1. Working SMART
How Leaders can Align Attendance with School Goals, Structures and Functions
Welcome - Introductions
Name of the session –
We all know that schools have a ton of things on their plates and that attendance initiatives are complex. So we need to get the best bang for time and effort. Gabriella and I believe that one way we can do this is to have strong goals and indicators and to align all of the schools functions toward those goals. That is why this session has 3 objectives:
You will identify how attendance is related to and can be aligned with other school activities.
Alignment is making sure that we position various parts (like strategies, programs, events, services, etc.) to achieve an overall objective. As a car with tires out of alignment pull the car away from the intended direction, a school’s strategic plan without everyone pulling in the same direction can’t be successfully implemented.
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You will understand how integration of school goals and initiatives is important.
Integration is combining two or more previously segregated parts or silos into one unified system. Just as two oxen can individually pull 1200 pounds yet when yoked together can pull 3000 pounds, every part of the school working in coordination and collaboration with each other will produce synergistic results.
FINALLY
Reflect upon how important the role of leaders are in making fast and focused improvement.
Talk about the use of the use of the word leaders

2. Activity Instructions
Get into a group of two or three people and answer the following:
Who is responsible for attendance promotion and chronic absenteeism in your school?
So to get us grounded in this content, we would like you to…
How many of you came up with a list of staff or a committee whose job includes attendance work, like an Attendance Clerk, Truancy Social Worker, or Attendance Team?
We all know that if students aren’t in class, they aren’t learning, every school in this district has ELA and Math goals in their 90 Day Plans. Plus, we know that we need families, community and partners to really address attendance issues. We also know that our attendance efforts may include outreach, prevention, intervention and reintegration strategies, all of which involve different staff, tasks, groups, and family and community engagement.
So in a way, this is a trick question. In reality, if we are not thinking that it is the responsibility of every staff person, family and community partner to help us promote attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism, then we are missing the mark.
Yet how do we do this when all of our staff have so much on their plates already?

3. School Elements to Align and Integrate
Goals
Structures (goal teams, PLCs, etc.)
Staff Functions
Messages / Communication / Awareness Campaigns
School Culture
Family /Community Partner Engagement and Calls to Action
Events
Early Warning Systems
There is a tremendous need to better align the functions of schools so that everyone is pulling in the same direction. We need to make sure that your school’s vision and goals are translated into operational and actionable goals and strategies. Effective alignment helps all parts of the school and your families and community partners to move in the same direction, so resources are used better, staff feel less overwhelmed by another project, and we get fast and focused improvement.
For instance, a school’s attendance goals need to be supported by every committee, goal team and PLC. They need to be shared via school announcements, newsletters and at family events. As well, they could be aligned with the school’s family engagement plan.
Staff are over tasked, so we need to work smart. We need to get a two or three for one.

4. SMART Goals S M A R T SpecificS
Specific
What will the project/activity specifically do and achieve? M
Measurable
How will others know that we met our goal and that it is complete? How will we measure that the goal was met? A
Attainable
(Ambitious)
What are the steps we will take to make sure that our goal is met? What resources, partnerships and support do we have to meet the goal?
Is our goal ambitious and based on high expectations? R
Realistic
How will this goal support our long-term objective of reducing chronic absenteeism? How do we know our goal can be met? T
Time-bound
What date will the project start and what date will we meet our goal by?
Having clear and measurable outcomes is critical to alignment work. It allows us to: easily see the connections between goals and priorities, identify progress and impact, be clear around accountability, and celebrate successes.
Provide Goals from all levels of work

5. Staff Functions
Employees at all levels need to be aligned with the schools' larger goals, and those goals need to be broken down to a smaller scale to ensure that people remain engaged in day-to-day operations.
Feedback about performance typically looks at how someone’s work affects other people in that employee's job area. An effective discussion will include and address the company’s overall strategy.
Staff need to know each other’s work and priorities so they can make the connections and support one another
Employees should know their role in each of their projects. To help them do this, you can use visuals to explain the company's overall strategy and how each role advances toward its goals. 
Engagement is essential to keep the school growing and reaching for its vision. When employees aren’t recognized, they lose track of their purpose.
A critical area to start aligning your efforts is with all of the staff in your school:
Tasks are properly allocated. Staff should know their role around attendance and how that fits not only with the school’s overall attendance plan, but also how that plan supports the school’s other goals. We never want them to see attendance as an add on to their already huge number of responsibilities. When we are able to see the how attendance IS part of the daily work of schools and staff, then it is much easier to get everyone on board.
Staff also need to understand each other’s roles in supporting attendance. We are all too busy to duplicate efforts, so often times, especially around contacts with students and families, documentation in Synergy is critical.
Feedback is consistent so staff stay focused on their performance and how various priorities come together.
Celebrate the wins of your staff. Recognize staff efforts and explain how they push the school towards improving both attendance and its link to the school’s large scale goals.

6. The Critical Role of Leaders
Cultivate a School Wide Culture of Attendance
Prioritize the work
Superintendent’s Big 5
Advocate and provide resources
Examples of success

7. Steps Towards Aligning Goals
Identify your school’s overarching goals, strategies and measurement
90 Day Plan
Attendance goals
Family and Community Engagement goals
School Culture goals
Staff Functioning and wellness goals
Identify where there is overlap
Review the school’s structures and communication framework
Assign or reassign based on goals
Identify and support the role of individual staff

8. Core Team Family and Community Communications Attendance Team
90 Day Plan Goals
Core Team
Family and Community
Communications
Attendance Goals
Attendance Team
School Culture Goals
Goal Team
Aligned Efforts to Facilitate Student Success

9. Activity - Areas of alignment
Work alone, in pairs, or a group to fill out the Aligning Attendance in Your School Handout

10. Thank you!
For more information: Daphne Strader Gabriella Blakey