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May 2014

Improving Student Attendance In California: Leveraging Our Unprecedented Opportunities. May 2014. Increased Attendance Involves a 3-Tiered Approach that Fits with Most Reform Efforts. Students who were chronically absent in prior year or starting to miss 20% or more of school .

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May 2014

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  1. Improving Student Attendance In California: Leveraging Our Unprecedented Opportunities May 2014

  2. Increased Attendance Involves a 3-Tiered Approach that Fits with Most Reform Efforts Students who were chronically absent in prior year or starting to miss 20% or more of school A small fraction of a school’s students High Cost Recovery Programs Some of a school’s students Students at risk for chronic absence Universal/Preventive Programs Intervention Programs All students in the school All of a school’s students Low Cost

  3. Continuum of Support for All With each intervention, the goal is that students decrease unwanted behaviors and develop networks of support.

  4. An Emerging Consensus about Effective Practice in CA Communicate the importance of attendance for academic success as well as community well-being Help students develop a regular habit of attendance so that they do not ever require truancy intervention. Invest in prevention first in schools and communities in order to avoid, more costly legal intervention while also ensuring a system of last resort is in place. Leverage LCFF as an unprecedented opportunity for data monitoring and accountability.

  5. Unpacking Attendance Terms

  6. High Levels of ADA Can Mask Chronic Absence 90% and even 95% ≠ A 98% ADA = little chronic absence 95% ADA = don’t know 93% ADA = significant chronic absence

  7. Unexcused absences can mask Chronic Absence

  8. Chronic Absence:A Hidden Crisis • Nationwide, as many as 10-15% of students (7.5 million) miss nearly a month of school every year. AG Harris report estimates 7.6% or 250,000 elementary students are chronically absent in CA. It is much higher in some schools and districts • Chronic absenteeism is a red alert that students are headed for academic trouble and eventually for dropping out of high school.  • Poor attendance isn’t just a problem in high school. It can start as early as kindergarten and pre-kindergarten. • Regular attendance matters even more with the implementation of the Common Core.

  9. Students Chronically Absent in Kindergarten and1st Grade are Much Less Likely to Read Proficientlyin 3rd Grade Source: Applied Survey Research & Attendance Works (April 2011)

  10. Multiple Years of Elementary Chronic Absence = Worse Middle School Outcomes Each year of chronic absence in elementary school is associated with a substantially higher probability of chronic absence in 6th grade 18.0x • Chronic absence in 1st grade is also associated with: • Lower 6th grade test scores • Higher levels of suspension Increase in probability of 6th grade chronic absence 7.8x 5.9x Years of Chronic Absence in Grades 1-5 Oakland Unified School District SY 2006-2012, Analysis By Attendance Works

  11. The Effects of Chronic Absence on Dropout Rates Are Cumulative With every year of chronic absenteeism, a higher percentage of students dropped out of school. http://www.utahdataalliance.org/downloads/ChronicAbsenteeismResearchBrief.pdf

  12. Poor Attendance Is A Problem Across Income; But Even More Important For Students In Poverty Presentation to: The Interagency Council for Ending the Achievement Gap November 7, 2013, CT State Dept of Education.

  13. Why Are Students Chronically Absent?

  14. Going to School Every Day Reflects… Hope for a better future + Faith that school will help you or your child succeed + Capacity Resources, skills, knowledge needed to get to school

  15. Universal School Site Strategies for Building a Culture of Attendance & Reducing Barriers

  16. Ingredients for System-wide Success & Sustainability District Community Conveys why building a habit of attendance is important and what chronic absence is Is accurate, accessible, and regularly reported Positive Messaging Actionable Data Schools Students & Families Shared Accountability Capacity Building Ensures monitoring & incentives to address chronic absence Expands ability to interpret data and work together to adopt best practices Strategic partnerships between district and community partners address specific attendance barriers and mobilize support for all ingredients

  17. Join Us – Start Now! In California, SPI Tom Torlakson and CDE are taking a leadership role in advancing Attendance Awareness Month

  18. Attendance Awareness Month 2014 Webinar Series Save the Dates • April 8: Count Us In (again!) (Recording available) • May 28: We Need You: Finding Alliesfor Your Attendance Awareness Campaign • August 6: Focus on Parent and Student Engagement! Sign up for email updates about the Campaign and when new resources become available! http://www.attendanceworks.org/attendancemonth/sign-up-for-national-attendance-awareness-month-updates/

  19. Chronic Absence & LCFF By July 1, each district must develop Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) that aligns identified priorities with district budgets. As part of the pupil engagement priority, LCAP are required to establish goalsfor reducing chronic absence and improving overall student attendance.

