Attendance & Truancy Among Virginia Students

Introduction

Joseph Wharff, School Counseling Specialist, introduces the Attendance & Truancy Among Virginia Students module series created in response to the Every Student, Every Day National Initiative to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism, a call to action by the President to improve the lives of all young people through the My Brother's Keeper Initiative.

• Introduction Video

Module 1: Understanding Chronic Absenteeism

Objectives

1. Educators will learn what chronic absence is and how it differs from other measures of attendance.
2. Educators will learn how chronic absence affects academic outcomes.

Module Materials

• Module 1 Video
• Module 1 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 1 Guide (PDF)

Module 2: Frameworks for Reducing Chronic Absence

Objectives

1. Educators will receive an overview of frameworks for reducing chronic absence
2. Educators will learn five evidence-based strategies for reducing chronic absence
3. Educators will learn how to organize attendance strategies in a tiered system of support
4. Educators will learn the key ingredients for sustainable, systemic reductions in chronic absence

Module Materials

• Module 2 Video
• Module 2 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 2 Guide (PDF)

Module 3: Establishing School Attendance Teams

Objectives

1. Educators will learn the role and responsibilities of an attendance team
2. Educators will receive a description of data that an attendance team would review
3. Educators will learn how to build a multi-disciplinary attendance team.

Module Materials

• Module 3 Video
• Module 3 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 3 Guide (PDF)

Module 4: Using Data to Drive Action

Objectives

1. Learn what makes data actionable.
2. Understand what questions are answered with different attendance measures including ADA, truancy, chronic absence, and suspensions.
3. Find out how to use chronic absence data to make strategic choices about where to target attendance interventions.

Module Materials

• Module 4 Video
• Module 4 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 4 Guide (PDF)

Module 5: Messaging Attendance

Objectives

1. Educators, particularly teachers, can identify effective messages about attendance and can incorporate them into their interactions with families.
2. Educators will learn why it is important to help parents and students understand what constitutes good attendance.
3. Educators will learn why it is important to help parents and students understand that absences add up and impact academic achievement from Pre-k - 12th grade.

Module Materials

• Module 5 Video
• Module 5 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 5 Guide (PDF)

Module 6: Integrating Attendance In Parent Engagement

Objectives

1. Examine the connection between attendance and family engagement
2. Learn why attendance should be not be treated as a separate educational issue.
3. Identify opportunities to integrate attendance into existing family engagement activities
4. Find out about available resources and materials for helping communicate to families about attendance and chronic absence.

Module Materials

• Module 6 Video
• Module 6 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 6 Guide (PDF)

Module 7: Leveraging Parent-Teacher Conferences

Objectives

1. Educators will understand why and how they could incorporate information about attendance into parent teacher conferences
2. Educators will explore how data on absences can be used to plan for and trigger different conversations depending upon the level of absenteeism.
3. Educators will learn about how to approach hard one on one conversations in a trust-building manner.
4. Educators will find out about available resources to incorporate into parent teacher conferences.

Module Materials

• Module 7 Video
• Module 7 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 7 Guide (PDF)

Module 8: Recognizing Good and Improved Attendance

Objectives

1. Educators will learn how to recognize and reward good and improved attendance, not just perfect attendance
2. Educators will learn the importance of having a school-wide approach to attendance incentives.
3. Educators will learn tips for establishing low-cost and no-cost incentives.

Module Materials

• Module 8 Video
• Module 8 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 8 Guide (PDF)

Module 9: Providing Personalized Early Outreach

Objectives

1. Educators will learn about the PEOPLE strategy (Priority Early Outreach for Positive Linkages and Engagement). 
2. Educators will learn how to identify which students require personalized early outreach.
3. Educators will learn about evidence based, Tier 2 intervention strategies.

Module Materials

• Module 9 Video
• Module 9 Power Point (PPT)
• Module 9 Guide (PDF)

Module 10: Identifying Barriers 

Objectives

1. Educators will learn what the most common barriers are to good attendance.
2. Educators will learn several methods for identifying attendance barriers facing students and families in their schools and communities.

Module Materials

• Module 10 Video
• Module 10 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 10 Guide (PDF)

Module 11: Creating Opportunities for Peer Learning

Objectives

1. Educators will learn how to create opportunities for peer learning and exchange on effective attendance practices
2. Educators will learn how to use their data to identify bright spots that can share successes and create a space to discuss common challenges.

Module Materials

• Module 11 Video
• Module 11 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 11 Guide (PDF)

Module 12: Engaging Community Partners

Objectives

1. Educators will assess the need for additional partners to reduce absenteeism
2. Educators will identify potential partners.
3. Educators will learn how they can legally share student data with partners.

Module Materials

• Module 12 Video
• Module 12 PowerPoint (PPT)
• Module 12 Guide (PDF)