BEST PRACTICES

1
BEST PRACTICES

• Lissette Gomez Solano
• Sonia Rodarte-Llamas
• District PSA Counselors

2
LOOKING FORWARD

• How can we improve on the systems in place
• How can we create a Welcoming Environment at our
  school sites
• Make it work for your schools individual needs

3
ATTENDANCE PLAN

• Establish a Culture of Attendance at your school
• Top down perspective
• Consistency
• Role Model
• Clear expectations
• Make sure all stake holders are part of the plan,
  to ensure buy in from all.
• Ensures accountability
• Ensures accurate attendance accounting

4
ATTENDANCE PLAN

• What an effective attendance plan does
• Supports all stake holders
• Delineates roles and responsibilities to ensure
  that their consistency considering staff turnover
  
• Administration
• Clerical
• Enables the ability to identify students that are
  at risk of failing classes or dropping out
• Provides interventions for at risks students

5
ATTENDANCE PLAN

• Update Attendance Plan
• Include all attendance procedures, roles
  responsibilities
• (ie.) clearing uncleared absences due diligence
  efforts
• Meeting with clerical support regularly
• Meeting with attendance team
• Provide continuity
• Make Attendance Plan work for your school
• Disseminate Attendance Plan
• Administrative Support

6
ATTENDANCE PLAN

• Maintaining Open Communication
• Concerns
• Whats working, not working
• Revisit and revise duties
• Meet regularly with clerical staff and support
  staff

7
DISTRICT MANDATE

• Superintendent concern after reviewing ISIS
  report data
• Attendance Not Submitted Report
• Uncleared Yesterday/Present Report
• Teacher Discrepancy Memo
• Master Absence Report vs. Partial Day

8
ATTENDANCE NOT SUBMITTED BY TEACHERS- BEST
PRACTICES

• Attendance Taking by Staff introduced
  addressed over the PA system by Principal
• Memo to all Teachers regarding the enforcement
  of attendance during the first 15 min., on campus
  before they leave and not at home
• AP Principal make daily first period reminders
  to take attendance in the first 15 minutes of
  class
• Students are now reminding teachers as well to
  take attendance

9
ATTENDANCE NOT SUBMITTED BY TEACHERS- BEST
PRACTICES 1

• Attendance Office Runs Attendance Not Submitted
  after 25-30 minutes every period
• Send reminders to classrooms Service worker
  students
• The exception are PE Dept. and Service workers
• AP Principal call on cell phones and at home
• Excel Document is generated and updated by the
  PSA to monitor teachers who do not submit
  attendance
• This information is used in Stull Evaluation and
  for Teacher incentives

10
Excel Template
11
OUTCOME ACHIEVED!!!!!
12
ATTENDANCE NOT SUBMITTED BY TEACHERS- BEST
PRACTICES 2

• TEACHER INSERVICES WITH PSA ATTENDANCE
  CONTRACTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• Setting the Tone
• Utilize PPT as a reference
• Administrative Support
• All players work together, know their role and
  execute their part
• Be ready to provide support as a team to teachers

13
ATTENDANCE NOT SUBMITTED BY TEACHERS- BEST
PRACTICES 3 4

• Assistant Principal provides individual meetings
  with teachers not submitting attendance to
  discuss concerns and support ways to improve
• Teacher Discrepancy Memo
• Done Daily
• Designated staff member distributes to teacher at
  the end of the day
• Reduces partial day absences clarifies full day
  absences

14
ATTENDANCE NOT SUBMITTED BY TEACHERS- RESULTS

• Repercussions for Not Submitting Attendance
  Accurately
• Audit
• Liability
• Parents
• Keeping Accurate Attendance Records
• Unable to Identify student with Attendance
  Problems
• SARB/Court Cases
• Benefits

15
CLEARING UNRESOLVED ABSENCESBEST PRACTICES

• Changing uncleared absences to truancies
• Notification to parents students
• Letter home to the parents
• Phone dialer include all uncleared absences will
  be considered a truancy
• PA announcements to students
• Posting fliers in all classrooms
• Posters
• Bulletin Reminders/Parent Newsletters with new
  policy
• During Attendance Assemblies Parent Meetings
• Update Attendance Plan
• Provide Due Diligence
• PA announcements to students to turn in absence
  notes to Attendance Office
• Calling Home
• Calling in students requesting note
• Provide attendance verification form along with
  notification that absence will be changed to
  truancy if not submitted (in home language)

16
CLEARING UNRESOLVED ABSENCESBEST PRACTICES CONT.

• Have Teachers send students to Attendance Office
  to clear absences
• Suspensions Nurse Exclusion to be communicated
  to Attendance Office
• Every office or Support Personnel are responsible
  for accounting that student is present in their
  office documenting it
• Designated clerical staff runs Detailed Absence
  Report
• and Partial Day Report
• Calls Parents
• Absences are filed by date in students individual
  envelopes by grade/alpha

17
SWEEPING AWAY TARDIES

• PA Announcements once warning bell rings
• First Period, after nutrition, after lunch
• PA Announcement- playing music
• Tardy Table by grade level, by alpha, house, SLC
• Students 30 min are sent to office
• Habitually tardy students are seen by PSA
• Consequences
• Letters Home
• Early wake up calls
• Parent Conference
• Detention, Saturday School
• Limit Participation in School Events, Games,
  Dances, Graduation Ceremony

18
WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?

• WHAT CHANGES NEED TO HAPPEN FOR YOU TO CHANGE
  THE CULTURE OF ATTENDANCE AT YOUR SCHOOL?