  20. Plan must address eight state priorities Teachers, Materials, Facilities Academic Standards Parent involvement Student achievement Pupil Engagement: Measured by all of the following, as applicable: School attendance rates; Chronic absenteeism rates; Middle school dropout rates; High school dropout rates; High school graduation rates. School Climate: Measured by all of the following, as applicable: Pupil suspension rates; Pupil expulsion rates; Other local measures, including surveys of pupils, parents, and teachers on the sense of safety and school connectedness. Access to Courses Other student outcomes.

  21. How can districts use LCFF and LCAP opportunity? 1 Gather Data: Determine the extent to which chronic absence is a problem district-wide as well as for particular schools, grades and student populations 2 Ask Why: Find out why students are missing school and identify common barriers to attendance 3 Build Capacity: Use training and professional development to deepen understanding of effective tools and practices 4 Engage Stakeholders: Engage internal and external stakeholders in reviewing the data and identifying solutions that leverage local practices and resources 5 Set Targets: Develop annual goals, specific actions and budgets for inclusion in the local plan

  22. What Tools are Available To Calculate Chronic Absence? FREE FROM ATTENDANCE WORKS! The District Attendance Tracking Tools (DATT) and School Attendance Tracking Tools (SATT) are now available in Three Modules! • Grades K-5 • Grades 6-8 • Grades 9-12 We also offer a Tool to Combine the Modules forK-12 reports. Go to: http://www.attendanceworks.org/tools/tools-for-calculating-chronic-absence/

  23. Find out who is most affected by grade, school and sub-population

  24. Higher chronic absence rates suggest systemic challenges Variations in elementary school chronic absence in a Bay Area School District

  25. Are certain populations more affected?

  26. Students with more severe absence likely face bigger barriers This analysis divides all chronically absent 1st graders in OUSD district into 4 tiers (almost quartiles) based upon their level of absence

  27. What has OUSD done to reduce chronic absence?

  28. Establish District-wide Targets • Schools will achieve 98% average daily attendance (ADA) • Schools will reduce chronic absence by 10% annually or maintain it at 5% or less • Schools will achieve at least 85% of students attending 95% of school days (Satisfactory Attendance)

  29. What strategies has OUSD implemented? • Actionable data through bi-weekly reports • Attendance Manual with chronic absence intervention protocol • Regional and district-wide professional development • Attendance Toolkit produced in collaboration with community partners (http://atschool.alcoda.org/attendance_initiatives) • Attendance video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcH6kBNH2FQ) • Targeted district support to struggling schools • Nurturing strong partnerships with public and community agencies to address student attendance including Oakland Housing Authority, EBAYC, Lincoln Child Center • Publicly acknowledge improvements in schools and encouraging peer sharing among schools with effective strategies in place • Built in attention to chronic absence in school improvement planning.

  30. Attendance Protocol

  31. Oakland Unified District-wide Absence Patterns Over Time

  32. Leveraging LCFF: What can you do? 1. Know about your district’s LCAP process & ensure there is a designated lead. 2. Ensure your district calculates, reviews and shares data on chronic absence (defined as missing 10% or more of school). If possible encourage also reviewing truancy measures. 3. Help unpack why students are missing too much school 4. Support capacity building to improve data monitoring and adoption of best practice.

  33. Connecting LCFF and Chronic Absence What can you do? 5. Ensure your district engages & leverages available resources and community partners including people & programs involved in SART and SARB in reviewing data and developing plans. 6. Help your district set realistic targets.

  34. Chronic Absence = The Warning Light On A Car Dashboard Ignore it at your personal peril! Address early or potentially pay more (lots more) later. The key is to ask why is this blinking? What could this mean? The Parallels

  35. FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: CA Dept of Education Website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/ http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ai/sb/sarbhandbook.asp LCFF Listserv:join-LCFF-list@mlist.cde.ca.gov WestEd LCFF Implementation: http://lcff.wested.org/ CSBA: http://www.csba.org/GovernanceAndPolicyResources/ FairFunding/LCFF.aspx Children Now Children’s Movement:http://www.childrennow.org/school_funding_reform CA Weighted Formula: http://caweightedformula.com/ Attorney General: https://oag.ca.gov/truancy http://oag.ca.gov/lcapfaq Attendance Works: Accountable for Attendance: Addressing Chronic Absence in your LCAP http://www.attendanceworks.org/policy-advocacy/state-reports/california/california-funding-brief-accountable-for-attendance/

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