Keeping Kids In School

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Keeping Kids In School

• Getting Serious About School Attendance

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Hallmarks of Effective Schools

 
Culture
Climate
     
Communication
 
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Hallmarks of Effective Schools

 
Culture
Climate
     
Communication
 
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Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD Attendance Services

• Four Attendance Officers
• Attendance Audits
• Attendance Software

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Attendance Audits

• Two person team
• Principal guided focus questions
• Positive focus
• Day-long visit
• Scoring Guide
• Afternoon Debrief
• Report
• Follow-up

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Attendance Scoring Guide

• Attendance-Related Leadership
• School District Policy
• Accuracy of Attendance Data
• Central Office Communications Systems
• Proactive Interventions - Absences
• Proactive Interventions - Tardies
• Consequence Systems Clarity Consistency
• Staff Training
• Parent Communications Involvement
• Tracking of Student Movement

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Sample Principal Focus Questions

• How can we reduce a.m. tardies of our younger
  grade levels?
• How accurate is the absence data we collect?
• Is our credit denial policy helping or hindering
  student attendance?
• Is our hall pass system working to enhance
  student safety and discourage skipping?
• Is our open-campus lunch creating significant
  attendance and tardy problems?

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Audits Completed- 3/04

• West Albany High
• South Albany High
• North Albany Middle
• Lebanon High
• 7-Oak Middle
• Sweet Home High
• Sweet Home Jr. High
• Taft High
• Philomath High
• Philomath Middle
• Santiam High

• Dayton High
• Waldport High
• Pioneer School
• Lacomb Elementary
• Riverview Elementary
• Foster Elementary
• Hawthorne Elem.
• Taft Elementary
• Green Acres Elementary
• Central Linn Middle/High
• Central Linn Elementary

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Scoring Guide Resources

• LBL Experience with audits over time
• Dougherty, John W., Attending to Attendance,
  Fastback 450. Phi Delta Kappa, (1999).
• Miller, Dan. 50 Ways to Improve Attendance,
  NASSP Bulletin 70. 492 (1986). Pages 74-79.
• Rood, Robert E. Advice for Administrators
  Writing the Attendance Policy, NASSP Bulletin
  76, 516 (1989)

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Common Challenges

• Communication breakdowns
• Staff reductions, work load
• Policy not in line with practice
• Inaccurate data collection
• Lack of positive, proactive interventions
• Sporadic, hit/miss interventions
• Lag time from skip to consequence
• Hall pass system inconsistency
• Parents out of the loop
• Counselors out of the loop

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Common Considerations

• Leadership
• Data accuracy
• Attendance values
• Monthly review (an attendance PBS team)
• Data analysis building-wide patterns
• Building intervention systems
• Individual students
• Involve key players
• Policy fit to practice
• Rapid communication with parents

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Common Considerations

• Block secretarial time
• Clear tardy policy
• Teach positive attendance skills to students
  and parents
• Adults in halls during passing periods
• Clear, consistent pass system
• Excused/unexcused clarity
• Timely referral to attendance officer

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Comprehensive System Reviews. The next step
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No attendance officer?
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Attendance Officer Role

• Early Intervention
• Talk with Student
• Setting Goals
• Re-Engaging Parents and Students

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Attendance Officer Role

• Formal Intervention
• Formal Referral
• Family/Student Contact
• Formal Letters
• Citation Warning Meeting
• Citation
• Court Appearances

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For More Information.

• www.lblesd.k12.or.us
• Scott Perry or
• Vicki Harlos
• 541-812-2600

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