispanic/Latino; 9% Limited English Proficient
Knowing in 2016 we would be reaching back out to voters to renew the operations levy, we decided to use a campaign approach to get buy in from voters and the community to reach our families and educators about the importance of getting to school each day. 23

24. Data Context
In , chronic absenteeism (missing more than 18 days) approached 50% district-wide.
Attendance strongly related to:
Math and Reading scores on state assessments (OAA & OGT)
The probability of being on-track to graduate
The first 10 absences from school decreases Math scores by 15 points.
The next 10 absences decrease Math scores by 5 points
The first 10 absences from school decreases Reading scores by 12 points.
The next 10 absences decrease Reading scores by 4 points.
Increased absences are significantly and substantively related to going off track to graduate.
The first 10 absences are associated with a 34% drop in probability of being “on-track” to graduate for 9th and 10th graders
Change from 73% to 39%
After accounting for student race/ethnicity, special education and LEP statuses, we found that attendance was strongly related to state test scores and the probability of being on-track to graduate. 24

25. “Get 2 School, You Can Make It!”
In the summer of 2015, with the CEO’s commitment and leadership, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) launched an attendance campaign to address one of the most significant barriers to student achievement, chronic absenteeism.
Ohio Department of Education =Chronic Absenteeism missing at least 10% (18 days) of the full academic year for any reason
CMSD = Chronic Absenteeism missing at least 10 days for the full academic year for any reason 25

26. Campaign Activities Established a campaign committee
Outreach to stakeholders in labor, central office and departments who touch attendance: transportation, security, secretaries, principals to be a part of the campaign
Outreach to partners in the community including the Cleveland Browns, McDonalds, Cleveland City Council and county leaders, Faith Based Community, local businesses, parent groups
Committee members from all across organization and included community stakeholders, CDCs, B&B, Browns, etc…. 26

27. Attendance Strategies
Phone Banking
Canvassing
Clap Ins
College Scholarship Opportunities with PBS
Giveaways/Celebrations
Social Media
Professional Development 27

28. Outcomes: The Numbers
As of , chronic absence rate is 30% -- down from 44% 28

29. Additional Resources

30. Are We Taking a Data Driven Systemic Approach?
Positive Engagement:
Uses caring relationships, effective messaging and a positive school climate to motivate daily attendance.
Actionable Data:
Is accurate, accessible, and regularly reported in an understandable format.
Community
District
Positive Engagement
Actionable Data
Students & Families
Schools
Shared Accountability
Capacity Building
Capacity Building Expands ability to work together to interpret data, engage in problem solving, and adopt best practices to improve attendance.
Shared Accountability:
Ensures chronic absence is monitored & reinforced by policy.
At same time, we know schools and communities can understand why kids aren’t in school and turn attendance around when they implement these five strategies with fidelity. How schools carry them out can be tailored to their own realities and strengths.
Then – I go through and offer examples of what each one of these might look like. I also clarify that recognizing good and improved attendance isn’t just providing perfect attendance awards for a semester or year– which doesn’t help to motivate improvement among the students with the most problematic attendance.
Strategic partnerships
between district and community partners address specific attendance barriers and mobilize support for all ingredients.

31. Complete account set-up and login to Basecamp
Accessing the SEAT
Register for the free tool at:
AW Team will setup an account for them and send an invitation via Basecamp within 72 hours
Complete account set-up and login to Basecamp
Once logged in, download the tools from Basecamp
The SEAT is available publicly. You can access the registration through our website and, after completing a quick survey that tells us a little about you and allows us to get in touch with you for feedback, you’ll receive a Basecamp invitation from our team in 72 hours. Then you or someone from your school or district will need to complete the account set-up and download the tool and user guide from basecamp. Remember to read the user guide before you get started to help guide your process. Engaging young people as members of your team will help to improve your overall analysis and also builds leadership skills among the students who will be part of the analysis and solution development.

32. How to Register for Teaching Attendance
To learn more, go to:
attendance-curriculum/
Click the self-registration button
You will receive a confirmation with an invitation to take Teaching Attendance Module 1: Why We Teach Attendance
Enjoy!

33. Attendance Awareness Month 2018
Share the AAM website:
Like us on Facebook
Tweet using #schooleveryday
Add a badge to your signature line or materials
Write blog post on your website promoting regular attendance and Attendance Awareness Month!

34. Resources Available for 2018
PROMOTE
LOCALLY
Download our free promotional materials and online toolkit to share with local districts.
Count Us In! will be updated with a new focus on state leadership, health, and early childhood education
Find resources and the Count Us In! toolkit on our microsite:

35. Superintendent’s Call to Action
Own the issue
Mobilize the Community
Drive with Data
To sign-up for the Call to Action, or to learn more, please visit:

36. March 28: Leadership Matters May 8: Working Together Matters
Webinar Schedule for 2018
March 28: Leadership Matters
May 8: Working Together Matters
August 15: Community Matters
September 12: Annual Brief released

37. Questions from the Audience